Anna-Katharina Stumpf on the circular economy

What is the circular economy? How can CIRCONOMY^® Hubs contribute to it? What is next for the initiative? And what added value does the work being done in CIRCONOMY^® Hubs bring? In “Four questions to...”, we regularly interview participants in the CIRCONOMY^® initiative. Dr. Anna-Katharina Stumpf, head of the Fraunhofer Bioeconomy Strategic Research Field central office, is the first of our interviewees.

(1) What does the circular economy mean to you?

It means that materials, like carbon for example, are recirculated. Value-creation cascades are initiated and all of the value and side streams that occur are put to use in such a way as to achieve largely closed cycles and reduce the loss of valuable materials. Anything that cannot be recirculated is not waste but rather the feedstock for a new production and use cycle. This avoids the need for any further increase in the number of additional materials and substances.

(2) CIRCONOMY^® Hubs are a new infrastructure for the circular economy. How can you and your institute contribute to this?

The transition to an economy that is both sustainable and efficient is built on three interconnected pillars: bioeconomy, resource efficiency and circular economy. The vision of the Fraunhofer Bioeconomy Strategic Research Field is to facilitate the circular economy through innovative processes, materials and products based on biological resources. To achieve this, the strategic research field combines the competencies of various institutes around the bioeconomy, presents the topic of the bioeconomy internally and externally across institutes, and serves as a central point of contact.

(3) The CIRCONOMY^® Hubs are set to be implemented in 2022: What are your hopes for the future?

• Support through appropriate funding initiatives for the hubs at the federal and state level, to guarantee that they are established as a long-term presence and that they can later become self-sustaining (kick-off funding).
• Definition of goals and activities for individual hubs in continuous exchange with industry partners, to ensure that the needs of all stakeholders can be met.
• Creation of trust between Fraunhofer and the other stakeholders involved in the hubs. Closer contact with industry (including physically closer, if necessary), to enable Fraunhofer to start industrial research and development more quickly and directly and to respond rapidly to their needs.

(4) What added value can the Fraunhofer partners who participate in CIRCONOMY^® Hubs expect?

• The establishment of networks with institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, leading to the initiation of joint projects, also beyond the CIRCONOMY^® Hubs where relevant.
• CIRCONOMY^® Hubs as central points of contact: access to the competencies of several institutes without having to liaise with each one individually.