Circular Valley® is a globally unique hotspot for the establishment of a future-oriented circular economy. Since its foundation in the summer of 2021, over 100 startups from all around the world have participated in its Circular Economy Accelerator.
It is funded by the North-Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Economics to leverage and further develop the unique strengths of the region by trendsetting, innovative circular economy concepts, products and business models.

At the core of our program, you will have the opportunity to connect with 140+ partners from industry, R&D and government from our Circular Valley® network. In addition, expert workshops, tailor-made trainings as well as an intensive coaching and mentoring program await you. You will be surrounded by a vibrant, international and diverse community of startups and the dedicated Circular Economy Accelerator team.

Following our mission, 'Grow the Economy – Protect the Environment', we are looking for startups engaged in the transformation from a linear to a circular economy and that are keen on contributing to our unique environment in Circular Valley®.

Batch #7 focuses on the following three topics:

1. Renewable energies and energy storage

a) Generation of regenerative energy by new technologies that are scalable
b) New technologies for energy transformation with higher efficiencies
c) New technologies and processes with improved efficiency for coupling different sectors of energy use like electricity, housing, mobility, industry… - including digital technologies
d) New technologies for energy storage with improved efficiencies (all kinds of storage: chemical, kinetic, thermal,…)
e) New and improved technologies for storage of electric energy
....i. New battery technologies
....ii. Higher energy density (per volume and/or weight)
....iii. Higher safety
....iv. Faster loading and deloading
....v. Reduced costs per kWh
....vi. Innovative approaches for r-strategies for batteries beyond the classical concepts
........for Electric vehicle batterie for re-use by other purposes or the known recycling
........process or Electric vehicle batteries

2. Mechanical recycling of plastics (all sectors: from agricultural films, automobiles via construction materials (e.g. plastic windows) to packaging materials, including secondary and tertiary plastic packaging plastic

a) Innovative technologies which keep recycled qualities on a high level for a best same application
b) New processes to recycle plastics in multiple mechanical/physical loops
c) Innovative business models, which are economically favourable vs. use of virgin fossil plastic

3. Circular use of technical or industrial equipment, machines, tools or furnishing

a) B2B platforms (including digital platforms) for buying, trading, selling used equipment
b) Business models for refurbishing, remanmufacturing and/or repair of used equipment or parts of the original equipment
c) Business models for `tools as a service´

Note: Selected startups will obtain access to the Circular Valley network and our contact matching tool

Batch #7 of the Circular Economy Accelerator will take place in Wuppertal, Germany, from September 30^th to November 22^nd, 2024.

15 startups for batch #7 will be selected by mid August 2024.

The two-month program starts at the end of September and consists of two on-site phases in Germany (September 30^th - October 13^th and November 4^th - 22^nd). The first phase is for early-stage startups only and provides founders with basic knowledge. The second phase is mandatory for representatives of all startups.

The Demo Day is taking place on November 15^th as part of the Circular Valley Forum 2024.

During the two-week attendance blocks, at least one representative of each startup must attend the program on site.

Check out our FAQ section to find more information about the accelerator program.