The Circular Valley initiative, launched in Germany, aims to develop a ‘Silicon Valley of the circular economy’ in Europe. This is an initiative established by the Circular Valley Foundation in 2021 and is aimed at closing material loops along existing value chains, creating policy recommendations and educating the public about the circular economy.
Among its members are major companies such as BASF, Bayer, Evonik, Knipe and Vorwerk as well as renowned scientific institutions like the Fraunhofer Umsicht Institute, Max Planck Society and Wuppertal Institute. Over 100 start-ups from around the world have been supported by this program.
The latest round of funding will see 15 start-ups from countries like Egypt, Chile and India among others spend three months refining their business models in the Rhine-Ruhr region starting from April. These start-up leaders will receive guidance from coaches and mentors while visiting various companies and connecting with local industry professionals. The programme culminates with a demonstration day on 28 May where start-ups will showcase their ideas to an audience.
The current focus of this funding programme is on coordinating value chains, utilizing alternative raw materials, exploring new techniques for chemical recycling and more specifically on Agrona, Circulix, VGC.AI, CarbonCraft