CIRCONOMY® Hub

Welcome to the project

CIRCONOMY® Hub

Sustainable production, sustainable consumption and a circular economy require systemic and technological solutions, which are created in innovation networks. Fraunhofer proposes building a network of CIRCONOMY^® Hubs across Germany: These hubs are a new, agile instrument for cooperation on the basis of a shared mission and a reliable data space. They create added value regionally, nationally and internationally. In each hub, Fraunhofer institutes work with their partners in industry, science, politics and society on a mission not just to contribute to the circular economy, but to develop innovations for sovereign value cycles, climate neutrality, circularity and bioeconomy.

On this page you can read about how circularity is created out of shared values, cooperation and projects.

CIRCONOMY^® is the Fraunhofer brand for solutions, capacities and expertise for the circular economy. This brand represents shared values, strategies, target visions and, above all, innovation projects that put the great mission of “transformation to the circular economy” into practice.

CIRCONOMY^® Ticker

Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future

Under the premise that the world wants to achieve its goals for net-zero emissions from the construction sector by mid-century, there is an urgent need for action regarding the development of new models for collaboration on the decarbonization of building materials. We must pursue the following paths together:

1) Avoiding the extraction and production of raw materials by creating a circular economy

2) Shifting to circularly managed material practices through the use of ethically produced, low carbon, earth and bio-based building materials.

3) Optimizing methods to radically decarbonize conventional materials.

to the report

Our offer

Services

Web services can be tested directly on a website. Techno-consulting helps keep innovation projects on track and successful.

Our services

CIRCONOMY^® Hubs

The concepts for the first CIRCONOMY^® Hubs are already being created, and circular ecosystems are forming. Be there as CIRCONOMY® Hubs shape the transformation.

Hubs overview

News

20.11.2025

Pioneering Partnership to Shape the Future of Food and Packaging

A high-level, 50-member business delegation from Flanders, led by Minister-President Matthias Diependaele, visited the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV to explore cutting-edge innovations in food development, packaging, and recycling technologies. Bringing together leaders from the food, packaging, machinery, chemical, wood, and textile sectors, the visit capped a multi-day tour of Bavaria and highlighted the growing momentum behind cross-border cooperation to build a sustainable and resilient industrial future for Europe.

Press Release

11.11.2025

Shaping the future of the circular economy: The Forum Plastic Recyclates on March 25-26, 2026, in Darmstadt

New European regulations aim to increase the use of recycled materials in plastic products and accelerate the transition to a circular economy. At the same time, the shortage of single-type plastic waste and the technical and financial effort required for recycling-friendly design remain significant hurdles. Innovative approaches and close cooperation between industry, research, and policy are needed to overcome these challenges.

Press release

07.11.2025

Sharing instead of throwing away – sustainably reducing resources and waste volumes

Every year, each person in Germany produces around 600 kilograms of waste. Can this amount be reduced by sharing and reusing tools, appliances, or leisure equipment? This question is the focus of the research project "Investigation, development, and evaluation of structures and centers for sharing at the municipal level." The partners – the city of Essen, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and the Fraunhofer institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT – met in Oberhausen for the kick-off.

Press release

29.10.2025

Reducing greenhouse gases with used IT devices

Fraunhofer UMSICHT investigated for Interzero how sustainable the use of used IT equipment is. The results show that giving smartphones, tablets and other devices a second life can reduce greenhouse gases by up to 37 percent.

Press Release