The Austrian State Prize for Innovation 2024 goes to ENGEL for the two-stage process for more energy-efficient plastic recycling

L to R: Dr. Johannes Kilian, Univ. Prof. Dr. Martin Kocher, Dr. Klaus Fellner, DI Stefan Fehringer. (Photo: ENGEL)

On October 7, 2024, the Austrian Federal Minister for Labour and Economy, Martin Kocher, awarded the prize in Vienna. The national award recognizes Austria's most innovative companies, and the jury acknowledged ENGEL's contribution as a pioneering transformation in the recycling process.

In their statement, the jury highlighted the importance of the two-stage process: "This method is highly innovative and ecologically extremely valuable. Both the benefit of the project and the promotion of innovation within the company were highly positively evaluated. By eliminating an additional process step, resources and costs are significantly saved. The technology enhances the capabilities of recycling processing, reduces the global CO₂ footprint, promotes the circular economy, and revolutionizes the industry with an energy savings of 30%. "

"What is innovative and special about the two-stage process is that it shortens the recycling route. In the previous processing of recycled materials, the raw material was fed into the injection molding machine in granulate form, which had been pre-sorted. With ENGEL's new two-stage process, shredded recycled material can now be directly processed into new parts without prior preparation. In the first stage, plastic flakes are melted in a plasticizing screw. Then, contaminants and odors are removed via a continuous melt filter and a degassing unit. The injection and shaping of the component then constitute the second stage. This allows the production of plastic parts from recycled material to be reduced to a single process step, and the recycled material can be processed directly at the injection molding machine. This reduces investment costs, energy consumption, and CO₂ emissions," explains Dr. Klaus Fellner, Head of Application Technologies at ENGEL.

Dr. Johannes Kilian, Head of Process and Application Technology at ENGEL, emphasizes: "ENGEL, as Austria's largest machine manufacturer, is an innovative family business. We have been actively engaged with the topic of recycling for many years. Therefore, this innovation award is a significant signal for ENGEL and the entire plastics industry. The national award for innovation underscores the relevance of plastics and plastic recycling, because in the face of climate change and carbon neutrality, the material plastic and the circular economy are an indispensable building block for a sustainable future."