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.