VALREC Project - Promotion of the Circular Economy of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW)

In order to promote the circular economy for construction and demolition waste in Spain, the VALREC project was launched under the leadership of Surge Ambiental and Valoriza (SACYR Group).

This project aims to develop innovative solutions to improve the recyclability, traceability and purity of mineral resources contained in construction and demolition waste (CDW), thus enabling the eco-efficient production of new construction products. The budget for the project is more than 5 million euros and has a duration of 2 years. Seven other companies from the Madrid region are participating in the project, including Allgaier Mogensen S.L.U., and are also receiving support from the Tecnalia Technological Research and Development Center and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid UAM.

VALREC is a subsidized project under the 2020 Call for Proposals, which aims to contribute to the improvement of public-private collaboration in research and development, in areas of strategic importance for the Madrid economy. In addition, VALREC is part of the "Open Innovation Business Hubs" co-funded by the Community of Madrid and the European Regional Development Fund.

The project is expected to have economic, environmental and social impacts, of which the following should be highlighted:

• Increasing the recyclability of mineral resources by approximately 30% towards higher value-added construction products as a 2025 target, avoiding the landfilling of up to 2 million tons of CDW per year
• Reducing the carbon footprint of participating companies by approximately 20% compared to the baseline
• Job creation for the development of the project, both in the companies themselves and in the cooperating organizations for knowledge dissemination and creation
• The economic impact on the companies would be 17.2 million euros per year if the results are used after a private investment of about 2 million euros;
• Retraining of professionals and knowledge building in construction and recovery machinery companies regarding digital and green technologies

The different solutions that VALREC will offer are conceived from a holistic point of view, adapted to the local CAM environment and foreseeing the overcoming of technological as well as market barriers. In this way, they aim to ensure the closing of loops in construction materials and products through efficient recycling and the use of new digital traceability technologies, also taking into account circular economy criteria and resource and energy efficiency.