A look back at the ECP4 Conference: “Trends in Polymers and Composites Circularity”

A look back at the ECP4 Conference: “Trends in Polymers and Composites Circularity”

The ECP4 conference, “The European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform,” entitled “Trends in Polymers and Composites Circularity,” was held from May 13 to 14, 2025, and was co-organized by Axel’One and Polymeris at the Lyon 1 University Campus. This event brought together various experts from clusters, universities, companies, and technical centers that are members of ECP4, of which Polymeris is a key member.

The first day was dedicated to discussions on the emergence and implementation of European projects between members of the association. Presentations focused on the themes of circularity, advanced manufacturing, and digitalization in the polymer and composite sectors.

During the public conference held on the second day, three sessions punctuated the day:

• Technological innovations
• Sustainable materials, levers for improving the circularity of plastics (recycling, enzymatic, supercritical CO₂, etc.)
• Digitization of manufacturing processes (AI, sensors, European projects).

Polymeris, an active member of ECP4, opened the event alongside Axel'One. The cluster was able to present, during a session dedicated to manufacturing and digitalization, the projects of SMEs that are members of the cluster and supported in their digitalization as part of Polytronics and AI REDGIO 5.0.

The day featured interactive Q&A sessions, networking opportunities, and numerous presentations from European stakeholders such as Fraunhofer, Aimplas, IPC, and Mondragon. The event was a rich forum for discussions aimed at advancing the circularity of materials across Europe.