Ewa Harlacz

On 9 October 2025, the third dialogue in the KNUW plastics dialogue series took place at the K trade fair, the world’s largest plastics trade fair, as an interactive tour under the motto ‘Environmental economy meets plastics’.Together with representatives from industry, science and the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Environment, we took a look at the future of a sustainable plastics industry and the contribution that the environmental economy can make to this transformation process.

At Plastics Europe, participants were given a comprehensive overview of the potential applications of plastics and the current challenges facing the industry.. It became clear that plastics play a central role in numerous future fields, but at the same time innovations and new approaches must be developed to reduce resource consumption and environmental impact.

The BASF stand focused on the life cycle of plastics. Under the guiding principle of ‘Make – Use – Recycle’, participants were shown how circular economy can be implemented in practice. The focus was on both technological solutions and responsibility along the entire value chain.

The topic was then explored in greater depth at the Fraunhofer Institute, where questions relating to more efficient recycling and bio-based alternatives were discussed. compared to conventional plastics. This demonstrated how research and innovation can make a decisive contribution to advancing sustainable materials and processes.

The visit concluded with a tour of R-Cycle, a cross-company project that is developing a digital product passport for plastic packaging. This technology enables transparent tracking throughout the entire life cycle and opens up new perspectives for data-based, circular economy.

The tour impressively demonstrated that the environmental sector and the plastics industry must work together to find solutions that balance sustainability, innovation and competitiveness.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the speakers from the companies and to our guests for their participation and inspiring exchange. We were delighted to welcome international guests from a delegation from Malaysia to our tour. Special thanks also go to our doctoral scholarship holder and speaker Daniel Ohl for the successful organisation.

From 8 October 2025 to 17 December 2025, Georg Simon Ohm University of Applied Sciences is offering an exciting lecture series on the topic of sustainability. There will be lectures on interesting topics related to the circular economy by experienced figures from the worlds of education and business. The lecture series offers a great opportunity to get in touch with various stakeholders and exchange ideas on topics related to the circular economy and sustainability.

Our Prof. Dr. Martin Faulstich will kick things off on 8 October 2025 with a lecture entitled ‘Circular Economy – an essential pillar of industrial society’

Lecture duration: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Lecture location: Keßlerplatz 12, 90489 Nuremberg, Lecture Hall KA.002 at the K location

Further information on the lecture series and other lectures:

ohm_Flyer_Ringvorlesung_Kreislaufwirtschaft

On 8 September 2025, the Innovation Congress took place at the EUREF Campus. The Green Economy Network.NRW (KNUW) was also represented with a stand on that day. Prof. Dr. Martin Faulstich, Dr. Ewa Harlacz, Dr. Ulrich Teich and our doctoral students Konstantin Saure, Carina Diemel and Klara Theoabld were in attendance.

The congress was opened with a speech by Minister President Hendrik Wüst, who emphasised the importance of strengthening North Rhine-Westphalia as a location for innovation and start-ups through new ideas and innovations, thereby contributing to the state’s future viability. Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Neubauer and Minister for Science Brandes also addressed the audience.

The NRW Innovation Award 2025 was also presented in recognition of innovation in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Holger Stark (university professor of pharmaceutical and medical chemistry and managing director of the scientific institution Pharmacy at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) won the ‘Innovation’ category, which comes with prize money of €75,000. Together with his team, he developed a new treatment method for glaucoma.

The ‘innovation2business’ category, with prize money of €15,000 twice, was won by Dr. Christian Schwarz (co-founder and managing partner of Numaferm GmbH, Düsseldorf) and Prof. Dr. Lutz Schmitt (Chair of Biochemistry I at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) for the development of a sustainable biological process for the synthesis of proteins and peptides.

The prize for the ‘innovation2market’ category, with prize money of €15,000, was awarded to Dr. Martin Schleef (founder, long-standing managing director and shareholder of PlasmidFactory GmbH, Bielefeld). He succeeded in reducing the size of plasmid DNA so that it can be used in cancer therapy.

The audience award ‘innovation4transformation’, with prize money of €15,000, went to Dr.-Ing. Andreas Bremen (founder and managing director of Co-reactive GmbH, Düsseldorf) for the development of an innovative mineralisation process that converts CO₂ emissions into high-performance additives for cement.

We congratulate all winners and are delighted with the success of the Innovation Congress.

On 5 September 2025, INNOWA GmbH (shareholders DEW21 and EDG Holding GmbH) presented the first construction phases and planned steps for its innovative energy park. The project will be implemented at the Dortmund-Nordorst landfill site. Prof. Dr. Faulstich was also on site for the presentation by INNOWA GmbH.

The initial plan is to install a photovoltaic system with battery storage. The electricity generated by this system will be used to supply 3,000 households with electricity all year round. Later, car and truck charging facilities and a biomethane plant will also be added. The electricity generated in the energy park will then also supply the landfill site’s facilities and vehicles belonging to the EDG group of companies with electricity.

The Energy Park project is a future-oriented, solution-focused model for climate-neutral energy supply in Dortmund and can serve as a blueprint for further projects of this kind.

DEW21, an energy supplier, implemented this project in collaboration with EDG Holding GmbH.

We would like to thank you for the inspiring insights into the Energy Park project and look forward to its successful implementation.

On 20 August, our colleague Carina Diemel, representing the Green Economy Network.NRW, accompanied Environment Minister Oliver Krischer’s delegation on a visit to Talbot-Services GmbH in Aachen as part of his summer tour. The delegation included Lara Wever (Head of Division VIII B 4) and other representatives of the Environment Ministry.

An exciting presentation by Managing Director Dirk Reuters on the company’s history, its core competencies and the planned expansion investments in Stolberg was followed by a tour of the company.

Talbot Services GmbH focuses on servicing and modernising rail vehicles, thereby making an important contribution to sustainability. Vehicles are brought up to the latest technical standards, visually upgraded and their service life significantly extended. During the tour of the various halls, the areas of maintenance and servicing as well as vehicle preparation and painting were presented. Talbot Services GmbH offers a comprehensive full-service package ranging from modernisation and maintenance to final assembly and accident repair.

Many thanks to Talbot-Services GmbH for the exciting insights.

On 12 August 2025, Prof. Dr. Martin Faulstich and Dr. Ewa Harlacz visited our INZIN doctoral student, Christian Großhauser, at MicroPyros’s methanisation plants. MicroPyros BioEnerTec GmbH has been a member of INZIN since 2023 and produces renewable non-fossil natural gas from biogenic residues and waste materials through methanisation. These residues and waste materials originate from Straubing’s municipal drainage and street cleaning service (SER), enabling MicrPyros to process them directly on site. Christian Großhauser is conducting his PhD research into the investigation and optimisation of methane formation rates in methanisation reactors, and he provided an interesting tour of the plant.

At this year’s Ostbayernschau trade fair, SER is focusing on environmental and water protection. The company is committed to recycling, reducing CO2 emissions, promoting renewable energies and developing other future technologies, thereby contributing to environmental, climate and water protection.

It was a very successful day in Straubing, which ended at the Lechner marquee at the Gäuboden Folk Festival, where SER had reserved a table. With around 1.3 million visitors, the Gäubodenvolksfest is the second largest folk festival in Bavaria.

We would like to thank Christian Großhauser, MicroPyros and SER for the interesting tour of the facilities and the wonderful insights into Bavarian folk festival culture.

More about MicroPyros: Biomethanisation

On 7 August 2025, our doctoral scholarship holders Carina Diemel and Klara Theobald accompanied Professor Martin Faulstich to the EUREF Campus Düsseldorf as part of the summer tour of North Rhine-Westphalia’s Environment Minister Oliver Krischer.

The event kicked off with a short welcome speech in the dome of the EUREF Campus by Reinhard Müller, founder and member of the EUREF Campus Executive Board. Professor Martin Faulstich then presented the degree programmes and educational opportunities that will be offered in Düsseldorf in the future. Lectures will begin here in the 2025/2026 winter semester with two new master’s degree programmes:

• M. Sc. Sustainable Energy and Hydrogen Infrastructures

• M. Sc. Management of Smart and Sustainable Energy Systems

This was followed by a tour of the EUREF campus, where the companies based there, Schneider Electric, SPIE and DUSBeyond, introduced themselves. Environment Minister Oliver Krischer took the opportunity to find out about innovative projects and training opportunities in the environmental sector.

Schneider Electric reported on its sustainability strategy and presented practical examples of the successful implementation of sustainability projects.

SPIE presented itself in its new showroom and demonstrated how the company specifically recruits and trains skilled workers with the aim of increasing the attractiveness of technical trades.

DUSBeyond presented the airport’s sustainability strategy and three selected projects that contribute significantly to strengthening sustainability.

More information about the EUREF Campus: EUREF Campus Düsseldorf