V001 / JSI / T884

News Archive

At the final meeting of the INSPIRES project (EIT RawMaterials), the members of the Nanostructured Materials Department (Dr. Benjamin Podmiljšak, Dr. Tomaž Tomše and Prof. Dr. Spomenka Kobe) in the consortium of 11 partners reported on the goals achieved. In the RIS Slovenia region, we presented a successful example of a circular economy without waste. We focused on motors in household appliances and developed new automated processes for dismantling and recovering magnets. With key industrial partners (Kolektor, Gorenje, Domel, ZEOS, Surovina) we established recycling processes and tested new circular economy pathways. We analysed their sustainable performance in terms of economic and environmental life cycles. In the Slovenian region, knowledge and technologies from non-RIS regions contributed to the refinement (recycling technology was provided by the University of Pforzheim). The Brussels-based partner CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies) effectively communicated the project results to decision-makers for further action.