Powerhouse Energy Group has joined the Horizon Europe Innovation Action project JUST-CIRCLE, a multinational initiative designed to examine how circular business models can be developed, measured, and scaled across different sectors.
Led by Brunel Business School at Brunel University of London, JUST-CIRCLE brings together 14 partners from nine countries and has a total consortium value of approximately €5.85 million, including nearly €5 million in European Union funding. Powerhouse Energy expects to receive around £225,000 through the project, supported by a 70% grant contribution, for the application and evaluation of its waste conversion technology.
The project reflects a broader challenge facing the circular economy sector: while many industries have adopted sustainability commitments, practical models for measuring environmental impact, economic value creation, and long-term resource efficiency remain inconsistent. JUST-CIRCLE aims to address this gap by developing frameworks for sustainability accounting, lifecycle impact assessment, and circular business model innovation.
For Powerhouse Energy, participation in the project aligns with its focus on converting difficult-to-recycle waste streams into low carbon energy products. The company’s technology processes materials such as waste plastics and end-of-life tires to produce syngas, which can potentially be used for producing hydrogen, chemical intermediates, and electricity.
However, the role of waste-to-energy technologies within circular economy strategies remains a complex issue. While advanced conversion technologies can provide alternatives for waste streams that cannot be economically recycled, their contribution to circularity depends on factors including lifecycle emissions, energy efficiency, feedstock quality, and whether they reduce reliance on virgin resources. Projects such as JUST-CIRCLE are increasingly focused on developing methodologies that assess these factors rather than evaluating sustainability claims solely on the basis of waste diversion.
The consortium will test circular economy approaches across several industries, including agriculture, food services, waste-to-energy, and circular water reuse. By involving academic institutions, businesses, and social economy organizations, the initiative is designed to examine how circular models perform under different operational and market conditions.
The project is coordinated by an academic team led by Dr. Grigorios Theodosopoulos from Brunel Business School, with partners including SPI – Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação, The American College of Greece, Queen Mary School of Business & Management, and the University of Naples Federico II, among others.
