Partner Spotlight: Clust-ER MECH Driving Collaboration, Innovation and Policy Impact in CLOSER
October 29, 2026
Clust-ER Meccatronica e Motoristica (Clust-ER MECH) is the Emilia-Romagna industrial cluster for mechatronics and automotive, bringing together companies, research centers, and training organizations to support advanced manufacturing, smart mobility, and sustainable industrial systems. Through its extensive innovation ecosystem, Clust-ER MECH plays a key role in connecting industry, research, and policymakers to accelerate Europe’s transition towards a more circular and resilient economy.
Within the CLOSER Project, Clust-ER MECH leads several important activities in Work Package 8:
T8.1 Strategic Communication, Dissemination and Public Relations Plan
T8.4 Commercial Strategy and Stakeholder-Driven Fundraising for Exploitation.
T8.5 Synergistic EU Collaborations & Reinforcing ERA through M-ERA.NET Integration.
Recent update
While technological innovation is essential for recovering Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) from e-waste, Clust-ER MECH’s latest work highlights an equally important challenge: the policy and regulatory framework needed to enable circular value chains at scale.
As part of its activities in CLOSER, Clust-ER MECH has been analyzing key barriers currently affecting electronics circularity, including:
– Complex regulations governing cross-border waste movements
– Industry standards that limit the adoption of refurbished electronic components in critical sectors
– The transition gap before Digital Product Passport requirements become fully applicable
The analysis also identifies several recommendations to support Europe’s strategic autonomy in semiconductors and critical raw materials, including streamlined pathways for CRM recovery, updated quality standards that recognize reuse (like IATF 16949), and greater adoption of advanced diagnostic and sorting technologies for legacy e-waste.
By combining stakeholder engagement, policy analysis, and ecosystem building, Clust-ER MECH is helping create the conditions needed for circular electronics solutions to move from pilot projects to large-scale deployment.