Waste becomes a raw material. This simple principle is going to provide great opportunities to transform our industry.

Industrial and industrial-urban symbioses show how value chains may change: waste heat could supply entire neighborhoods, residues from food production could be the basis for new products, and digital tools foster material and/or energy exchange between neighbouring businesses. The interaction between companies, municipalities, and regions does not only mean providing ecological advantages but also strengthens local competitiveness.

So called ‘Hubs for Circularities’ showcase the systematic implementation of such collaborations. They connect businesses with their surroundings and demonstrate how energy and material flow cycles can be set up regionally.

The current issue of ‘nachhaltige technologien’ presents successful examples and innovative approaches: examples showcased are the Göss brewery, which optimizes its energy and material flows in a regional context, digital tools that simulate symbioses and thus support the design and planning phase of such symbioses, and international initiatives that promote the linkage of industrial and urban cycles. The examples clearly show that climate neutrality can be reached if we manage to overcome the boundaries that usually exist between industries, sectors, and regions.