Clara Bilbao

Paris will host a new edition of In-cosmetics Global between April 14 and 16, one of the most important meetings for the international cosmetics industry.

In this context, GAIKER, a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), will once again take part and present its range of R&D&I services specialising in dermocosmetics. As in previous years, it will also share exhibition space with Dr. Goya Análisis and Anmar Clinical Services.

This event has become a leading showcase event for innovation in personal care, bringing together professionals from around the world who are keen on learning about new ingredients, identifying emerging trends and developing solutions that meet current market demands and can inspire the next generation of cosmetic products.

You can find us at stand 1A30. We look forward to seeing you!

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The RESITES project, coordinated by GAIKER, will enable new recyclable composites to be generated in order to efficiently make lightweight, resistant and sustainable products.

The GAIKER Technology Centre, a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), is coordinating the RESITES project (Recovery of recycled carbon and glass fibres in new recyclable composites), a strategic initiative aimed at researching the optimal reuse of recycled carbon and glass fibres from production waste and scrap. The aim is to improve their properties in order to generate new recyclable composites, modelling their performance and processability to efficiently make lightweight, resistant and sustainable products.

A large amount of composite waste accumulates each year from production scrap and end-of-life items. Although there have been significant advances in composite recycling technologies in recent years, the effective reuse of recovered fibres remains a challenge. In this context, RESITES proposes an innovative approach by investigating a new generation of high performance recyclable composites based on recovered recycled fibre and recyclable resins.

Funded by the Basque Government as part of its ELKARTEK 2025 aid programme for collaborative research in strategic areas, this project will provide solutions in technologies for the functionalising, sizing and hybridising of recycled reinforcements for their recovery, formulation of prepregs, recyclable composites and additive manufacturing materials, as well as the modelling of materials and processes.

As a result of this initiative, different experimental developments of recovered glass and carbon fibres, thermoplastic organosheets, recyclable thermoplastic and thermoset SMC and 3D printing pellets/filaments are expected to be obtained at a laboratory scale. Models will also be developed to predict the behaviour and processability of recyclable prepregs reinforced with recycled fibres.

The GAIKER Technology Centre, an expert in the development of sustainable polymeric materials with improved functional and structural performance, as well as coordinating the project, is participating in several of its lines of work:

1. Comprehensive recovery of recycled carbon and glass fibres through the development of sustainable composite materials and advanced processing techniques. Research is being carried out on the chemical treatment and dosage of short fibres in products such as SMC, GMT and non-woven fabrics, as well as the optimisation of these fabrics through oriented reinforcements and hybrid lamination.
2. Development of reactive (reprocessable) thermoplastic resin prepregs.
3. Study of mechanical and chemical recycling methods to ensure full circularity of the new materials developed.

Application of the advances of this project will have a particularly relevant impact on sectors such as mobility (automotive, railway, aeronautics and maritime), energy, sport and construction, all of which are significant in the Basque industry and economy. They are also areas in which industries linked to the processing of composites play a key role.

Subsidised by the Basque Government

The CHEMCYCLE project is researching and developing advanced chemical recycling technologies that could recover around 285,000 tonnes of complex plastic waste each year.

GAIKER Technology Centre, a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance, BRTA, is participating in the CHEMCYCLE project, whose main objective is to carry out industrial research applied to chemical recycling technologies (pyrolysis, solvolysis) with the potential to recover around 285,000 tonnes of plastic waste that is difficult to recycle in the Basque Country and is currently destined for landfill. This waste, which includes fragments of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), textiles, rejects from the paper sector and plastic fractions from urban and industrial waste, can be transformed into high-value raw materials for Basque industry.

Increasing European regulatory pressure to reduce waste disposal, the low recycling rate of certain complex plastic streams and the need to move towards a real circular economy, reducing dependence on fossil raw materials in various industrial sectors, are the main reasons that gave rise to this project in 2025, which is part of the HAZITEK programme to support business R&D. This is a strategic industrial research and experimental development project involving ten companies, including Tradebe (project leader), through its ELV recycling facilities at FRAGNOR, Amorebieta, along with two research centres in the Basque Science and Technology Network and the environmental cluster, ACLIMA.

CHEMCYCLE will focus on the research and development of advanced chemical recycling technologies for the recovery of complex plastic waste, most of which ends up in landfills or is destined for energy recovery. This will involve the study of improved and automated pre-treatments, as well as the development and optimisation of pyrolysis and solvolysis chemical recycling processes to obtain oils, solids and monomers that can be reused as raw materials. New knowledge will also be generated in upgrading and purification technologies for the chemical products obtained, adapting their physicochemical parameters to market specifications. Finally, the economic and environmental viability of the processes developed will be assessed.

GAIKER's work
GAIKER Technology Centre, with extensive experience in chemical recycling, will participate in the research and validation on a laboratory scale (TRL 3-4) of pyrolysis processes applied to complex plastic waste, as well as catalytic solvolysis processes for PET and polyurethane. It will also work on optimising the performance of the processes and improving the quality of the products obtained, with the aim of maximising their potential for valorisation and adaptation to market specifications.

Project partners
CHEMCYCLE (ZE-2025/00033) brings together 10 companies, 2 research centres from the Basque Science and Technology Network and the environmental cluster, ACLIMA, all working together to ensure an integrated approach from waste collection to its reintroduction into the market:
• Participating companies: Tradebe Amorebieta (coordinator), Zorroza Gestión, Koopera, Tamoin, Global Factor, Lucart, Eiforsa, Vimansa, Nypsa and Asfaltia.
• Technology centres: GAIKER and TECNALIA.
• Cluster: ACLIMA.
This strategic alliance, which integrates waste managers, engineering companies, manufacturers and research centres, fosters a sustainable and circular model in the recycling industry.

Support for Business R&D Aid Programme – HAZITEK Action co-financed by the Basque Government’s Department of Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund 2021-2027 (ERDF)