AIM project: AI-driven digital twins to speed up the development of waste-to-value technologies

The AIM project will use nearly €4 million of EU funding to develop a new generation of digital twins for technologies that turn waste into value. Launched in October 2026 and running for four years, the research is coordinated by the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Tarragona, and the consortium held its kick-off meeting in Barcelona on 3 November. The aim is to build virtual models that link processes at the atomic level with the behaviour of a complete device, supporting the design of processes that convert difficult-to-recycle waste into fuels, chemicals and materials.

In short: The AIM project combines artificial intelligence with multiscale simulations to build digital twins for waste-to-value technologies. It is funded with nearly €4 million over four years under the European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder Challenge. The models will also serve the seven other research projects in the same programme, so that developers can see what is likely to work before a device is built.

What the AIM project does among eight EU-funded research efforts

AIM, short for AI-Multiscale Integration for Waste-to-Value Digital Twins, was selected under the EIC Pathfinder Challenge 2025 call. Across the call’s four thematic challenges, the EIC chose 30 projects from 647 eligible proposals, with around €118 million in funding. The fourth challenge covers waste-to-value devices for the circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials: eight projects were funded here, sharing roughly €30.5 million.

The eight projects explore different routes to getting value out of difficult-to-recycle waste. They include work on breaking down mixed plastics, recovering materials from desalination brines, treating wastewater and converting CO₂ into chemicals. Within this portfolio AIM has a distinct role: it is the only project that develops a computational tool, digital twins, instead of a process of its own. Its models will give the other seven teams computational support to understand how their technologies work and how different materials or operating conditions would affect performance.

From atoms to a complete device: why the scales are hard to connect

Working with waste is difficult because the material is usually contaminated or contains substances that get in the way of conventional recycling. During processing, many things also happen at once and at very different scales. Chemical reactions take place at the level of atoms while materials change, transport processes occur, and the device as a whole runs under complex operating conditions.

Today these levels are mostly studied separately, which makes it hard to connect detailed fundamental knowledge with what a device delivers in practice. AIM starts from the idea that the system has to be treated as a whole. By combining artificial intelligence with multiscale simulations, what happens at the smallest scale and the performance of the full device can be captured in a single model. According to the coordinator, Professor Núria López, this should lead to better and more realistic waste-to-value technologies.

Virtual trials before costly pilot plants

In practice, a digital twin lets researchers test ideas virtually, compare different approaches and spot problems before a device is built or scaled up. That could reduce the need for expensive physical trials and pilot plants, and support better-informed decisions on which solutions deserve testing under real conditions.

The scale matters here. Based on the announcements, this is not a real-time, sensor-fed replica of an operating sorting plant or incinerator, but a set of models that support the design of new devices still under development. Waste professionals are more familiar with modelling at the other end of the range, for example when a university model describes municipal solid waste management as a national network. AIM works from the opposite direction: it starts with molecules and builds upwards to the device.

Seven partners from seven countries: who contributes what

The consortium brings together seven institutions and companies from seven European countries with complementary expertise:

• ICIQ (Spain): coordinates the project and integrates experimental and computational data to keep the different scales consistent.
• University of Jyväskylä (Finland) and Ruhr University Bochum (Germany): develop the computational simulation methods that underpin the digital twins.
• EPFL, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland): leads the multiscale modelling.
• Matgenix (Belgium): provides the artificial intelligence tools.
• DIFFER, the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (Netherlands): supports experimental automation.
• AGATA Communications (United Kingdom): leads communication and dissemination.

The coordinator, Núria López, is among the top one per cent of the world’s most cited researchers according to the Clarivate ranking.

The Finnish contribution: computational methods from Jyväskylä

According to its announcement of 9 November, the University of Jyväskylä plays a significant part in the work: together with Ruhr University Bochum, it is developing the simulation methods on which the digital twins are built. The Finnish team is led by Professor Karoliina Honkala, whose research group is internationally recognised in computational nanocatalysis. Honkala says digital twins open up entirely new ways of understanding complex circular economy processes, because the behaviour of a technology can be predicted before experimental testing.

Senior Lecturer Marko Melander and Postdoctoral Researcher Xinwei Zhu are also taking part. Melander points out that the project trains new experts in a field where artificial intelligence and sustainable technologies meet. That echoes a point we covered recently: a workforce with circular skills is one of Europe’s bottlenecks.

What this means for the waste sector

AIM fits into Europe’s effort to cut waste, emissions and dependence on fossil resources at the same time. On the road to defossilisation, industry and energy systems are looking for ways to replace fossil inputs with other carbon sources, including waste such as contaminated water, CO₂ and plastics. The size of that task is clear from the fact that recycling currently covers only a small share of the chemical industry’s carbon demand. The project is also aligned with the European Green Deal, REPowerEU and the Fit for 55 package.

These topics will be familiar to our readers. Putting CO₂ to use is a central question for CCUS investments at waste-to-energy plants, and breaking down mixed plastics leads straight back to the debate on how chemically recycled plastic should be accounted for. How much work it takes to turn a laboratory process into an industrial one is well illustrated by recent research on silicone recycling.

The news should still be kept in proportion. Pathfinder is the EIC’s instrument for early-stage, high-risk and high-gain research, so AIM is close to fundamental science and not a market-ready product. The project has only just begun, results are years away, and the announcements so far give no measurable targets for how much development time or trial cost could be saved. It will have no direct effect on how household waste is collected or sorted. What is at stake is finding out faster and more cheaply which of today’s laboratory-scale waste-to-value processes can become industrial solutions.

Frequently asked questions: AIM project

What is the AIM project?

The AIM project is a four-year European research effort that uses artificial intelligence and multiscale simulations to build digital twins for waste-to-value technologies. Its full name is AI-Multiscale Integration for Waste-to-Value Digital Twins. The virtual models link atomic-level processes with the behaviour of a complete device, so developers can see what is likely to work before anything is built.

How much funding did the AIM project receive, and how long will it run?

The AIM project received nearly €4 million in EU funding under the European Innovation Council’s Pathfinder Challenge 2025 call. It started in October 2026 and will run for four years, with the kick-off meeting held in Barcelona on 3 November. Eight projects were funded under the waste-to-value challenge, sharing roughly €30.5 million in total.

Who is in the AIM project consortium?

The consortium consists of seven institutions and companies from seven European countries. It is coordinated by ICIQ in Spain under Professor Núria López. The partners are the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, EPFL in Switzerland, Matgenix in Belgium, the DIFFER institute in the Netherlands and AGATA Communications in the United Kingdom.

How do digital twins help develop waste-to-value technologies?

Digital twins let researchers test ideas virtually, compare approaches and identify problems before a device is built or scaled up. This could reduce the need for costly physical trials and pilot plants. They also help teams decide which solutions deserve testing under real conditions, and show how different materials or operating conditions would affect a technology’s performance.

What is the University of Jyväskylä’s role in the work?

The University of Jyväskylä, together with Ruhr University Bochum, is developing the computational simulation methods on which the digital twins are built. The Finnish team is led by Professor Karoliina Honkala, whose group is internationally recognised in computational nanocatalysis. Marko Melander and Xinwei Zhu are also involved, and the work trains new experts in the field.

When will the results turn into industrial solutions?

That is not yet known, because the research has only just started and is at an early stage. Pathfinder is the EIC’s instrument for high-risk, high-gain research and does not fund market-ready products. The announcements give no measurable targets for the development time or cost that could be saved, and the project has no direct effect on household waste collection.

🔗 Official sources and references: 👉

• University of Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä participates in developing AI-driven digital twins for waste-to-value technologies (9 November 2026)
• IndustriAmbiente: Núria López lidera un proyecto europeo de 4 millones de euros para transformar residuos mediante inteligencia artificial (5 November 2026)
• EUWID Recycling und Entsorgung: EU-Projekt entwickelt digitale Zwillinge für Abfallverwertung (11 November 2026)
• Generalitat de Catalunya: Dos projectes catalans seleccionats a la convocatòria EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2025

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