K3I-Cycling

As part of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (In German Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF) funding measure “AI Application Hub on Plastic Packaging – Sustainable Circular Economy through Artificial Intelligence”, artificial intelligence (AI) methods are being used to improve the sustainability of plastic packaging – along the entire value chain from design to its re-entry as secondary raw material into economy.

Packaging accounts by far for the largest share of plastic waste worldwide. Due to technical and economic challenges, only a small share of plastic waste re-enters the economy as secondary raw material. In the AI Application Hub on Plastic Packaging, AI aims to enable the path to a sustainable circular economy.

In order to close the cycle for plastic packaging as much as possible, 51 partners from business, science, and society are working together in two Innovation Labs: KIOpti-Pack for design and production and K3I-Cycling for improving mechanical recycling. An important goal is the cross-laboratory exchange of data to share findings across the entire value chain. In addition, the Hub's topics around AI and the circular economy for plastics are accessible to the general public through a variety of events, such as podcasts and an Open Hub Day.

Further project information can be obtained from the official AI-hub homepage .