A Path to Resilience

SWARM2SCALE

Lead Organization: Aalborg University

Project Period: April 2026 - March 2029

Pool: TRACE Pool 5

Project Status: New

SWARM2SCALE aligns with TRACE’s tipping point “Integrated – Circular Becomes the System Default” by scaling circular plastics systems into HUBs orchestrated by Higher Education Institutions in Greece, South Africa and Nigeria. The core idea is to embed demonstrators within HEIs through Hubs that deliver operational governance, data generation, and professional training, creating replicable Proof-of-Concept Circular Economy Systems.

SWARM2SCALE delivers impact by building infrastructure diverting ≈200t/year of plastics, reducing ≈400t CO₂-eq/year, training≈200 people, and advancing CRL levels 3→6. It strengthens EU–Africa collaboration and provides policy and investment frameworks for scaling beyond 2029.

Participating partners: Aalborg University, National Technical University of Athens, University of Johannesburg, University of Nigeria, Igbinedion University Okada, TEREC, NATURAL ECO CAPITAL LIMITED, Wemtap Tech Limited, Asbury International Limited, Windfall Engineering Projects LTD

Funding call: International Scaling of Proof-of-Concept Circular Economy Systems

Project Leader

Brian Vejrum Wæhrens

Mail: bvw@mp.aau.dk

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