Recap of the NEFI Technology Talk "Circular Economy in Industry"
- News
At the NEFI Technology Talk on December 3rd, 2025, the circular economy was highlighted as a key factor in achieving a sustainable industrial transformation. More than 50 participants discussed how resource efficiency, reuse and new material strategies can already be successfully implemented in industry today.
Practice-Oriented Insights into Circular Innovations
Representatives from research, technology development and industry presented concrete applications demonstrating how circular approaches are becoming a reality in production processes. Presentations by Lenzing, Baukarussell, 2nd Cycle, Triplast/ARA, STEINERT, GAW and ENGEL Austria addressed, among other topics:
- textile and plastics recycling
- urban mining in the construction sector
- reuse and refurbishment of energy technologies
- sorting and processing technologies for secondary raw materials
The contributions clearly demonstrated that the circular economy not only generates environmental benefits, but also opens up new business models and industrial value-creation potential.
Technologies for Future Material Flows
A further focus was dedicated to “future waste” – emerging waste streams resulting from the energy transition and material innovations. The discussions covered solutions for PV modules, batteries and wind turbine components, as well as dissolution-based recycling and the transferability of technological solutions to other sectors. The NEFI flagship project CircularFood was presented as an example of the cascading use of residual materials from the food industry.
What Is Needed for Scaling? Insights from the Discussion
In the panel discussion “Next Frontier of the Circular Economy”, moderated by Bettina Muster-Slawitsch (AEE INTEC) and Karin Fazeni-Fraisl (JKU), it became clear that technological innovations alone are not sufficient. A scalable circular economy requires:
- economically viable business models
- high-performance sorting and recycling technologies
- clear regulatory frameworks
- cooperation along the entire value chain
Networking as a Success Factor
The subsequent networking session demonstrated the importance of exchange between industry, research, technology providers and policy actors. Collaboration enables circular solutions to be developed, tested and transferred into industrial practice more rapidly.
Conclusion
The NEFI Technology Talk clearly showed that the circular economy is not merely a promise for the future, but is already being implemented in industry today—offering substantial potential for climate protection, competitiveness and new value-creation models. NEFI supports this transformation through research, development and the networking of key industrial stakeholders.
NEFI experts look forward to the next steps in jointly developing projects and to continuing the cooperation within the RTI initiative for the transformation of industry.