AI Open Hub Days: insights into the future of plastics recycling

In November 2024, the AI Open Hub Days took place, a series of events that offered insights into the sustainable circular economy and current technologies in plastics recycling at various locations in Germany. The Open Hub Days aimed to increase the public visibility of the BMBF funding programme ‘AI Application Hub Plastic Packaging – Sustainable Circular Economy through Artificial Intelligence’, which consists of two innovation laboratories: KIOpti-Pack for design and production and K3I-Cycling for mechanical recycling.

Programme by the working group SuR

The working group Material Flow Management and Resource Economy (SuR) at the TU Darmstadt played a major role in the organisation and ensured that the PacK3Ing Analyzer, a state-of-the-art sorting demonstrator, was presented to students at the Lichtwiese campus of the TU Darmstadt. The Analyzer, developed by the Fraunhofer IOSB, impressively demonstrated how intelligent sensor technology optimises the sorting process by analysing lightweight packaging waste in real time. This precise sorting is crucial to obtaining pure materials for high-quality recycled products.

In addition, the workshop ‘Life Cycle Assessment in a Nutshell’ took place on 7 November, led by Tabea Hagedorn and Anton Jäger, both from SuR. The workshop offered an introduction to the methodology of life cycle assessment, during which participants carried out practical exercises to assess environmental impacts along the value chain.

Event locations in Germany

The Open Hub Days comprised several events in Aachen, Nuremberg and Dresden, where specific aspects of the plastics circular economy were presented. This series of events not only provided a practical introduction to innovative technologies but also promoted the exchange between experts, students, and the interested public.