Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology request
- POD Reference
- TRGB20250415015
- Term of Validity
- 15 April 2025 - 15 April 2026
- Company's Country
- United Kingdom
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
Contact the EEN partner nearest to you for more information.
Find my local partner
General information
- Short Summary
- A Scottish technology company is looking for suppliers and collaborators for critical input material into their manufacturing process. They wish to find recycled pigment suppliers, particularly toner powder and adopters of modern solutions in sustainable construction. Partners must be able to provide the chemical compositions of their recycled material. Cooperation is envisioned under a commercial agreement with technical assistance and may lead to a Research cooperation agreement in the future.
- Full Description
-
A technology company in Scotland (UK) producing low carbon building materials made from near 100% local recycled content, is wishing to establish contact with European suppliers of recycled toner powders and building developers to build consortia that can trial recycled toner powders in their technologies. The company repurpose waste to instigate and sustain circular economy practices providing pioneering high-performing materials to contribute towards net zero carbon targets.
Limitations to volumes and security of supply of recycled toner powders exist within a UK context. The problems and barriers are similar to most European countries, where recycled toner powder cartridges are happening in different processes or being ignored. There are trade-offs between the economic efficiency and the value the recycling is meant to bring.
The SME will consider leading an R&D consortium so that the partners can focus on what they do best. For the UK SME this is testing and incorporating different potential recycle pigments into their current and future products and putting them through initial type testing, already understood by the company. The suppliers of the recycled pigments would know the material chemical compositions and technical characteristics of these in their own markets so this will be key to understand for the Scottish SME to begin developing their use in the construction sector.
It is envisioned that this new area of research and development will move towards European funding calls with collaborators establishing commercial supply arrangement and potentially joint manufacturing ventures. The desired outcome of an international partnership is to strengthen the UK company’s product offering both in UK (offering these suppliers new markets) and entering Europe via new connections and understanding European supply and logistics dynamics.
Cooperation is envisioned under a commercial agreement with technical assistance and may lead to a Research cooperation agreement in the future working with potential partners on the development of their recycled pigments for use in building products. - Advantages and Innovations
- The company has developed a construction brick product with some of the lowest carbon credentials on the market today. It has also been certified for use in UK and US which is unusual for many of its competitors so has shown it can be judged through the rigours of third party and accreditation processes. This gives them a strong advantage when developing new formulations of current products and new products for their ranges as they now know the process.
- Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
- Potential partners should be able to provide and understand the chemical compositions of their recycled materials as well as technical parameters such as reaction to fire, melting points and characteristics when mixed with other mediums. Moisture contents and characteristic behaviour with water is also important information. UV resistance may also be needed.
- Stage of Development
- Already on the market
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Goal 13: Climate Action
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
- IPR status
- IPR granted
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
-
Two types of partners are being sought, suppliers and adopters. Suppliers may be recycling the toner powder cartridges themselves or producing them. Once a supplier has been found, the SME will need adopters who may be working on sustainable building materials, construction methods and similar.
For both partnership types, a commercial contract with technical assistance will be agreed in the first instance. The company would also consider straight commercial and supplier agreements and is hopeful that future collaborations will lead to Research cooperation agreements as possible matching interests will be considered for collaboration and hopefully European funding streams such as Eureka Eurostars or Horizon Europe.
Interested parties are invited to send a brief non-confidential description of their work and goals for consideration. - Type and Size of Partner
- SME <=10
- SME 11-49
- SME 50 - 249
- Big company
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 02006001 - Materials, components and systems for construction
- 02006003 - Fire Resistance/Safety
- 02006002 - Construction methods and equipment
- Market keywords
- 09007001 - Construction companies
- 09007002 - Manufacture of construction materials, components and systems
- 09007003 - Distribution of building products and systems
- 09007004 - Engineering and consulting services related to construction
- Sector Groups Involved
- Construction
- Targeted countries
- All countries