The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) reports that more than 170 organisations have joined the European Circular Composites Alliance (ECCA) since its launch in March. Representatives from many of these will meet for discussions with EuCIA members and representatives from the European Commission in Brussels on 4th December at the alliance’s first General Assembly.
A sectorial alliance of EuCIA, the ECCA’s mission is to advance the circular economy for composite materials by bringing together all stakeholders and driving collective action. Voluntary initiatives such as this play a vital role in shaping future regulations and the ECCA will serve as a platform for dialogue with the European Commission. The ECCA’s five Working Groups, which have been meeting since August, will present their objectives and roadmaps towards circularity at the General Assembly.
The Working Groups
Four of the ECCA Working Groups focus on key market sectors for composite materials – Aerospace & Defence, Road Vehicles & Public Transportation, Industrial & Recreational, and Construction. The fifth, Cross-over, will foster synergies across the groups and address regulatory, funding, and standards barriers at EU and national levels.
Each Working Groups is being coordinated by industry leaders offering expertise in these areas.
Aerospace & Defence 
Chair: David Tilbrook, Hexcel Composites
Vice-Chair: Gabriele Badini, Westlake
David Tilbrook: “The Aerospace and Defence Working Group is dedicated to maximising the retention of value in advanced composites vital for aviation and defence. Our goal is to enhance recycling rates of both composite production residual materials and end-of-service composites. This will be achieved through proactive collaboration and engagement across supply chains within and outside our sector.”
Road Vehicles & Public Transportation
Chair: Charles Göbbels, Reprocover
Vice-chair: Thomas Wegman, AOC
Thomas Wegman: “Composites bring lightweight and great aerodynamics to cars, trucks and trains. It goes without saying that we should reuse or recycle these valuable materials after many years of service.”
Industrial & Recreational
Chair: Julia Minici, Afterwind
Vice-chair: Sam Donegani, Composite Braiding Ltd
Sam Donegani: “My personal objective is to help to build a world-leading composites community for Europe that leads the way in efficiently and effectively using and re-using composites for environmental and economic benefit.”
Construction
Chair: Julia Minici, Afterwind
Vice-chair: Lorenzo Grazia, Polynt
Julia Minici: “The dream of the Construction Working Group is a Europe where recycled composite materials define the built environment ꟷ where façades, bridges and infrastructure are designed for circularity, recovered materials flow seamlessly back into new applications, and construction becomes a catalyst for a truly circular economy.”
Cross-over
Chair: Philip Easthill, European Boating Industry (EBI)
Vice-chair: Helen Boston, Alta
Philip Easthill: “The cooperation across the composites value chain and all use sectors is essential to realise the cross-sectoral potential of composites circularity and recycling. For EBI, this is an essential step to advance a key priority for our sector.”
Partners
The first ECCA General Assembly is supported by:
Further information
New members are welcome. The objectives of the ECCA, the Declaration of the Alliance and application to join are available on the EuCIA website: ECCA – EuCIA.
A list of ECCA members is available on the EuCIA website: ECCA – EuCIA. This will be updated regularly.
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