ECWALI
Circular Economy of Aluminium alloys and Stainless Steel in Wallonia
ECWALI Project
ECWALI is part of the Reverse Metallurgy+ portfolio submitted by the Reverse Metallurgy platform as part of a call launched by the Walloon Government for the implementation of the Circular Wallonia strategy which includes two priority value chains, metallurgy and construction. A total of 18 projects were selected and cover the themes of "low-carbon industry" and "circular economy", two pillars of the Wallonia Recovery Plan for which the Walloon Region has mobilized 113 million Euros. The 18 funded projects have a job creation potential of 991 direct jobs and 1,524 indirect sustainable jobs in sustainable sectors of activity.
As part of the PICKIT project implemented in the first phase of Reverse Metallurgy, the GeMMe successfully demonstrated the recycling of metal scraps by families of alloys. This success convinced Comet to exploit the technology at the industrial scale with the COOPILOT MULTIPICK project.
Wallon Region Recovery Plan - Project presentation film
ECWALI focuses on the specific sorting of aluminum and stainless-steel alloys to provide increased added value to the final products. Indeed, the aluminum and stainless steel sorted by MULTIPICK, or by other sorting systems used at non-ferrous metal recyclers facilities, are mixtures of different alloy grades generally remelted for low-end applications. Sorting specific alloys will generate added economic and environmental value. Indeed, the environmental gain generated by the recycling of alloy elements (Cu, Si, Mg, Mo, Cr, Ni) in their original functionality via a process and a shorter circuit is significant.
The purpose of the ECWALI project is therefore the integration and industrialization, in the MULTIPICK line on the Comet site, of LIBS and XRF analytical sensors and data processing algorithms. These algorithms will exploit data generated by 3D, hyperspectral, XRT, XRF and LIBS sensors as well as the most recent developments in artificial intelligence (Deep Learning) with the aim of sorting aluminum and stainless-steel alloys to maximize the added value and environmental gain associated with the sorting of these flows.
Partnership
Coordination by COMET Traitements SA
Comet Traitements, Aperam, Marichal Ketin, Centre spatial de Liège, Cilyx, CRM Group, Université de Liège GeMMe, Université de Liège PEPs, UCLouvain Earth and Life Institute
© GeMMe
Funding
Total Project Budget : 15.8M€
ULiège budget : 4.9M€
Timeline
2022 - 2026
Communication
updated on 9/1/25
