The CIRCOTRONIC project, funded by the Interreg Central Europe programme, concluded with a three-day final event dedicated to sharing results, exchanging expertise, and showcasing the solutions developed to promote circular economy practices applied to EEE sectors across Central Europe.
The event brought together project partners, institutions, companies, and research centres from several European countries and travelling from Bologna and Rimini, taking advantage of the International Fair ECOMONDO that every year takes place the 1st week of November in Rimini, Italy.
The final event started with the arrival all Partners in Bologna, ready to reach ECOMONDO!
ECOMONDO International fair is one of Europe’s leading fairs for the ecological transition. Partners arrived around lunchtime and reached the fair, taking the opportunity to visit the expo and attend interesting workshops whose main topics have been: Sustainability, Circularity, Innovative Technologies, networking opportunities and sharing innovative solution to run more efficiently the path toward a more sustainable economy.
In the afternoon of the 1st day, participants attended an event organized by ERION focusing on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).
The session featured an intervention by the Head of the Energy Area of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Eng. Claudia Romano, offering insights into regional policies and circular strategies for the electronics sector.
This first day set the stage for discussions on challenges and opportunities in circular electronics.
The 2nd day CIRCOTRONIC on the stage with a dedicated Workshop, followed by a Technical Site Visit
The second day in Rimini, there was the official CIRCOTRONIC final workshop held within ECOMONDO fair.
During the workshop, partners presented:
- the project’s main results,
- tools developed to support the transition to circular electronics,
- pilot activities implemented in partner regions,
- perspectives for the future uptake of circular practices.
In more details, after the welcome and official opening of the workshop by Claudia Romano, Chief of the Energy and Green Economy Area of Emilia- Romagna Region and Viktorija Dobravec, Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Joint Secretariat Programme Officer, there was a
first session “Rethinking Electronics: An Introduction to the CIRCOTRONIC Project “ (vision, strategic goals, tools and circular labs) involving Urska Spitzer, Senior Advisor & EU Project Manager for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Lead partner, presenting the project and results achieved.
A second session” From linear to circular: innovations in Design, Materials & Business Models in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Sector” focused on the presentation of the Guidebook on circular transformation and pilot activities, by Rainer Pamminger, Senior Researcher & Project Manager at the University of Technology of Vienna,
and Nivedita Mahida-Königsdörfer, Scientific Officer at the Bavarian Research Alliance moderated by: A.Tiziana De Nittis – project manager at Emilia-Romagna Region.
A Roundtable discussion followed: “How do we make circularity the new normal for Electronics? moderated by Enrico Cancila, ART-ER (in-house regional agency of Emilia-Romagna Region) with sound contributions provided by: Danilo Bonato – Director of Strategic Development and Institutional Relations, ERION – Expert in circular economy, sustainability, policy, and industrial strategies.
Klara Grašič – Project Manager, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (CIRCOTRONIC Partner) – Expert in green transition and public policies
Amalia Zucaro – Researcher, Laboratory for Waste and Secondary Raw Materials Technologies, ENEA – Focus on critical raw materials (CRM) and WEEE recovery
André Rückert – Project Developer, ECOLOGICON GmbH (CIRCOTRONIC Associated Partner) – Expert in circular economy and waste management
A last session with the topic: UNPLUGGED, connecting with people when dealing with Electronics has closed the agenda, managed by Magdalena Małachowska, Ph.D., Researcher and Designer of change at Academy of Art in Szczecin.
CIRCOTRONIC partners travelled then to Marzabotto for an afternoon study visit at Dismeco, a leading Italian company specialised in WEEE treatment and material recovery. The visit offered participants a real-world look at circular processes applied to electronic waste management.
The 3rd Day back to work again: Technical Presentations and Official Closure of the event
The final day focused on technical sessions and the presentation of project deliverables with important guidance provided by the JS officer of the programme, to support the partnership with the procedures necessary to close correctly all the activities of the project.
This session took place in Bologna, at Emilia-Romagna premises, and the key notes of the agenda was focused on the following topics:
- Joint Secretariat (JS): procedures to complete and close the project
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (CCIS): management aspects
WP1 – Solutions for Circular Electronics: key outcomes
- Evaluation Report (D1.4.1) – presented by Tecos
- Solutions Report (D1.4.3) – overview by Biz-Up
WP2 – Network of Regional Labs: key outcomes
- Reflection Workshop (D2.4.1) – facilitated by ASRD
- LAB Reports (D2.4.2) on regional lab implementation (BayFOR & TUW)
- Summary of the communication campaign and virtual/travelling exhibition (D2.5.2–D2.5.3) presented by MD
Emilia – Romagna Region, represented by A.Tiziana De Nittis, project manager and host, closed the day with some concluding remarks.
Written by A.Tiziana De Nittis, Emilia – Romagna Region