From July 24 to 25, 2024, the 10th doctoral seminar with Prof. Dr. Martin Faulstich’s doctoral students took place at the facilities of Gertec GmbH & Co. KG in Essen. A total of 11 doctoral students and our team leader Circular Economy Dr. Lukas Gast took part in the seminar.

The doctoral seminar began with an official welcome and a round of introductions, during which all participants were able to get to know each other. This introductory phase created a pleasant atmosphere and laid the foundation for a lively exchange and subsequent collaboration.
The first presentation by Andreas Hübner was entitled “How a research project might change my doctorate”. This was followed by a brief input from Ms. Esther Lutz from Gertec GmbH Co. KG, who presented a project idea on the topic of “Monitoring area planning tool (urban) forest”.

After a short break, INZIN scholarship holder Christian Großhauser shared the current status of his research after a year of doctoral studies.
After a joint lunch break, Mr. Torsten Weber from Gertec GmbH Co. KG gave a presentation on “Resource efficiency and circular economy in energy-efficient building refurbishment”. This was followed by a presentation and discussion by Dr. Lukas Gast, who gave an overview of the circular economy.

As a cultural highlight, the participants visited the Ruhr Museum on the grounds of the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen in the afternoon. This visit offered fascinating insights into the region’s industrial history and rounded off the seminar.

The second day began with a science speed dating session, during which the participants had short conversations about the highlights and challenges of their doctorates.

At the end of the seminar, there was a feedback session followed by the official farewell. Here, the experiences and insights of the seminar were reflected upon and next steps were planned.

We would like to thank all doctoral students for their dedicated participation, Andreas Hübner and Julian Leber for organizing the seminar and Gertec GmbH Co. KG for the use of their premises and are already looking forward to the next doctoral seminar.

This year, the Young Science Forum and the INZIN summer party took place for the second time at the Canoo Club on the Rhine. First, however, the fifth INZIN General Meeting took place. We are very pleased that Prof. Dr. Martin Faulstich was re-elected to the Board of Directors of the INZIN Institute and would like to thank our members, whose support makes our work possible in the first place. Our scholarship holders had the opportunity to present their research topics at the Young Scientists’ Forum. Many thanks again to Dr. Lukas Gast, who introduced the INZIN Institute and the Circular Economy working group and moderated the forum, and to our scholarship holders Jule Jeschonowski-Papstein, Pauline Jegen and Konstantin Saure, who presented their complex research topics in an engaging and entertaining way. Finally, many thanks to our guests, whose participation made the evening very special.
We are already looking forward to many more exciting events and to shaping the future of industrial society together with you!

We are delighted to welcome Mr. Daniel Ohl to our team as a new INZIN Fellow on July 1, 2024.

Mr. Ohl is researching new indicators and evaluations of technologies for the circular economy. He completed his Master’s degree in Applied Chemistry at TH Köln in September 2023 with a focus on green and sustainable chemistry. Before that, he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Business Chemistry at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Last year, he completed an internship at Prognos AG in the field of sustainability consulting with first projects in the field of circular economy and chemical recycling.

The transition to a decarbonized economy is increasing the demand for rare earths and industrial metals. Securing a sustainable supply of raw materials is therefore essential for the successful transformation of Germany as an innovative industrial location.
As Germany and the EU are heavily dependent on individual countries for the extraction and processing of rare earths and industrial metals, effectively recovering them and closing raw material cycles is a key challenge. This expert forum focused on the barriers that need to be overcome for a cross-sector circular economy.

Together with representatives from politics, science and industry, the expert forum discussed which political framework conditions could lead to more effective recovery of rare earths and industrial metals. Input from Dr. Michael Weltzin, Division IVB1 Mineral Raw Materials, Circular Economy, Technical Supervision BGR of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK), Dr. Lukas Gast, Team Leader Circular Economy at the Institute for the Future of Industrial Society (INZIN), and Dr. Britta Bookhagen, Head of the Recycling Raw Materials Department at the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), contributed to a successful event.