Spain Becomes Europe’s Proof Engine: SMX and CARTIF Reinvent Circularity

11/14/2025 – 12:20 PM

NEW YORK – As Europe intensifies its focus on a circular economy and verifiable sustainability, a novel collaboration in Valladolid, Spain, is emerging as a potential game-changer. SMX (NASDAQ:SMX), a company specializing in molecular tracing solutions, has joined forces with CARTIF, a leading European applied research hub, to deploy a system that creates verifiable “material passports” for recycled and reused materials. This initiative seeks to address the growing need for concrete evidence of sustainability claims amid tightening regulations and rising demand for transparent supply chains.

This partnership addresses a critical gap in the market: the ability to scientifically verify the origin, movement, and reintegration of materials in the circular economy. The collaboration aims to transform the traditional, often cumbersome, audit processes into a real-time, data-driven system, providing businesses with the tools to demonstrate compliance, qualify for grants, and enhance their R&D efforts.

The Castilla y León region, a significant industrial center in Spain, is strategically positioning itself at the forefront of this shift, moving beyond simple production volume to prioritize verifiable value. This transformation hinges on the implementation of advanced material tracing and authentication technologies to improve and validate the tracking of materials as they are reintroduce to production cycles.

How SMX’s Molecular Tracing System Works

At the core of this collaboration is SMX’s innovative molecular tracing system. This technology allows materials to carry a unique, embedded physical signature throughout their lifecycle, from manufacturing to reuse and recycling. Once applied, these molecular markers bond with the material at a molecular level, creating a permanent digital passport that provides a detailed audit trail.

This technology offers companies unprecedented visibility into their supply chains, enabling them to confirm the origin of materials, audit their movement, and scientifically verify their return into the value chain, something that has been lacking in Europe at scale.

CARTIF’s role is to integrate this molecular tracing technology into its pilot plants and applied research programs. This integration creates a real-time measurement loop that connects innovation with documented results. This allows for real time data that used to take years to gather through surveys and audits.

Accelerating the Circular Economy Through Verification

The key to the transformative potential of this collaboration lies in the speed of verification. By providing instant, auditable traces of material movement, SMX and CARTIF are converting sustainability from a costly obligation into a competitive advantage. This real-time data enables lenders to underwrite projects with greater confidence, regulators to streamline compliance processes, and markets to reward verifiable sustainable practices.

The partnership builds upon SMX’s previous success in Singapore, where it collaborated with A*STAR on a national-scale initiative to track waste streams, verify recycled content, and establish a digital framework for circular materials. The success of this project serves as a blueprint for the European initiative, potentially linking Asia and Europe through shared verifiable sustainable practices.

Implications for European Industry and Beyond

The beauty of this system lies in its scalability and universality. The molecular signatures can be seamlessly tracked across different industries and countries, regardless of whether the material is used in packaging, automotive manufacturing, or construction. This creates a distributed network of authenticated activity that could reshape how Europe measures performance throughout the continient.

Deputy General Manager Sergio Sanz emphasized the technology’s ability to meet the growing need for companies to prove their sustainability claims, refine their processes, and demonstrate circular performance. This alignment between technology and business needs is what transforms data into actionable value.

This collaboration marks the beginning of a new chapter for European industry, where innovation is driven by measurement, and measurement is linked to growth. By providing a shared foundation of verifiable data, the partnership hopes to stimulate collaboration among governments, academics, governments, and manufacturers.

The success of the SMX and CARTIF collaboration hinges on regulatory acceptance and widespread adoption by manufacturers. Acceptance by regulators will mean quicker grants and market access. It is very important for observers to follow the pilots’ adoption metrics of Castilla y León so we know how effective the partnership is.

Ultimately, the initiative in Spain promises to move the circular economy from a aspirational goal to actual profit and provide the framework for a more efficient and sustainable economic model.

About SMX

SMX offers innovative marking, tracing, measuring, and digital platform technologies, empowering businesses across the value chain to transition to a low-carbon economy and address the complex challenges of carbon neutrality and regulatory compliance.

Forward-Looking Statements

This editorial contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied. Factors that may cause such differences include changes in regulatory requirements, market conditions, competitive pressures, and technological advancements.