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.

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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

15.04.2026

Bio-based foam replaces petroleum-based materials – without changing production processes

A new extruded foam made from polybutylene succinate (PBS), developed by the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE, offers industrial companies a direct path to sustainable material solutions – without the need to invest in new equipment. This approach simultaneously addresses CO₂ reduction, compliance with regulatory requirements, and economic efficiency.

Press Release

01.04.2026

New laboratory and technical center for research on substrate-based mycelium materials

Fraunhofer UMSICHT operates a laboratory and technical research center in Dortmund dedicated to the development of materials based on fungal mycelium and has consolidated its research activities on mycelium-based materials under the FungiFacturing® brand. The open participatory lab formerly known as DEZENTRALE has evolved into a research facility with a robust infrastructure dedicated to developing mycelium as a sustainable material.

Press release

30.03.2026

Bio-based films and coatings made from chitin-containing waste materials

The processing of crustaceans from the fishing industry, the production of insect protein, and mushroom cultivation generate large quantities of chitin-containing waste. The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB has established a process chain for chitin processing to create added value from these waste streams. These technologies enable the production of high-purity chitosan, which can be used, among other things, for sustainable coatings.

Press release

24.03.2026

More sustainable production in the metalworking and chemical industries

Advancing the circular economy in the metalworking and chemical industries – that is the goal of the “SäureWert” research project. Recovering acids and valuable resources reduces the demand for primary raw materials and the volume of hazardous waste. This conserves resources, cuts costs, and reduces environmental impact. Fraunhofer UMSICHT, together with project partner FNE Entsorgungsdienste Freiberg GmbH, is paving the way for industrial application.

Press Release