The latest Horizon Europe call targeting circular economy and bioeconomy sectors resulted in five brand new projects which will greatly contribute to the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative efforts and objectives through targeting various waste streams, industries and applying circular systemic solutions in cities and regions. ACR+, being a part of one, wanted to bring these projects together for a session of getting to know each other and identifying initial synergy opportunities.

For those not yet familiar with the CCRI framework, it aims to support Europe’s green transition by boosting circularity at local and regional levels, notably the European Green Deal and the European Bioeconomy Strategy. It focuses on the implementation of Circular Systemic Solutions across Europe’s cities and regions. CCRI Projects are research and innovation projects, funded by Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, which are generating innovative knowledge, creating skills and demonstrating systemic solutions. Five of these have had their kick off meetings, ready to take up the planned work on improving various resource and waste streams in more than 20 pilot cities and regions. Namely, the projects CircSyst, CisWEFE-NEX, FIC FIGHETRS and SOLSTICE will be developing and demonstrating circular systemic solution in a vast array of fields, streams and industries such as, water and nutrients, water scarcity, plastics and plastic packaging, as well as bioplastics, phospogypsum waste and textiles. Cities and regions all across Europe, the EU and beyond will be put on the frontline of innovation and industrial symbiosis thanks to these projects and the practical demonstration of circular systemic solutions – some of them being, Flanders, Algarve region, Berlin, Catalonia, Venice, as well as cities from Eastern Europe and Balkans like Kutina, Veles, Prahovo, Laka, Thessaloniki and many more.

What concerns ACR+, the fifth of the projects, CSS Boost, will see circular systemic solutions being implemented in Lisbon, Marche region, Crete, North Schwartzwald - public transport vehicles end-of-life, water and nutrients, agriculture and livestock management and water and nutrients management respectively. ACR+ will have a prominent role in creating synergies and clusters with other similar initiatives in Europe and within its wide network of members, overall contributing to its ongoing efforts in supporting cities and regions in their transition to circular economy principles.

Beside representatives of the five projects, as well as representatives of previously approved and already running CCRI projects like DECISO, Jan Wynarski of the CCRI Coordination and Support Office attended the meeting, too, briefing the project coordinators on the CCRI framework, structure and what support and valorisation schemes exist. He highlighted their platform for visibility and wider outreach, as well as the various workshops helping CCRI projects to boost both their demonstration and the policy activities. He also highlighted and praised this last round of calls for proposals because it resulted in unique and new waste streams being addressed for the first time; something that will considerably contribute to CCRI’s four thematic working groups – circular constructions and buildings, circular resource management, circular bioeconomy and industrial symbiosis and circular economy in industries.

The meeting was praised by the different project coordinators who obviously took the clustering and synergy making aspect of their projects seriously and therefore, it is expected to see extensive cooperation and exchange of experiences and lessons learnt between the various cities and regions in Europe.