CVR - Centre for Waste Valorisation was born from a partnership between the University of Minho, TecMinho, the Portuguese Foundry Association and the Industrial Association of Minho, with the aim of filling a gap in the sector and in the waste market. Constituting a national and international reference in the sector, CVR has more than 80 associated entities, mostly industrial companies from different sectors of economic activity, but also waste management entities, technological centres, municipal companies, among others. The mission underlying the creation of CVR, which remains current and relevant, consists of supporting industry and municipalities in introducing innovative technologies and applying real solutions in the management and recovery of waste.

CVR has its own facilities at Azurém Campus, in Guimarães, and has around 20 employees, from different areas of specialization and a high degree of qualification, and a variable group of scholarship holders, whose hiring comes from ongoing projects. In parallel, the Centre collaborates with several teachers from Portuguese and foreign universities.

CVR managed to embody the objectives that guided its genesis, assuming itself as a reference institution that invests in the development of innovative solutions for environmental and energy issues. A reflection on its trajectory reveals a largely positive balance, with the consolidation and implementation in the field of the provision of services in the area of ​​the characterization of residues, effluents, gaseous emissions and contaminated soils, together with a clear growth in R&D activities and a growing projection of the main international event organized by the Centre - WASTES Conference. The intensification of the establishment of partnerships with companies, waste managers and governmental entities/bodies has also been another strategic vector for CVR's investment. Since its inception, CVR has been involved in more than 120 applied R&D projects, which corresponded to a financing volume of around 5.2 million euros.