Main Stage
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 to
Thursday, March 12, 2026
The Main Stage program
The Main Stage is a highlight of the Circular Valley Convention – a place where leading minds from business, science, politics and society present their visions and pioneering projects. Here you can find out first-hand how the future of the circular economy is being shaped. With inspiring keynotes and trend-setting impulses, renowned experts offer valuable insights into innovative strategies, transformative technologies and global trends. Be inspired by the perspectives of top speakers and experience how ideas are taking shape that will change our world for good.
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Opening & Welcome
10:00 - 10:15 a.m.
Opening
Format: Opening
Session: Opening & Welcome
Language: English
Speakers
Chérine De Bruijn
Moderator Main Stage
Managing director
CORPORATE KITCHEN®
Wolfram N. Diener
CEO
Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
Dr. Carsten Gerhardt
Chairman
Circular Valley Foundation
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner
Head of Institute
Fraunhofer UMSICHT / CCPE
10:15 - 10:25 a.m.
Greeting
Duration: 00:10 h
Format: Opening
Session: Opening & Welcome
Language: English
Speaker
TBA
Position
Company
10:15 - 10:30 a.m.
Greeting from the Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of NRW
Format: Keynote
Session: Opening & Welcome
Language: English
Speaker
Mona Neubaur
Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy
NRW
Statement
For us, the circular economy is not an abstract concept, but a concrete path to more sustainable value creation. By using resources efficiently and promoting innovation, we are not only strengthening the resilience of our supply chains. New economic opportunities offer possibilities for successful investments and secure our competitiveness. We are resolutely pursuing this path together in a strong network here in North Rhine-Westphalia.
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Keynotes & Panels
10:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Designing for Circularity: How Debonding‑on‑Demand Becomes a Game Changer
Format: Keynote
Session: Uniting Industries
Language: English
Speaker
Mark Dorn
Executive Vice President Henkel Adhesive Technologies and member of the Henkel Management Board
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Lecture information
Circularity will succeed if we strengthen dialogue and collaboration across the entire value chain, from raw material suppliers to designers, manufacturers, and recyclers.
This keynote explores how design choices determine a product’s circularity and how Design for Sustainability guides those decisions. Within this framework, adhesive innovations such as Debonding on Demand become key enablers, making controlled material separation – for repair, reuse, and recycling – technically feasible. It also highlights why sustainability must start at the design table and why strong political guardrails are needed to scale circular solutions across industries.
10:45 - 10:50 a.m.
Grenzüberschreitende Kooperation - Circular Economy gemeinsam gestalten
Format: Impulse Keynote
Session: Keynotes – Uniting Industries
Language: German
Speaker
Viktor Haase
State Secretary
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport
Lecture information
BASF's ambition is clear: to be the preferred chemical company enabling our customers' green transformation. We are committed to advancing a Circular Economy by increasing our use of recycled and renewable feedstocks, shaping new material cycles, and creating innovative business models. This presentation will illustrate how we contribute to closing and extending these loops by developing and implementing circular solutions for sourced materials. Additionally, we will discuss our efforts to optimize operations and provide resource-efficient products and services that support our customers on their circularity journeys.
10:50 - 11:15 a.m.
Crossborder collaboration for the Circular Economy
Format: Panel Discussion
Session: Keynotes – Uniting Industries
Language: English
Speaker
Dr. Carsten Gerhardt
Chairman
Circular Valley Foundation
Dr. Constantin von Selasinky
Head of Circular Economy Coordination Center
Energy4Climate
Arnoud Passenier
Strategic International Advisor Circular Economy
Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in The Netherlands
Brigitte Mouligneau
Manager
Strategic Advisor Circular Economy
Flanders Circular
Inge Neven
CEO
Vito BE
Lecture information
CE innovations have a problem in scaling up. The bigger region of NRW-Flanders-NL offers opportunities to share knowledge and best practises, speeding up scaling and standardization of those innovations and organise strong cross-border value chain cooperation in different sectors, such as in batteries, electric and electronic equipment, chemistry and the built environment. For that we have to be selective and focus on creating the industrial facilities we need to shape the transregional circularity hub in Europe and support each other in guaranteeing feedstock and offtake to make the business case feasible.
Inge Neven will highlight how cross-border cooperation accelerates the circular transition in industrial regions. Drawing on the Trilate project, she will share concrete insights on joint energy infrastructure planning across Flanders, the Netherlands and North Rhine–Westphalia, and connect these lessons to the 3CVAX initiative. This broader collaboration, together with partners such as TNO and DECHEMA, focuses on strengthening circular value chains and securing the molecules and energy needed for a resilient, future-proof industry, aligned with long-term transition pathways such as Paths2050
11:15 - 11:30 a.m.
Circular construction in NRW
Format: Keynote
Session: Keynotes – Uniting Industries
Language: English
Speaker
Ina Scharrenbach
Minister for Home Affairs, Local Government, Building and Digitalisation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, MdL
11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Uniting Industries – How circular economy impacts organizations and their people
Format: Panel Discussion
Session: Uniting Industries
Language: English
Speakers
Saskia Backhaus
Partner People Consulting
EY Consulting GmbH
Frank Meyer
Senior Vice Presitent R&D Henkel Consumer Brands
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Talke Schaffrannek
Director Circular Economy
BASF SE
Dr. Timo Fleßner
SVP, Manufacturing API & Medical Devices Lead
Bayer AG
Dr. Ralf Düssel
Head of Sustainability
Evonik Industries AG
Dr. Hendrik Wehr
COO and Speaker of the Board
Vorwerk Elektrowerke GmbH & Co. KG
12:15 - 12:30 p.m.
Q&A Audience Interaction
Format: Q&A
Session: Keynotes – Uniting Industries
Language: English
12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
TBA
Duration: 00:15 h
Format: Speech
Language: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy
Language: English
Speaker
TBA
Position
Company
Lecture information
TBA
12:30 - 01:30 p.m.
Networking Lunch
12:30 - 02:15 p.m.
Science, Society and Economy
12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
Circular Economy - Successes, Opportunities and Challenges
Format: Keynote
Session: Innovation & Science
Language: English
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart
CEO; Professor of Eco-Design
BRAUNGART EPEA – Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH; Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Lecture information
The contribution will juxtapose the concept of circular economy with Cradle-to-Cradle. After introducing the concepts and differentiating the definitions and elements of the two concepts in a general way, the speaker will argue for the need to employ Cradle-to-Cradle design criteria in product and service design. He will present recent developments and positive examples that contribute to the realization of a truly circular economy. The presentation will include examples of Cradle-to-Cradle product and service developments to serve as a source of inspiration for listeners.
12:45 - 01:00 p.m.
Circular Economy: from dependency to sovereignty
Format: Keynote
Session: Innovation & Science
Language: English
Speaker
Reiner Hoffmann
Chairperson
Rat für nachhaltige Entwicklung
01:00 - 01:15 p.m.
Raw Material Resilience Amid Geopolitical Tensions: The Role of Circular Supply Chains
Format: Keynote
Session: Innovation & Science
Language: English
Speaker
Dr. Britta Bookhagen
Head of Unit "Secondary Raw Materials"
German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA)
Lecture information
This presentation will give a broad overview of current raw material supply system and our dire dependencies of raw materials from other regions. The EU Critical Raw Materials Act can be part of the solution. Further strengthening circular use of raw materials within the EU is one of the most promising aspects. Continuous monitoring and forward-looking assessment of future supply situations also needs data and tools. One of the tools being set up is the DERA recycling-atlas, which provides market transparency, helps identify potential opportunities, and supports closing existing supply gaps.
01:15 - 01:30 p.m.
The potential of agriculture and bioeconomy
Format: Keynote
Session: Innovation & Science
Language: English
Speaker
Frank Terhorst
EVP Strategy and Sustainability Crop Science
Bayer AG
Lecture information
This keynote explores the concept of Regenerative Agriculture as an outcome-driven, multi-season system that enables farmers to produce more while restoring nature. Using biofuels as a concrete example, the session illustrates how agriculture can function as a circular system that creates value on and beyond the farm. The rapid deployment and scaling of innovation play a critical role in enabling these systems and driving resilience, productivity, and long-term value creation.
01:30 - 02:00 p.m.
Design must be Re-Design – Shaping a Sustainable Future with Circular Design
Format: Panel Discussion
Session: Design for Circularity
Language: English
Speaker
Holger Bramsiepe
Managing Partner
Generationdesign
Anne Farken
Associate Director, Sustainability Consulting
Designworks, a BMW Group Company
Alissa Ritter
Corporate Sustainability Lead
Rosenthal - Arcturus Group
Heiko Tullney
Executive Director
Indeed Innovation
Steffen Erath
Head of Innovation & Sustainability
hansgrohe
Lecture information
Circular economy starts at the design stage. Designers have been recognised as catalysts to move away from the take-make-dispose business models to achieve a more resilient, regenerative and circular economy. Due to their poweful technical and human-centred competences, they can help to design products and services for closed loops, as well as create new revenue opportunities.
At the Circular Valley Convention 2026, we will highlight how designers use circular design strategies like ‘Rethink‘, ‘Reduce‘, ‘Reuse‘, ‘Recycle‘ and how to implement them into the development process. We will show that circular products and business models have to be developed hand in hand and what the role of designers in the circular economy can be.
02:00 - 02:15 p.m.
Q&A Audience Interaction
Format: Q&A
Session: Keynotes – Uniting Industries
Language: English
02:15 - 04:30 p.m.
Early R-Strategies
02:15 - 02:30 p.m.
From Strategy to Implementation
Format: Lecture
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
Speaker
Andreas Walingen
Head of Group Circular Economy
Volkswagen AG
Lecture information
|
02:30 - 02:45 p.m.
Circular by Choice: Turning Circular Solutions into a Competitive Edge
Format: Lecture
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
Speaker
Matthias Lesch
Managing Director
Pöppelmann Holding GmbH & Co. KG
Lecture information
While many companies approach circular economy through regulatory compliance, Pöppelmann has taken a decidedly market-driven path. This lecture explores how Pöppelmann Blue transformed from innovative idea into strategic differentiator. Through large-scale circular solutions already running in series production, for example in the automotive industry, we’ll show how circularity becomes a competitive booster rather than an obstacle.
02:45 - 03:00 p.m.
Circular economy solutions in research and industrial application
Format: Lecture
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
Speaker
Dr. Thomas Hipke
Head of Lightweight Construction, Energy Storage and Circular Economy
Fraunhofer IWU
Lecture information
Whether we can have a functioning market economy without ruining the environment will be the deciding factor in the future.
Fraunhofer has set itself the task of gradually or disruptively changing production technologies so that they meet market requirements while still protecting the environment.
In our EU project ZEvRA, the aim is to build a Skoda with 0% new material and to further develop many environmentally friendly technologies. In addition to reshaping existing components and making extensive use of recycled materials at series production level, a large number of components in the car are being redesigned and built as prototypes. Examples of how this can also be implemented industrially are also being shown.
03:00- 03:15 p.m.
Design-for-Circularity: Winning circularity through product design
Format: Lecture
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
Speaker
Tobias Albers
Principal & PERLab Amsterdam Lead
A.T. Kearney GmbH
Lecture information
Products need to be designed circular – everyone agrees. And yet, most products still are not.
This keynote explores why circularity so often fails in practice, despite available technologies, materials, and strong intent. The core issue is not downstream recycling or lack of innovation, but upstream product design decisions, where cost, performance, and timing dominate – and carbon remains invisible.
Taking a Design-for-Circularity perspective, the talk shows how circular outcomes are determined early in design, long before products reach production or use. Using a real industrial case from Kearney PERLab, it demonstrates what happens when carbon becomes a decision-relevant parameter in product design: how priorities shift, where the true levers lie, and which trade-offs companies actually face.
The keynote concludes with a view on how Design-for-Circularity, supported by digital and AI-enabled decision tools, can move circular economy from ambition to scalable product reality.
03:15 - 03:45 p.m.
Carbon2Chem® – Keep Carbon in the loop
Format: Lecture
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
Speaker
Prof. Robert Schlögl
Project Coordination Carbon2Chem®
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion
Matthias Brey
EY Partner and Europe West Sustainability Leader; Carbon2Chem® project partner
EY Consulting GmbH
Lecture information
Nature shows us how to recycle carbon. In the Carbon2Chem® project, we are working on building blocks to make this possible in the technosphere as well. Even though the technologies and processes have been known for a long time, but there are many small challenges on the way to industrial application. Like nature, Carbon2Chem® does not solve challenges in isolation, but finds systemic solutions. Now is the time to put them into practice.
03:45 - 04:00 p.m.
Financing and funding circular innovations
Format: Lecture
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
Speaker
Dr. Maike Albers-Malkus
Head of Funding Advice &
Customer Service
NRW.BANK
Lecture information
As the promotional bank for North Rhine-Westphalia, NRW.BANK actively promotes the sustainable and digital transformation of the state with its support programs. Promoting the circular economy is a priority strategy, as it offers companies the opportunity to combine innovation, resource efficiency, and digitalization, thereby improving their (global) competitiveness—and ultimately strengthening North Rhine-Westphalia as a business location. The presentation will show specifically how NRW.BANK promotes circular solutions from SMEs, including start-ups, and will present exciting examples.
03:45 - 04:00 p.m.
Lecture at the
Pöppelmann
exhibition booth
Circular at scale: circular solutions in series products
Format: Lecture
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
Speaker
Frank Schockemöhle
Head of Technology Management
Pöppelmann Kunststoff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG
Lecture information
At our booth, we’ll showcase circular automotive series products. Starting with the scale-up of PIR usage in the 2010s, Pöppelmann K-TECH introduced the first automotive exterior component made from packaging waste PCR in 2020. Subsequent innovations included exterior parts from end-of-life vehicle waste and interior components from PCR materials. The next milestone: utilizing automotive shredder residue (ASR) as a valuable resource.
04:00 - 04:15 p.m.
Circular Economy in the Water Sector - Strategic Fields of Action Illustrated by the Wupperverband
Format: Lecture
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
Speaker
Ingo Noppen
Executive Board
Wupperverband
Lecture information
For modern water management, the circular economy serves as a strategic guiding principle. It demonstrates that wastewater is far more than a disposal problem, but a carrier of energy, nutrients, and water for reuse. Integrated river basin management, intermunicipal cooperation, and long-term governance can enable closed material and energy cycles. Projects such as phosphorus recovery illustrate the contribution of water management to resource security, climate protection, cost stability, and regional value creation. Water management is thus positioned as a central public infrastructure for a sustainable circular economy.
04:15 - 04:30 p.m.
Q&A Audience Interaction
Format: Q&A
Session: Smart Economy
Language: English
04:30 - 06:00 p.m.
Circular Valley Demo Day Batch #10
04:30 - 06:00 p.m.
Circular Economy Accelerator Demo Day Batch #10
Format: Startup Pitches
Session: Innovation & Science
Language: English
Moderator
Maxmilian Merklinger
DACH Lead Sustainability
A.T. Kearney GmbH
Statement
All targets are set, all challenges are understood – now it is time to act. The Circular Economy is a – or even the – key lever to future-proof our businesses. That is why we need initiatives like Circular Valley.
Intro
Silke Krebs
State Secretary
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia MWIKE NRW
06:00 - 09:00 p.m.
Circular Night
06:00 - 06:10 p.m.
Opening
Format: Speech
Session: Evening event “Circular Night”
Language: English
Speaker
Dr. Carsten Gerhardt
Chairman
Circular Valley Foundation
06:10 - 06:40 p.m.
Learnings for the future from 60 years of art&science history
Format: Keynote
Session: Evening event “Circular Night”
Language: English
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Channing Rex Robertson
Emeritus Professor of Chemical Engineering
Stanford University
HA Schult
Artist
06:40 - 09:00 p.m.
Live Band - DJ PLUS
