350 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide in one year. To prevent 350 million tons of waste from being produced at the same time, a circular economy can keep these plastics in circulation, thus conserving resources and protecting the environment. However, this transformation to a circular plastics economy requires systemic, technical and social innovations – a major concern of the Fraunhofer Cluster CCPE. For two days, international experts and researchers from the six member institutes will be presenting strategies, research results and implementation projects at the Munich Marriott Hotel in Munich. The aim is to accelerate the transition to a circular plastics economy through presentations and international discussions. Details of the program and a registration form can be found on the website of Fraunhofer CCPE.

With the forum, Fraunhofer CCPE, as host, in cooperation with TNO and Circular Valley®, offers business, politics, science and society a platform to exchange ideas and innovations. “At the summit, for example, I look forward to discussing how we can raise awareness of all the principles of the circular economy, i.e. the ten R strategies, and how industry, science and society can work together on the transformation to a circular plastics economy with long-term impact, explains Prof. Manfred Renner, who took over as director of the Fraunhofer CCPE in August 2022. “Cross-industry collaboration – very local, but also regional and international – is the prerequisite for a successful circular plastics economy. At the summit, stakeholders from all sectors will meet and network to jointly rethink the plastics value chain.”

Zirkuläre Geschäftsmodelle, neue Technologien und veränderte Kunststoffrezepturen

The Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE has been conducting research in the three areas of “Materials”, “Systems” and “Business” since 2018. The collaboration between the six Fraunhofer institutes IAP, ICT, IML, IVV, LBF and UMSICHT is creating a multi-stakeholder approach that combines various competencies. The researchers' results to date range from innovative approaches for circular business models to intelligent collection, sorting and recycling technologies, and new formulations for circular polymers and compounds to enable multiple recycling cycles. These include, for example, the newly developed evaluation tool CRL^®, which companies can use to assess the degree of maturity of products or product systems with regard to the circular economy. The tool tests a product for compliance with the principles of the circular economy in the areas of product design, product service system, end-of-life management and circular economy.