TRACE Call 2025 - A Path to Resilience

TRACE has launched five coordinated funding calls to accelerate Denmark’s transition to a circular and resilient economy. Together, they provide over 128 million DKK in funding, targeting proof-of-concept circular economy (CE) systems and improved methods for measuring systemic impact.

As part of this effort, TRACE is consolidating its project portfolio in pool 4&5 into three Work Stream Focus Areas: Plastics, Textiles, and Common. These Work Stream Focus Areas allow TRACE to build Scalable Proof-of-concept Systems that Leverage Denmark’s Position of Strength and drive broader change.

See all Projetcs

The five coordinated funding calls, designed to accelerate Denmark’s transition to a circular and resilient economy, are:

Call 1) Circular Solutions in the Food Industry

This call supports the development of a Proof-of-Concept Circular Economy System (PoC CE System) for plastics in the food industry.

Call 2) Circular Solutions to Single-Use Plastics and Textiles in the Healthcare Sector

This call supports the development of a Proof-of-Concept Circular Economy System (PoC CE System) for single-use plastics and textiles in the healthcare sector.

TRACE Call 2025 - A Path to Resilience - Funded Projects

HealthW2R

TRACE Pool 4, In progress

HealthW2R develops and demonstrates a scalable Proof‑of‑Concept Circular Economy System for single‑use plastic consumables in healthcare laboratories.

[RE]PAIR

TRACE Pool 4, In progress

[RE]PAIR addresses the need to promote services that extend the lifetime of applied textiles across public and private sectors.

PROLONGing

TRACE Pool 5, In progress

The project supports Design for Longevity (DfL) and helps reduce overproduction and CO₂ emissions in the fashion industry.

SWARM2SCALE

TRACE Pool 5, In progress

SWARM2SCALE develops and scales circular plastics systems through higher education institution-led hubs in Greece, South Africa, and Nigeria.

LoopME

TRACE Pool 5, In progress

LoopME develops and tests a new Deposit & Return System (DRS) for reusable take-away packaging with the aim of reducing single-use packaging waste and supporting large-scale adoption of reuse systems.

SCOPE

TRACE Pool 5, In progress

SCOPE develops and validates a systemic circular solution for food-contact plastics at events and in canteens. By combining reuse systems and food-grade closed-loop recycling, the project aims to reduce single-use plastics and support the transition to a more circular food-service sector.

RE-SAFE

TRACE Pool 5, In progress

RE-SAFE will establish a PoC CE system investigating the chemical safety of reusable lunch containers in Copenhagen school canteens.

RE:Circulate

TRACE Pool 4, In progress

RE:Circulate develops a critical infrastructure for scaling reuse of furniture and workwear textiles in Denmark’s four largest municipalities.

PaX

TRACE Pool 4, In progress

PaX aims to catalyse a systemic shift in how patientwear is designed, used, and recirculated in Danish hospitals.

UNBRAND

TRACE Pool 4, In progress

UNBRAND tackles a central barrier in textile circularity, namely that branded workwear is discarded by the thousands long before its useful lifetime is over, simply because logos and graphics cannot be removed efficiently.

RE-CARE

TRACE Pool 4, In progress

RE-CARE accelerates the circular transition in municipal healthcare, where material use is rising as the 2025 health reform moves more care to local services.

ROUNDS

TRACE Pool 4, In progress

ROUNDS will deliver strategic research addressing two key drivers of single-use plastics and textiles in healthcare.