Opening of SURE PROST: A New Hub for Recycling Technology Advancement in Japan

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has established a new research facility called the SURE Technology Promotion Center, abbreviated as SURE PROST, located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. This center aims to gather advanced sorting technologies and equipment that AIST has developed through various national projects to promote horizontal recycling. The SURE Consortium, formed in 2014 and led by Dr. Tatsuya Oki, a chief researcher at AIST, is the backbone of this initiative. The goal is to enhance recycling facilities, tackle current challenges, and actively spread new theories while helping Japan's recycling industry achieve world-class technological capabilities. SURE PROST is expected to be fully operational by December 2025, following the completion of the construction at the end of March this year.

Overview of SURE PROST

- Location: 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, inside AIST Tsukuba Center West Area
- Total Floor Area: 2,350.1 square meters
- Structure: Two floors above ground and one underground.

SURE PROST consists of four blocks:
1. SURE PROST East Side: Features a large lab and experimental rooms on the first floor where various sorting tests can be conducted. The second floor includes the SURE Hall for seminars and events, as well as a museum that showcases urban mining achievements, serving as a venue for consortium meetings, educational events, and public programs.
2. SURE PROST West Side: Additional facilities include a waste product analysis center equipped with various analytical devices currently under development by the NEDO project. It also houses collaborative development spaces for AIST researchers and consortium member companies.
3. SURE PROST Basement: A large warehouse area for storing components of development devices and various waste products.
4. SURE Visitor Center: Located across the rotary from PROST, this seminar room is designated for workshops and explanations for visitors.

The center also aligns with three existing facilities nearby (CEDEST, RECST, LATEST) to form a strategic urban mining research hub known as the SURE TranSortics Village. This organization covers everything from new technology development driven by national projects to educational training for engineers and researchers, making it an all-around center for urban mining technology development and dissemination in Japan.

Purpose of Establishing SURE PROST

AIST has developed numerous recycling sorting devices and achieved practical utilization of patents over the years, continuing to develop through various NEDO projects. Typically, industry innovations shift towards private-sector development and implementation. However, in the recycling industry, both suppliers (companies providing recycling sorting equipment) and users (companies operating recycling using such equipment) lack mature intermediary and systematization technologies, which hinders the expansion of social implementation. Moreover, the composition of waste products changes dramatically after a few years, necessitating the establishment of application technologies suited to these changes within the private sector.

At SURE PROST, AIST, together with consortium member companies, aims to introduce and systematize various newly developed technologies to make them suitable for contemporary needs. The center intends to spread technical know-how widely within the recycling industry. Additionally, it will establish unformed technologies such as methods for utilizing existing devices and evaluating sorting results, thereby enhancing training for technicians from both manufacturers and users, as well as researchers from national labs and universities. This integrated approach aims to elevate Japan's urban mining technology quality.

Main Facilities of SURE PROST

SURE PROST includes facilities that can accommodate up to 120 people in the SURE Hall and 30 people in the Visitor Center. Multi-purpose event spaces and meeting rooms for 8 to 14 people are also part of the offering, facilitating various seminars, lectures, and collaborative discussions. In the large lab accompanied by the experimental rooms, there will be around 30 crushing and sorting machines that illustrate the patents developed by AIST. This setup allows for tests using a total of 67 machines (30 developed by AIST) both in Japan and internationally. The waste product analysis center will house an array of analytical devices capable of automatically analyzing structural data for waste products and isolating individual components. As development progresses, some analytical capabilities are already available, and the center is expected to support crushing and sorting tests in the large laboratory in the future. The Urban Mining Museum will serve as a permanent exhibition space for learning about recycling technology and AIST's research history, showcasing its sorting research history and technological challenges.

Operating Organizations and Activities

The main bodies steering SURE PROST include the SURE Council and SURE Academy, both established within the SURE Consortium. Their activities focus on supporting consortium member companies through the use of the facilities at SURE PROST. This includes:

- The SURE Council, which organizes events to elucidate AIST's developed machinery, explore systematization combining existing devices, and promote technology understanding and device implementation in recycling companies.
- The SURE Academy, responsible for educating technical professionals and researchers from member firms and universities about various sorting technologies, conducting examinations to gauge understanding, and awarding distinguished titles upon passing. Furthermore, they aim to develop new sorting theories, ultimately enhancing the foundational capabilities of Japan’s recycling industry.

Through focused efforts on technological dissemination, enhancing equipment manufacturer capabilities, and training skilled personnel, SURE PROST is set to accelerate the implementation of advanced sorting systems and solve current sorting technology challenges within the recycling field.

Conclusion

In summary, SURE PROST is more than just a research facility; it is an advanced ecosystem aimed at fostering collaboration, innovation, and education within Japan's recycling sector. As the country aims for world-leading recycling technologies, SURE PROST will serve as a pivotal player in driving those efforts forward.