"In Europe, we need policies geared toward the recovery of strategic technology sectors, with leading and competitive companies.
With a solid track record in chemical engineering and ceramic technology, José Gustavo Mallol Gasch is one of the most authoritative voices on industrial sustainability. A PhD in Chemical Sciences and associate professor at the Universitat Jaume I, he served for over a decade as Director General of the Ceramic Industries Research Association (AICE), leading the Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC-AICE) toward a new era of innovation, energy efficiency, and the circular economy.
Author of more than 50 scientific articles in specialized journals, Mallol has participated in more than 70 R&D projects. His experience also extends to the field of battery recycling, a key area for the energy transition, where he has promoted pioneering projects, such as the collaboration between ITC-AICE and Neptury Technologies for the development of new electrode manufacturing systems.
A specialist in the handling and processing of solid materials and industrial powders, he has collaborated closely with Techsolids, contributing his technical and strategic vision to the sector's major challenges. We spoke with him about sustainability, recycling, ceramic innovation, and the future of an industry facing significant challenges, but also great opportunities.
For those unfamiliar with ITC-AICE, could you explain what your work entails and what role you play in the ceramics industry?
Our technology center was founded more than 50 years ago with an innovative vision: to transfer university and scientific knowledge to the ceramics sector to boost its competitiveness. This collaboration, initiated with the University of Valencia and consolidated with the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón, is today a success story in technology transfer.
Its main objective is the development of R&D projects for direct application in industry, along with analysis, testing, certification, consulting, and training services. With headquarters at the University of Valencia (UJI) and the Almassora industrial park—in the heart of the Castellón ceramics cluster—the ITC-AICE contributes decisively to the global leadership of Spanish ceramics in innovation, quality, and design, with exports to more than 180 countries.
Ceramics is a key sector in Spanish industry. What are the main technological and environmental challenges it currently faces?
The main challenges we face are decarbonization, the implementation of Industry 4.0, sustainable chemistry, and product diversification.
How does ITC-AICE collaborate with companies to promote sustainability and efficiency in manufacturing processes?
As I mentioned earlier, our core business is R&D, with a clear commitment to high-risk, disruptive research, which is essential for achieving significant advances in the sector. These types of projects, which require public funding due to their long-term nature, are complemented by research conducted directly with companies, under private contracts and with confidentiality clauses. In 2023 alone, the center worked on 62 publicly funded projects and 69 privately funded projects.
The results of public research are disseminated through conferences, scientific publications, technology workshops—such as the TECHSOLIDS Workshop, in which ITC-AICE has participated since its inception—and training activities. In 2023, the center taught 46 courses to 746 students, in addition to actively contributing to the Master's Degree in Ceramic Technology at the Universitat Jaume I, a benchmark program in specialized training since 2020.
In fact, the ceramics industry is a major energy consumer. What progress is being made in energy efficiency and emissions reduction?
Currently, we are working intensively on the search for alternative technologies to fossil fuels. To this end, we have built our Low-Carbon Plant at the ITC-Almassora headquarters, where we develop technologies to decarbonize the ceramics industry: electric ceramic kilns, the use of hydrogen in ceramics, and CO2 capture and storage.2 , etc.
In this case, significant progress has been made, as it has been demonstrated that both electric power and the use of hydrogen enable the processing of ceramic materials and will play a significant role in the decarbonization of the sector.
The technologies exist, but there are three challenges: the generation of electricity, its distribution, and its cost.
Additionally, there is the problem of companies' adaptability to new technologies. Indeed, the use of electric kilns for firing tiles requires large investments that companies will not be able to undertake within the planned timeframe without the help of the government. We all need to get our act together: technology centers, energy generating companies, energy distributors, ceramic product manufacturers, and the government. Ceramic tile manufacturing using current fuels will not be sustainable. We must undertake the transformation to a low-carbon industry, or the Spanish ceramics sector, as we currently conceive it, will disappear or remain a residual sector.
What other lines of research would you highlight?
There are other projects in which we develop, for example, innovative filters capable of reducing the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere in effluents at high temperatures. We have also worked for the brick industry on the development of a system for manufacturing bricks without firing, using what we call the alkaline activation technique, which prevents almost 80% of CO emissions.2 and other compounds into the atmosphere.
How can ceramic companies adapt to the EU's decarbonization targets?
The challenge is enormous. 80% of the sector's energy comes from fossil fuels, and it is the second-largest consumer of natural gas in the country. The first step is to save energy—to that end, we published a Energy Saving Guide— and the second, to incorporate sustainable and economically viable technologies, collected in our Guide to Low-Carbon TechnologiesBoth are available on our website. itc.uji.es.
As I say, the goal is ambitious, and the ITC will stand by the industrial sectors to help them achieve it.
How important is the circular economy in the ceramics sector? Are recycling models being implemented within the industry itself?
The sector has made significant progress. Water is recycled, solid waste is reused, heat from the cooking process is reused, and industrial symbiosis is being worked on. Waste from other sectors—such as marble and agri-food—has been incorporated, although their variability and cost remain challenges.
In addition, we have started a line of Sustainable Chemistry to recover critical raw materials from waste (cobalt, nickel, etc.) using processes that are both ecologically and economically sustainable.
Speaking of recycling, let's now talk about a much-discussed topic: battery recycling as a key pillar of the energy transition. What projects is ITC-AICE developing in this area?
We started with the PIGMENTCAT project, making ceramic pigments from cobalt in mobile phone batteries. Later, with BATECAT, we were able to recover not only cobalt but also the entire cathode, which can be reused in new batteries.
We are currently participating in projects such as RESUBAT (with GDES, UJI, and Neptury Technologies), which applies these technologies to the recycling of electric car batteries. We are also working on RECRIMAT, which focuses on recovering critical raw materials, reducing dependence on countries like China and Indonesia and strengthening the EU's autonomy.
How can the ceramics industry contribute to the reuse of materials from battery recycling?
As I mentioned before, by incorporating cobalt, which comes from batteries discarded in the manufacture of ceramic pigments.
What are the main technological challenges in the recovery and reuse of critical battery materials?
Fundamentally, the main challenges are the lack of strategic raw materials, the lack of technology to manufacture cathodes, and the lack of a rational methodology for managing used batteries (collection, transportation, disposal, dismantling, etc.).
Are there specific regulations that are driving the development of more sustainable solutions in this area?
Yes, legislation is being attempted. The idea is that products manufactured in the EU must incorporate a significant percentage of waste. Our perception is that if this isn't accompanied by a strong commitment to regaining technological and industrial prominence in the EU, it won't be of much use.
There are eco-friendly technologies2sustainable to recover the cathode, as previously mentioned, we must bet on scaling it up through the construction of pilot plants and generating companies capable of, since we do not have raw materials, those that we buy in the form of batteries from other countries do not leave the EU again and we squeeze them through Sustainable Chemistry procedures.
In the EU we suffer from “normativitis,” excessive bureaucracy.
We've lost the electric vehicle technology race... even if we're not the winner, let's try to reach the finish line. The same goes for chips and computers. In Europe, we need policies geared toward the recovery of strategic technology sectors, with leading and competitive companies.
New applications for recycled materials are being explored in various industries. What potential does ceramics have in this process?
It has already been mentioned that ceramics, due to their characteristics, can be a recipient of recycled materials from other sectors, such as the natural stone (marble) sector.
We have also worked with the egg-producing industry within the framework of the LIFE EGGSHELLENCE project, funded by the EU LIFE program, which has demonstrated the viability of using eggshells as a raw material in tile manufacturing. This project has received several awards and recognitions, including the Go ODS! Award from the UN Global Compact and the Rafael del Pino Foundation, and the award from the Observatory of Mass Consumption in Spain.
Furthermore, within Demolition and Construction Waste (DCW), we are also working to incorporate it into the field of sustainable construction and building, which is another of our key strategic lines.
ITC-AICE works with powdered and granular solids, as do many Techsolids companies. How do you assess the evolution of solids processing technology in the ceramics industry?
The ceramics industry handles millions of tons of powdered and granulated solids each year, and both ITC and the companies have extensive experience in these processes.
The evolution of technology for handling powdered materials in the ceramics sector has been literally brutal... from the early days of pressing an impalpable powder, which only allowed for the manufacture of pieces up to a maximum size of 20 cm x 20 cm, to the current spray-dried granulated powder, which allows for the processing of pieces up to 180 cm x 320 cm in size, with excellent quality.
What technological advances are revolutionizing the handling, transportation, and storage of solid materials in ceramics?
The main advances lie in avoiding segregation, automatically controlling processes, and advancing decarbonization. At ITC, we help minimize segregation through improvements in silo design and granule size control.
We also develop systems to automatically measure the moisture content of spray-dried powder, which is key to final quality. We also work on dry granulation processes as an alternative to wet spray-drying, with lower CO₂ emissions.
How can companies in the ceramics sector and solids technology collaborate to improve sustainability in their processes??
Through the ITC and Techsolids. The first step is to understand the needs of companies, for example, through events organized by Techsolids (conferences, trade shows, etc.). Based on the challenges, alliances and agreements are established with the ITC, as is routinely the case with ceramic companies.
There will be less ambitious challenges, which can be resolved at the company-ITC level, and others, more ambitious, which may even require the participation of several companies, multidisciplinary knowledge, and public funding, through regional, national, or even European aid.
This is ITC's usual work ecosystem, which also has extensive experience in solving problems associated with handling powdered materials, making it a key partner for this type of project.
How do you envision the future of the ceramics sector in terms of sustainability and digitalization?
In terms of sustainability, the future of the sector lies in addressing the challenge of decarbonization. If this challenge can be overcome, with the tools and challenges discussed above, the future of ceramics is promising.
Ceramics, due to its durability, resistance, design, hygiene, cleanlinesspiability, etc. is the best material available for covering surfaces. Furthermore, new processing technologies allow for the production of enormous pieces (up to 180 cm x 320 cm) with unprecedented thicknesses (6 mm to 30 mm). This means it is being used in spaces that, until a few years ago, were the domain of other materials, such as kitchen benches and facades, and this trend will continue in the future.
The ceramics industry has a long way to go in digitalization and automatic control, unlike other, much more mature industries in this regard. Although the machines operate automatically, the processes are not automated. The technology exists; it simply needs to be used intelligently to achieve optimal business management. I say business because implementing digitalization in the manufacturing process is just as important as extending it to suppliers (including technology, training, and services providers like ITC) and, above all, to customers.
What role will artificial intelligence and automation play in optimizing sustainable ceramic processes?
The future in this sense will be digital, with an automatically controlled process, integrating all business stakeholders (manufacturers, suppliers, and customers), where artificial intelligence, but also natural intelligence, will be the key to success.
