RECIPE

Reducing Energy Consumption in Plastics Engineering

RECIPE (Reduced Energy Consumption in Plastics Engineering) was a three year project designed to provide European plastics processors with the knowledge, justifi cation and tools needed to reduce their energy consumption through the implementation of best practice and the introduction of new technologies.

This industry comprises in excess of 27,000 companies (more than 80% SMEs) employing over one million people, and with total sales of over 100 billion euros. If it were possible to reduce energy consumption across the industry by 10%, this would result in an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of more than three million tonnes.

The objectives of the project were:

• Collation of existing knowledge, material and experience from across the EU, with the intention of promoting the 'best of the best'.
• Industry specific web-based energy saving tools.
• Look beyond current best practice to provide the industry with information on novel technologies and practices.
• Dissemination programme which will increase awareness throughout the European plastics processing industry of the most recent energy reducing technologies and materials development.

Organisational Information

Budget: €900k
Funding: €447k
Start Date: January 2005
Finish Date: December 2007
Duration (in months): 36
Lead Partner (Co-ordinator): iSmithers, UK

Participants

Results – What happened next?

The results of the project include:

• A Low Energy Plastics Processing European Best Practice Guide, published in six languages.
• An interactive tool kit to enable companies to evaluate energy consumption and look closely at individual processes in the plant. It will provide guidance on efficiency and highlight key plant areas where the most substantial energy and cost savings can be most easily achieved.
• A 'Cost of Ownership Model' to enable processors to calculate the cost of operating a piece of equipment over its projected lifetime, based on energy efficiency and projected usage.
• Benchmarking energy usage in plastics processing companies across Europe in 2005 to establish where variations exist from 'typical' usage and understand how companies view and manage their energy consumption.

Over 2,000 copies of Low Energy Plastics Processing European Best Practice Guide have been downloaded from the project website demonstrating that there was a need for such a publication within the industry.

Over 300 different dissemination activities/events were recorded, including publication of press releases in trade journals to giving presentations at international events. The dissemination programme was one of the key achievements of the RECIPE project.

Members of the RECIPE consortium are now asked to participate in events organised by external companies to present and discuss information on energy effi ciency in the plastics processing industry.

Finally, the RECIPE project has established a 'specific energy consumption' benchmark for European plastics processors and enables them to calculate their own energy consumption and compare themselves against the average.

Following the successes of the RECIPE project, six RECIPE partners (Rapra, BPF, AIMPLAS, PEP, CRIF and Fraunhofer-ICT) and fi ve new organisations (Tomáš Bata University in Zlín, TECOS, ISQ, CARMA and CENTIMFE) developed the ENER-Plast project.

ENER-Plast (EIE/07/052/SI2.466695) builds on the work of RECIPE and looks at energy efficiency throughout the whole manufacturing process, from product concept and design through to assembly and distribution.

Project website: www.eurecipe.com