Polytag has entered a partnership through the Welsh Government (Smart Cymru) with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru to aid in the validation of its technology.
This is another major steppingstone into the development of Polytag’s platform to enable Digital Deposit Return Schemes (DDRS) and methodologies to accurately calculate and fairly assign Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT).
What is the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC)?
The AMRC is a network of world-leading research and innovation centres working with advanced manufacturing companies around the globe, led by the University of Sheffield.
Polytag is going to be working in the state-of-the-art installations of the AMRC Cymru in Broughton, Wales, built in partnership with Airbus and the Welsh Government. Polytag is one of the first AMRC Cymru partners and the work together will fit perfectly in the AMRC key areas of support of automation, digitalisation and product and process verification.
What is Polytag going to be doing with the AMRC?
The work will be divided into 3 modules:
- Printing technologies: optimising Polytag’s unique identifier’s printing process, ensuring that production lines maintain current speeds and that the chosen inks are durable throughout the product lifecycle.
- Polytag’s IT platform and consumer-facing App: ensuring best of class in security, data transfer and image capture to support DDRS, EPR and PPT.
- Work on Digital DRS to integrate it with Reverse Vending Machines (fraud avoidance) and interface it with banking solutions.
Polytag will eventually have a ‘bumper to bumper’ demonstration line in the AMRC. From printing at the production sites, to simulation of the lifecycle of the packaging, ending up with a Material Recovery Facility able to pick up our unique identifiers.
How can you get involved?
If you’re a brand owner, printer or start-up working on the development of tag and trace systems to enable Digital Deposit Return Schemes, we’d love to hear from you and see if there’s scope for collaboration. Please get in touch through our Contact Us page.