ALBA Synchrotron
This year's edition of the ALBA Synchrotron Industrial Workshop was dedicated to "The circular economy of polymeric textile materials". The event took place last Thursday, May 15, and was organized by the ALBA Industrial Office and the Advanced Materials Cluster. It also had the collaboration of the Waste Cluster of Catalonia, the Packaging Cluster, and Tèxtils.CAT, and was funded with the support of ACCIÓ, the Catalan Waste Agency (ARC), and the ReMade@ARI project, which facilitates access to scientific infrastructures to promote the circular economy.
A day of knowledge sharing and connection between companies and synchrotron techniques
The event brought together around 80 professionals from companies and organizations across various sectors with the aim of fostering synergies, boosting innovation, and exploring the circularity of polymeric textile materials from an inter-cluster and scientific perspective.
The day began with a welcome speech by Caterina Biscari, Director of the ALBA Synchrotron, and Ona Bombí, Cluster Manager of the MAV Cluster.
Following this, Virginia Boix, scientist at ALBA's Industrial Office, presented ReMade@ARI. The ReMade project represents a great opportunity for attendees, as it provides easy and coordinated access to over 50 European analytical research infrastructures. This service is entirely free for SMEs conducting research related to the circular economy. ALBA is one of the research infrastructures that industry can access through the ReMade project to carry out analytical studies.
A series of presentations followed, focusing on the role of clusters as drivers of the circular economy, featuring: Carmen Lopez-Quintana (Catalan Waste Cluster), Ona Bombí (MAV Cluster), Mònica Riera (Packaging Cluster), and Ariadna Detrell (Tèxtils.CAT).
The next presentation by Eduardo Solano, scientist at ALBA’s NCD-SWEET beamline, captivated the audience with "Analyzing the invisible: synchrotron contributions to sustainable polymers," showcasing how synchrotron light enables precise study of polymeric materials' structures.
A key moment of the event was the inspiring talk by Jose F. Lopez-Aguilar, founder of OiKo Design Office, on circular economy applications for polymeric textile materials, including practical cases of redesign and material valorization such as fishing nets and Tetrapack waste.
A round table followed, moderated by Lopez-Aguilar, featuring top-level panelists: Ainhoa Tolentino, CEO and co-founder of ONYRIQ; Jordi Guimet, CEO of PLASTICBAND & MATURI; and Marta Ibáñez, Head of Quality and R&D at FINSA - JOB GROUP.
The discussion emphasized innovation as the axis of circularity, with concrete examples of new processes, technologies, and business models that give materials a second life and enhance companies' competitiveness.
The session concluded with the presentation of business challenges and needs identified through a pre-event survey among participating companies. Shared interests were thus identified for future collaborations in ecodesign, development of new materials, and waste reuse.
Connections that create opportunities
After the networking lunch, attendees visited ALBA’s experimental area guided by staff from the Industrial Office. They were introduced to the various material characterization techniques offered by the synchrotron’s 11 beamlines.
With participation mainly from members of the organizing clusters, this event served as a strategic meeting point between science, industry, and sustainability. A further step towards a real, applied, and collaborative circular economy.