Enhanced Efficiency of UBC Recycling Powered by Artificial Intelligence

VALIS™ long-term vision is to create software tools for the entire recycling value chain from point of collection, to processing, to melting. Achieving a circular economy requires a systems approach in which the interdependence between upstream and downstream processes, supply and demand, and policy and design is considered and built into solutions. VALIS aims to be the bridge between disjoint equipment, processes, and stakeholders along the recycling value chain. VALIS technology will facilitate the sharing and utilization of data that allows for inter- and intra-plant optimization for the maximized recovery of recyclable materials drive reduction in greenhouse gases by more than half a gigaton by 2050. To execute on that vision, VALIS has developed products focused on increasing the sustainability, stability and profitability of metal recycling. Operational effectiveness and equipment utilization at recycling facilities is limited by human decision making. Process changes today involve slow feedback cycles between facility stakeholders and are not robust to dynamic trends in material content and commodity values resulting in operational inefficiencies that lose material and lose money. VALIS is helping recyclers recover those losses through its flagship product VALI-Sort, a recycling software tool powered by artificial intelligence. VALI-Sort integrates directly with advanced sensor-based sorters (SBS) to recover valuable material and process data that is otherwise lost at the end of a process run. VALIS captures this data and relates it to information external to the SBS including operational production data, quality assessment data, market trends and sales. VALI-Sort leverages proprietary algorithms and AI models to deliver data insights and visualizations such that recycling facilities can: • Monitor material flows in real-time and increase inventorying accuracy. • Access automated process data with minimal human input. • Observe impact of process changes on material outputs. • Relate material data back to vendors/material sources enabling data driven procurement. • Track product quality data, as it relates to material purity or compliance with customer-driven specifications. • Increase the return on investment associated with sorting equipment. VALIS has intentionally designed its VALI-Sort product to be system agnostic such that it can tie into a multitude of equipment types, and existing software tools. This allows recycling facilities to build out a suite of physical equipment and benefit from enhanced data quality and insights that shortens the equipment payback period. This Phase I effort will support the adaptation of VALI-Sort, which has been historically focused on supporting automotive shredding and recycling processes, to enhancing UBC recycling operations.