In the Centre of Excellence for Waste Management and the Circular Economy We support small and medium-sized enterprises in the private and public sectors within the fields of waste disposal and sorting, as well as manufacturers and operators of facilities for the material or energy recovery and processing of all types of waste.

Against the backdrop of the energy transition and the associated aim of replacing fossil fuels and raw materials in product life cycles, the recycling of secondary raw materials is becoming increasingly important. On the one hand, this is due to the requirement to reduce CO₂On the one hand, this will help to reduce CO₂ emissions; on the other hand, the resulting rise in the purchase price of fossil raw materials will make it more economically viable to use waste as a raw material.

One key approach here is the increased use of waste sorted by type, so that it can be reused in a genuine circular process in line with its chemical composition. A good example of this is the recycling of PET, where this approach is already being implemented in many products.

However, alongside material recycling, the use of waste for energy generation will also become increasingly important in the future. Instead of today’s waste-to-energy plants, which are also subject to requirements to reduce CO₂As the waste management sector is under pressure to reduce CO₂ emissions, there is also an increasing use of new technologies that utilise waste for both energy and chemical purposes. Such facilities can then also be used to produce hydrogen from waste, thereby creating a further overlap between the waste management sector and the energy sector that goes far beyond the use of district heating. Hydrogen derived from waste can make a significant contribution in many different ways to the transition of the energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy sources.

All these developments will have an impact on companies in the Waste Management and the Circular Economy This will not only involve technological reorientation; employees’ expertise will also have to change and adapt. In future, this sector will also see an increasing demand for scientists and engineers specialising in chemistry, process engineering or energy and plant engineering. Against the backdrop of the current shortage of skilled workers and managers, we support these companies in building up their expertise by selecting suitable staff.