Collaboration and knowledge exchange
Building cooperation between regions, industries, local authorities, research organisations, sister projects and the wider Hubs for Circularity community.
About the project
The project
THESEUS – A First-of-a-kind Hub for Circularity demonstrator for Attica and peripheral regions, is a Horizon Europe Innovation Action establishing Greece’s first Hub for Circularity, starting from Athens, Attica and supporting wider Greek and European replication.
The project demonstrates Industrial-Urban Symbiosis in practice, connecting cities, regions, utilities, industries, researchers and technology providers to close loops in materials, water and energy.
Coordinator: ICCS
Grant Agreement: 101178059
Duration: 2024 – 2029
At a glance
€21.78M
Total cost
€19.99M
EU contribution
60
Months
52
Partners and associated partners
Project title
THESEUS - A First-of-a-kind Hub for Circularity demonstrator for Attica and peripheral regions
Programme
Horizon Europe
Type of action
HORIZON Innovation Action
Topic
HORIZON-CL4-2024-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-38 - Hubs for circularity for industrialised urban peripheral areas
Grant Agreement No.
101178059
Duration
1 December 2024 - 30 November 2029
Coordinator
ICCS - Institute of Communication and Computer Systems
Consortium
47 beneficiaries and 5 associated partners from 9 countries
What THESEUS is trying to achieve
Circular economy cannot be achieved through isolated recycling actions or single technologies alone. It requires coordinated regional systems where waste streams, water flows, energy needs, industrial capacities, logistics, digital tools and governance structures are connected.
THESEUS responds to this challenge by creating a real-world Hub for Circularity in Attica. The project develops, tests and demonstrates circular technologies and collaboration models in real conditions, with the ambition to support climate neutrality, resource efficiency and the wider uptake of Industrial-Urban Symbiosis across Europe.
Core innovation pillars
THESEUS is structured around five interconnected innovation pillars:
Materials circularity
Developing circular value chains for complex material streams, including textiles, municipal waste, packaging, construction and demolition waste, glass and industrial residues.
Energy and water symbiotic flows
Demonstrating circular solutions for district heating, green hydrogen, sewer mining, reclaimed water reuse, rainwater harvesting, nature-based solutions and sludge valorisation.
Digitalisation and robotics
Using advanced sorting, smart bins, GIS-based symbiotic mapping, matchmaking tools, Digital Product Passports, predictive resource logistics and an H4C marketplace.
Governance, policy alignment and replication
Developing regional roadmaps, stakeholder engagement models, policy recommendations, standardisation links, de-risking approaches and replication pathways.
Footprint and replication
THESEUS combines strong local implementation with European collaboration. Its main demonstration hub is based in Attica and is supported by two dedicated replication ecosystems.
Attica
Greece
Industrial, urban and regional actors work together to test circular solutions across materials, water and energy.
Malmö
Sweden
Focused on industrial and urban residual flows, district heating residual heat, textiles, plastics and resource collaboration.
Mo i Rana / Nordland
Norway
Focused on construction and demolition waste, plastics, textiles, water sludge, process industry symbiosis and regional circular value chains.
Together, these ecosystems create a two-way learning process: Attica acts as the main demonstration hub, while Sweden and Norway support adaptation, comparison and scale-up for wider European use.
Consortium
THESEUS is coordinated by ICCS - Institute of Communication and Computer Systems. The consortium brings together organisations from research, industry, SMEs, public authorities, utilities, standardisation bodies, technology providers and regional replication actors.
THESEUS brings together the actors needed to move circularity from concept to implementation: territorial authorities, research and technology partners, industrial value-chain actors, and organisations supporting standardisation, replication and uptake.
52 organisations
47+5 beneficiaries and associated partners
9 countries
