From 16 to 18 September 2026, EVEN CLOSER and its sister project CLOSER were presented at the 20th edition of RemTech Expo at Ferrara Expo, Italy’s national reference hub for environmental technologies, covering remediation, territorial regeneration, water resources and sustainability.
At the Calabria Region Stand
The two projects were hosted at the institutional stand of the Calabria Region, a partner in both consortia, where the region’s Department of Labour, Enterprise and Productive Areas and project partner VELTHA presented them to the visitors of the fair through a dedicated presentation and printed information materials. Alongside the EVEN CLOSER and CLOSER information sheets, the stand featured a roll-up on the recovery of critical materials from WEEE in Calabria, focused on the investments under way in the region and their future developments.
Two I3 Projects, One Value Chain
EVEN CLOSER (GA No. 101228240) and CLOSER (GA No. 101161109) are both co-funded by the European Union under the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) instrument and share the same challenge: building a pan-European circular value chain to recover critical raw materials (CRMs) from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and feed them back into the semiconductor value chain, with the aim of strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy in the supply of materials. CLOSER was launched in October 2024, while EVEN CLOSER started in November 2025 and runs until October 2028.
Over the three days of the fair, the participation offered the opportunity to engage with Italian and international visitors on the contribution of both initiatives to industrial competitiveness, to the sustainability of regions and to Europe’s raw materials policy.
Upcoming Events
EVEN CLOSER’s upcoming events include the Czech-Slovak Circular Summit 2026 in Bratislava on 15 October and the ECEK Innovation Showcase in Malta on 13 November.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s I3 instrument under grant agreement N.101228240. Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.