This masterclass will examine how artificial intelligence (AI) can become a central lever for a circular plastics economy along the entire value chain by 2030. Building on the Fraunhofer CCPE position paper and insights from 46 experts in industry and research, the session synthesizes current applications, future potential and systemic barriers to scaling AI in plastics production, processing, collection and recycling.

We will first map the state of practice, highlighting successful AI use cases in process control, quality assurance, sorting and design optimization. The focus then shifts to what is holding back end‑to‑end intelligent value chains: fragmented and non‑interoperable data, missing standards and ontologies, unresolved IP and liability issues, and a lack of viable business and governance models for data sharing.

The masterclass will present a research and innovation agenda centered on three priorities: (1) interoperable data spaces and digital product passports for material, process and lifecycle data; (2) hybrid, explainable and uncertainty‑aware AI models validated in real industrial demonstrators; and (3) frameworks for trustworthy AI, including economic assessment and environmental footprint of AI itself.

Participants from industry and research will gain a structured overview of opportunities and risks, differentiated insights into the roles of SMEs and large players including concrete pathways for collaborative pilots and scale‑up. Throughout, AI is presented not as a silver bullet, but as one crucial lever alongside design for recycling, simplified products, robust infrastructure and clear regulation.