COMPANY NAME Ocean Material
COUNTRY Germany
SECTOR Mobility, Transport & Automotive
CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODEL Circular supply chain, Product life extension, Recovery and recycling
Challenge
Together with our partners, we developed a recycling machine which is able to produce logitic pallets out of ocean plastic. This way we are cleaning up the oceans and producing a valuable product for industry possible at large scale. Before introducing it into the market, we thought about a way how to keep the material as long as possible in use. The solution was not very difficult to find – a take back system, so that the plastic pallets may be used again and again. But how to establish such a program?
Solution
Our main focus was about collecting information about a structured mechanism to retrieve the products after use. Otherwise the circular potential of the material cannot be realised. The project focused on evaluating economic, technological, environmental, and regulatory feasibility of a closed-loop return system enabling reuse, traceability, and end-of-life material recovery. We validated hybrid circular business models combining service-based return logic, digital traceability, and controlled end-of-use recovery. Planned activities included market and system scoping, technology assessment, economic and environmental modelling, business model validation, regulatory fit analysis, and consolidation into a decision framework. We experienced a high stakeholder interest in circular solutions, especially among FMCG brands and logistics providers, but acceptance depends on practical incentive models.
Impact
The key findings for us were answers to three central questions: what customers need in order to work with us, under which conditions the model pays off, and how a strategy for introducing the platform to the European market could look. If we then want to implement this globally, it will of course need to be adjusted. However, we will not be starting from scratch. The Up2Circ results therefore lay the foundation for insights that we can scale later.
To be more specific, we now have a first, model-based understanding of the return rate of our pallets, as this is essential for the business model. This data increases overall predictability and therefore improves the robustness of the business model. In addition, based on return flows and transport savings, we can estimate a system-level improvement in energy efficiency of around 30%. For the recycling machine itself, these assumptions will have to be confirmed once the machine has been built and commissioned, as this cannot be validated at this stage.
Compared to conventional pallet systems, including wood-based pallets, our pallets made from recycled marine plastic show significant savings potential. Preliminary assessments based on weight and logistics considerations indicate that energy demand could be several times lower. These estimates are derived from scenario modelling and will be further refined and validated in future pilot phases.
Key Takeaway
Our experience in this field has taught us that, in the circular economy, the same thing does not always have to be created from the same thing. That was my initial assumption: how can a dirty plastic bottle be turned into a new, clean plastic bottle? While this is certainly desirable, it is not always as effective as it may seem at first glance. Such approaches can result in very limited and narrow product cycles.
What helped us was broadening our perspective and clarifying what we are actually trying to achieve: keeping materials in use. This does not necessarily mean that materials always have to be used in exactly the same way. Plastic from a drinking bottle, for example, could be used as packaging in its next life.