ECCA off to a flying start

More than 160 organisations have joined ECCA to date, the European voluntary alliance for circular composites launched last May by the European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA). This strong support from organisations throughout Europe confirms EuCIA’s conviction that composites circularity is a key driver for the entire value chain and will only be fully achieved through the collaboration of all stakeholders.

ECCA, a sectorial alliance of EuCIA, will provide a platform for knowledge sharing and cooperation, driving collective action to establish truly circular, sustainable value chains for composite materials. Alignment with EU policy frameworks such as the Green Industrial Deal and the Circular Economy Act (which is currently undergoing public consultation) will be key to the Alliance’s success. Through EuCIA, the ECCA has already opened a dialogue with EU policy officers.

The launch of the ECCA comes at a time when the European Commission is increasing its focus on circularity. Circularity is moving to the heart of industrial policy and is now also seen as an integral part of Europe’s competitiveness agenda. The new Circular Economy Act, due for adoption in 2026, aims to accelerate the transition to a more circular economy and increase use of recycled materials.

Composites are ideally suited to a circular economy, offering a long service life and many options for lifetime extension. But to achieve full circularity there are challenges to be addressed, particularly in upscaling sustainable recycling technologies. ECCA will build on EuCIA’s ongoing work to promote the sustainability and circularity of composite materials. It will aim to identify and resolve legal, economic and technical barriers to composites recycling and boost the uptake of recycled materials in new products.

Roberto Frassine, President of EuCIA: “With the ECCA we aim to enable effective stakeholder engagement and build consensus within the value chain on the priority actions for the future. We will set measurable, transparent targets to track progress. Alliances such as the ECCA can help shape future legislation and one of our first actions will be to provide the composites industry’s perspective on the new Circular Economy Act.”

Eric Pierrejean, CEO of JEC Group, one of the founding member of the Alliance: “As JEC, we are dedicated to fostering the development of the composites industry worldwide. As a long-standing partner of EuCIA we fully support this important initiative, which perfectly aligns with our own activities to promote circular solutions in the composites industry. We look forward to collaborating with the ECCA and its members as they take composites circularity to the next level.”