Industry Meetup - Circular Economy

On 25 May 2023, we invited our RWTH key account partners to join the “RWTH Innovation | Industry Meetup” at RWTH Aachen University. Representatives from Ford, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom and RA Consulting met at the RWTH Skylounge for this exclusive get-together.

The “RWTH Innovation | Industry Meetup” is an annual event that serves as a platform for fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange between RWTH Aachen University and its key account partners. It provides valuable insights into the university's strategic development, research, and teaching. Attendees stay updated on emerging trends and contribute to shaping the university's future direction. The meetup also promotes technology transfers, joint research projects and mutual networking. Each meetup focuses on a specific industry-related theme, with expert lectures and workshops. Overall, it plays a pivotal role in driving innovation and building industry-academia partnerships.

The theme of this year’s meetup was Circular Economy. Prof. Malte Brettel, Vice-Rector at RWTH Aachen University, and Dr. Jörg von Appen, Managing Director at RWTH Innovation, welcomed the partners in Aachen and emphasized the importance of the exchange between academia and industry to identify research paths together and match the challenges of our partners with our experts. 

Dr. Mohammad Chehadé, Managing Director of the RWTH Center for Circular Economy, introduced the research landscape and its multidisciplinary and interconnected approach to circularity, combining expertise from all faculties. He presented the broad expertise, and gave insights into current research projects.

The keynote "Why should companies invest in the regional circular economy? Suggestions for synergies" by Prof. Martina Fromhold-Eisebith from the Chair of Economic Geography initiated a fruitful discussion on the current challenges the companies are facing and how they can overcome them.

Additionally, two start-ups presented their solutions to the challenges facing the circular economy. First, the RWTH spin-off cylib presented how their unique recycling solution helps to cover the entire battery recycling value chain. After that, Hermetia Tech demonstrated how industrial food waste can be recycled into high-quality insect protein. Following the development of a prototype, the start-up’s container will now be put into operation at a pilot customer this year.

Through this exclusive meetup, our partners had the opportunity to engage in lively discussions in a small circle, brainstorm ideas for future collaboration, and discuss first steps for joint projects.