2024-10-16
Circular Economy: How companies are cooperating more and more
In the automotive industry, companies are working together to develop ideas for vehicles that are designed to be much easier to recycle later. The water industry is integrating ideas from startups and developing partnerships on other continents. The latest developments in these unusual projects can be witnessed at the Circular Valley Forum.

Meeting at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg. Source: Jan Turek / Circular Valley
They were all there: the producers of the important raw materials, the suppliers, the manufacturer and the recyclers. At Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, those involved along the entire value chain met over the past few days. Their goal: a car that is designed in such a way that the components can be easily separated at the end of their life and recycled at a high level. With such a vehicle, Germany and Europe could take on a new leading role in the world.

The meeting in Wolfsburg is an example of collaborations that have recently become possible thanks to the circular economy. The Circular Valley Initiative kick-starts this kind of collaboration, thus promoting the transformation from a linear to a circular economy. And turning the extended Rhine-Ruhr region into a global hotspot for the circular economy.

This will be particularly noticeable on November 15 at the Circular Valley Forum in the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal. More than 1,200 decision-makers from business, politics and science are expected to attend. The unique factor: The participants will not be meeting for the first time. They already know each other from joint projects and are intensifying their exchange. Thanks to Circular Valley, they are already taking concrete action in the circular economy.

A few figures show why this is economically important for the automotive industry: Germany exports significantly more new and used cars than it imports. As a result, around ten million tons of raw materials leave the country for good every year. Protectionism and excessive regulation are not the solution. Rather, it makes sense to establish global recycling projects - starting with the construction of the vehicles.

This is where real innovation is needed. Many materials cannot yet be extracted from the cars and recycled to a high degree. However, if this is taken into account during construction, a car becomes even more profitable. And the local manufacturers gain a new competitive advantage.

Water and sustainability experts from politics and business came together in Wilo's market partner meeting center Networking Cube for the water summit organized by Circular Valley. Source: WILO SE

The water industry is currently providing another example of cooperation in the circular economy. Circular Valley recently brought its representatives together for a summit at the Wilopark in Dortmund. “Innovations are the key to success. And networks and interdisciplinary exchange are needed for them to happen,” says Dr. Günter Poppen, project coordinator of Circular Valley.

In the next phase, the participants will now look at how they can bring the high standard of the local water industry to the world via the Circular Valley network. They also want to incorporate the numerous ideas from Circular Valley startups into their work.

The young companies supported by the initiative will also be on show at the Circular Valley Forum. At the Demo Day, startups from six continents will present their business models to a large audience. In doing so, they are helping to ensure that collaborations in the circular economy will soon no longer be unusual, but rather part of everyday life.