The project aims to establish a process of recycling laminated PVC from waste floor tiles. In PVC products, recycling rates of around 20% have been achieved so far, while a large percentage of PVC waste is still buried or incinerated. In order to avoid the loss of valuable resources and increased CO2 emissions and other environmental burdens of waste disposal, it is necessary to consider recycling for different material flows, such as PVC floor coverings.

The Scientific Supervisor of the project in NTUA is Professor K. Magoulas from the Laboratory of Thermodynamics and Transfer Phenomena (ETHFM). The collaborating research team of LIEE is involved in the examination of economic viability, as well as the possibility of commercial utilization of the recycling process and recycled PVC, utilizing the methodological tool of Business Canvas.

More information here.

The project is developed in 9 phases, each one comprising a number of interrelated tasks. These phases can be summarised in 3 Groups as follows:

• Group A includes Phases 1 to 4, which refer to the background work needed to establish the methodological framework of the project and to analyse the specific conditions in Cyprus by focusing on the prospects and barriers for the large-scale deployment of RES and RUE.
• Group B includes Phases 5 to 7, which aim at establishing alternative scenarios for the combined large-scale penetration of RES and RUE in Cyprus.The optimal scenario will be identified from the comparative evaluation of these alternative options by means of Cost-Benefit Analysis and Multi-Criteria Analysis and will form the basis for establishing a strategy and action plan in compliance with EU policies and international commitments.
• Group C includes phases 8 and 9, which extend through the whole project and aim at the dissemination of results and the co-ordination of actions in order to successfully accomplish the objectives of this project.

The expected results are mainly related with the application region and include the project deliverables, as well as less tangible benefits regarding the motivation of the island’s community towards the large-scale implementation of RES and RUE. Moreover, the project is expected to directly contribute to the production and transfer of knowledge and tools that will be suitably disseminated in other EU and accession countries. On a first rough approximation for the year 2010, very conservative estimations calculate a 20% saving of conventional fuels as a result of RES and RUE integration, implying savings for that year of over 600 ktoe. This figure takes into account the actual trends pointing on a total consumption of about 3000 ktoe (based on the recorded 2000 ktoe of oil consumption in 2000). The avoided fuel cost is calculated to exceed 150 M EUROS. In addition, the reduction of CO2 emissions and atmospheric pollutants can also be translated in avoided external costs based on approximate values assigned to these emissions according to the methodology of the ExternE project.

For more information: cordis.europa.eu

The project is a research project running from September 2001 to February 2004 and supported by a grant of the 5th Framework Programme of the European Commission (Human Potential). It is a multi-partner and multi-disciplinary project.

The research involves 4 partners which are amongst Europe’s leading centres for research (e.g. universities and research institutes) on the subject.

The project is co-ordinated by Professor Yannis Caloghirou of the National Technical university of Athens, Greece.

This project is about structural change in European industry resulting from rapid innovation at the interface of knowledge-based services and technology-intensive manufacturing. It focuses on three hybrid sectors in the areas of electronic commerce, business data communication and multimedia in order to appraise the factors underlying their emergence and early evolution. This research purports to add value to the current state-of-practice by:

• using an imaginative approach to empirically analyse structural change at strategic corners of European industry,
• examining emerging hybrid sectors across several countries,
• assembling indicators to build “early warning systems” for emerging hybrid sectors across several countries,
• providing valuable policy advise on how to create the socio-economic conditions to nurture such activities.

For more information: cordis.europa.eu

“The Integration of Macroeconomic and S& T Policies for Growth, Employment and Technology (MACROTEC PROJECT, No: HPSE-CT-1999-00014), με επιστημονικό υπεύθυνο τον καθηγητή G.N. von Tunzelmann (SPRU, University of Sussex), Key Action Improving the Socio-economic Knowledge Base, Commission of the European Union, DG Research, 2000-2002

The project is a research project running from January 1999 to June 2001 and supported by a grant of the 4th Framework Programme of the European Commission (Targeted Socio-Economic Research Programme). It is a multi-partner and multi-disciplinary project.

The research involves 6 partners which are amongst Europe’s leading centers for research (e.g. universities and research institutes) on the subject.

The project is co-ordinated by Professor Yannis Caloghirou of the National Technical university of Athens, Greece.

There is by now a large body of theoretical and empirical research that supports an active Science and Technology (S&T) Policy. In the case of the European Union (EU), a complex nexus of S&T policies are already in place at three levels of governance: European Union, EU member state, and local/regional. Core S&T policy concerns of the EU include raising the competitiveness of European industry, developing a European “economic space” and European “research area”, narrowing the “technology gap” among EU member states, and improving the economic and social cohesion within the region. These pan -European goals require policies to enhance linkages among knowledge -intensive activities in different EU member states and regions.
Contemporary S&T policies a re complex both in terms of program coverage and implementation. The complexity is due to the effect on policy making of intensified global competition, political and economic constraints, and significant advances over the past fifteen years in our under standing of the process of technological advance. These advances have led to a better understanding of the impact of technological innovation on competitive advantage and economic growth, and the direct and indirect effects of an accelerating pace of innovation on modern economies. One must add to these the development of a theory of National Innovation Systems (NIS), which has emphasized the institutional and spatial dimensions of the technological innovation process.

For more information: cordis.europa.eu