RES, a company active for over 30 years in the circular economy and environmental sustainability sector, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange’ s Euronext Growth Milan market, has announced the launch of an industrial project, already approved by the Molise regional government, for vehicle upcycling( the process of recovering and reusing material, thereby increasing its value). It has also announced its candidacy for a scheme promoted by the Italian Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy and Invitalia to relaunch areas hit by the industrial crisis( Italian law 181 / 889 pursuant to the Decree of the Ministry of Economic Development of March 24, 2022, and Circular No. 237343 of June 16, 2022). A new business unit called“ RES – Upcycling” will add to the company’ s current 4 business units operating in the plant engineering sector with the aim of integrating, in the business model, a new project for creating a highly automated car demolition site based on advanced technologies. The materials recovered will be treated and recycled with highly innovative mechanical and chemical processes, while the non-reusable ones will be directed to the other disposal plants managed by RES. The process will feed most of the group’ s plants, in a virtuous circle of full sustainability. The materials, once recovered, will partly re-enter the production cycle of the automotive industry and partly upcycled as new raw material. On 13 July 2023, the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation updating the rules on the eco-design of vehicles to improve end-of-life management as waste. In the wake of the new trends and anticipating the times, RES’ investment aims to create a new business unit, called“ RES – Upcycling”, which goes beyond the concept of waste recovery, increasing the functional value of the compo- |
The Research & Development centre at RES
nents of a vehicle, giving new life to parts such as plastic materials, polyurethane, upholstery and interiors.
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AN INVESTMENT EXCEEDING 2.5 MILLION EUROS With an investment of about 2.5 million euros and 22 new hires, the plan provides for the recovery of materials according to the principle of general sustainability of the project. Starting from the chassis of the vehicles, through a highly automated line and with systems to assist the handling of heavy components, the disassembly process begins with the removal of components that can cause damage to the environment( batteries, lubricants, residual fuels) then the individual parts of the vehicle are disassembled by robot and cobot systems. Finally the plastic components are sent to upcycling. Antonio Lucio Valerio, CEO of RES SpA, comments:“ The growing concern for pollution, combined |
with the interest and research for the recovery of reusable materials with a view to sustainability and circular economy, create new markets and applications in every sector. RES wants to be at the forefront of the next revolution, one that will affect the production processes of vehicles and the management of the end-oflife vehicle( ELV) treatment chain. The main objective of our project is precisely to integrate the recovery, recycling and disposal process with other company operations, maximizing the reuse of materials and minimizing the environmental impact. Our new production line will be able to handle up to 7,500 tons of material per year from about 6,000 ELVs already in the first years of operation, ensuring operational efficiency and a reduction in human intervention in the most hazardous and low value-added phases.” With this project, RES fully embraces the European Green Deal and the |
Antonio Lucio Valerio, CEO of RES SpA
EU’ s Circular Economy Action Plan on waste, focused on waste reduction, in particular through changes in product design, incentives for reuse, promotion of high-quality recycling in particular of critical materials, and the promotion of the reuse of recycled materials in new products.
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Italian technology plast / April 2025 |
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www. plastmagazine. it |
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