ELISET is a European research and innovation project coordinated by SINBIOSYS in partnership with Polysecure GmbH, supported by the European Innovation Council through the Horizon Europe EIC Transition programme.
The challenge
High-quality plastic recycling requires sorting materials beyond their polymer type. Conventional technologies struggle to distinguish plastics with similar compositions but different origins, uses or additives, limiting the quality and value of recycled materials.
The breakthrough
ELISET develops invisible markers based on silicon quantum dots, which can be incorporated into plastics or applied through inks. Its key innovation is encoding information in the time taken for light emission to decay after excitation. Combined with time-gated detection, these optical codes enable material identification while reducing interference from background fluorescence.
Expected results
The project aims to develop up to 51 distinguishable optical codes, enable detection at marker conce
ntrations below 20 ppm, and validate the technology with Polysecure’s Sort4Circle® sorting system, targeting approximately 99% purity in the separated streams. ELISET will also scale up marker production, assess safety and environmental performance, and prepare the technology for commercial deployment. These advances will support higher-value recycling and material traceability, with potential applications in product authentication.
