“The heart of the circular economy is here”
14.01.2025At the Circular Valley Forum in November 2024, numerous ministers emphasized the importance of the major meeting in the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal. They all believe that the network will continue to grow.
The Forum began with good news from the Chancellery and ended with the prospect of new international partners. There was a special art event at the start and rarely seen drawings at the finale – the Circular Valley Forum promoted the circular economy on many levels and with a lot of prominent support. More than 1200 decision-makers came together in the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal, including members of the federal and state governments, CEOs of large corporations and innovative SMEs, two great artists – and a Meistermacher (champion maker).
Matthias Diependaele, Minister President of Flanders
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
Other countries show interest
At the Circular Valley Forum 2023, the heads of government of Flanders and North Rhine-Westphalia agreed on the first cross-border cooperation in the circular economy. Just one year later, Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele was able to describe where this cooperation has already become a practical reality. Companies and politicians from both regions are working together in the chemical industry, batteries and building materials. Other countries have since declared their interest in becoming part of this network, including the Netherlands and Wales.
The head of the NRW State Chancellery, Nathanael Liminski, visited all three Circular Valley Forums – and was able to explain their importance first-hand. The circular economy is particularly important for the state and for North Rhine-Westphalia as an industrial area. It offers huge opportunities to conserve resources, reduce emissions and thus become more resilient. Liminski was therefore delighted that “the heart of the circular economy” is in the extended Rhine-Ruhr region thanks to Circular Valley.
Circular Valley Forum 2024
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
Stadthalle becomes Save The World Hotel
The way into the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal was an unusual one at this forum. The action artist HA Schult had printed a picture of his Save The World Hotel, built from waste, on a huge tarpaulin and used it to cover the entrance to the hall. In this way, the guests took the first message of the day directly into the panel discussions.
Tony Cragg, one of the most important living artists, supported the forum with a sculpture and works that even many fans were not yet familiar with. Drawings by the 75-year-old artist were on display in the forum hall.
Fernando Carro de Prada, BAYER 04 Leverkusen
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
Meistermacher names success factors
Fernando Carro, among others, provided motivation and inspiration in the afternoon of the forum. The Chairman of the Management Board of Bayer 04 Leverkusen led the club to German soccer championship and cup victory in the summer. In Wuppertal, he explained his success factors. It needs leadership, and one that is visible and in close contact with the organization. This leadership must create a team that includes as many different backgrounds and skills as possible. Those involved must be given trust and responsibility and at the same time conflicts must be recognized as necessary for good decisions. It is also crucial to involve employees as much as possible. Only those who are involved are prepared to go the extra mile.
Steffi Lemke, Federal Minister for the Environment
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
Support from the cabinets
Just like the Meistermacher's speech, federal and state ministers also provided strong impulses at the Circular Valley Forum. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke presented the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS), which the cabinet adopted in December. The strategy aims to reduce waste and the consumption of raw materials and increase the proportion of recycled materials. The NKWS also includes instruments to achieve this. Public procurement and contracting are to stimulate demand and the digital product passport is to become the “game changer” for the circular economy.
Sarah Ryglewski, Minister of State in the Chancellery responsible for sustainability, defined goals and made promises at the opening of the Circular Valley Forum. Germany must become a circular industrial country and be a pioneer in the circular economy. This would make it possible to decouple raw material requirements and growth. Unlike in the past, Ryglewski said, it was not necessary to “set too many rules with good intentions”, but to resolve issues through dialogue.
Other members of the NRW state government also promoted the circular economy. Deputy Minister President Mona Neubaur is the patron of Circular Valley and pleaded for an optimistic approach: “We have to trust the citizens and companies,” she said.
Her colleague, State Minister of Labor Karl-Josef Laumann, emphasized the role of the chemical industry. With more than 100,000 jobs, North Rhine-Westphalia is now the largest location for the industry in Germany. It is therefore a key industry for the circular economy because it develops processes to reuse materials in high quality and to avoid waste. The circular economy thus opens new sales opportunities and creates good new jobs in NRW.
Steffi Lemke, Federal Minister for the Environment
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
Ideas from six continents
Important momentum will come from start-ups. At the forum's DemoDay, the young companies that Circular Valley is currently supporting presented their business models to a large audience. The founders make fuel from plastic waste, extract heavy metals from water, recycle large quantities of clothing and develop urgently needed energy storage systems. Their companies are based from Argentina to Australia and from Scandinavia to Uganda.
Dr Max Neufeind (Federal Chancellery), HA Schult (artist), Mona Neubaur (Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia)
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
The future
At the end of the meeting, Dr. Carsten Gerhardt, initiator of Circular Valley and host of the forum, outlined the next steps: thanks to new Circular Valley software, it is now much easier for potential business partners to come together. On March 12 and 13, there will be the first trade fair on the topic, the Circular Valley Convention in Düsseldorf. And on November 14, the next forum will be held in the heart of the circular economy.
Extraordinary Workshops and Insights for Startups
18 startup teams from six continents came to Circular Valley in autumn to participate in the seventh Circular Economy Accelerator program. They were treated to an intensive program that combined knowledge transfer with inspiring encounters with top representatives from business, science and politics.
Workshop Circular Design
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
Workshops and Coachings
The program provided participants with a wide range of workshops and coaching sessions tailored to the needs of the startups. These included:
- Circular Design (Bas Roelofs | Circo)
- Pitch Training und Investment Deck Training (Judith Alt | Maximilian Merklinger; Felix Mackenzie | Kearney)
- IP Law (Dr. Samuel Königshofen & Ivo Stute | Lenzig, Gerber & Stute Patentanwälte)
- Body Language (Stefanie Siebers | Stimme & Präsenz)
- Communication with Investors (Markus von Blomberg | Mello)
- Life Cycle Assessment (Prof. Dr. Henning Wilts & Lucille Wulff | Wuppertal Institut)
- Science Communication (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Samir Salameh | FH Münster)
- Strategy game Make it Circular (Susanne Mira Heinz | Circular Thinking)
- Exchange with alumnus (Dr. Prateek Mahalwar I Circular-Valley-Startup Bioweg)
Hot Chair Bayer
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
Hot-Chair-Sessions
Here, the startup representatives had the opportunity to address experts with their questions. These experts gave open and practical insights. These sessions were not only a source of knowledge and inspiration for the startups, but also provided valuable opportunities to expand their networks. The guests were:
- Dr. Timo Flessner | Bayer
- Dr. Jens Busse and Dr. Nina Fechler | Evonik Ventures
- Dr. Dorothee Becker and Jonathan Knickmann | Gebr. Becker
- Dr. Hendrik Wehr | Vorwerk Engineering
- Raphael Thießen| Hagedorn
- André Rolfes | GEFA Bank
- Peter Schmetz | Vorwerk Ventures
- Till Rösnick | Wepa Ventures
- Sebastian Hanny-Busch | NRW Bank
- Benjamin Wulf & Ingrid Döring | German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation
- Eva Platz & Niklas Wunram |Wuppertal Economic Development Agency
- Cornelius Laaser | Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Finally, the teams had the privilege of getting to know leading companies and research institutions in the region. Visits to Knipex, Vorwerk and RWTH Aachen gave them first-hand impressions of practical industrial processes.
Visit Vorwerk
© Jan Turek / Circular Valley
The Circular Economy Accelerator program thrives on the commitment of numerous partners and experts, many of whom have been involved repeatedly – a special feature from which the startups will also benefit in early 2025.
