The fight against climate change cannot be won without a circular economy – this was the central message of the Circular Economy (CE) Hotspot 2022, which took place in Germany for the first time from 12 to 14 September. Around 400 international experts discussed this in Bottrop – the three-day summit was organised by the city of Bottrop and the Prosperkolleg. Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the state of NRW, opened the congress virtually, thereby underscoring the importance of the event and the topic of circular economy right from the start.

Experience circular transformation in surface technology

On the second day, full-day bus tours to best-practice examples in the region were on the agenda. ZINQ, with its Gelsenkirchen site, was also a destination for one group of participants. During a tour of the plant, visitors learned about the production process as well as closed loops for process media and zinc residues. The Gelsenkirchen site has been decarbonising with green electricity since 2013 and is currently preparing to substitute natural gas with hydrogen (Power2ZINQ) as the next step. Furthermore, the excursion participants had the opportunity to learn about the ZINQ Futurium as an element of the Planet ZINQ circular business model. The ZINQ Futurium is to be understood as a platform and a space for communication and networking, for knowledge transfer, and for innovation. ZINQ operates the most modern laboratory in the piece galvanizing industry here on 180 m², and a total of over 1300 square metres of usable space is available at this location for research and development purposes.

Kick-off for Transform to Zero

On the third day of the CE event, the focus was on international technical exchange and interactive workshops. The accompanying exhibition, in which ZINQ also participated, was well received. NRW Environment Minister Oliver Krischer also stopped by the ZINQ stand and even took part in a guided hot-dip galvanising immersion with pre-fabricated sample sheets and the miniature plant set up there, which illustrated the complete piece-galvanising process. The third day of the conference was dedicated to workshops and panel discussions on the topics of circular economy, resource conservation, and increasing efficiency.

Towards the end of the conference, the launch of the „TTZ – Transform to Zero“ initiative was announced under the umbrella of the Prosperkolleg, an initiative to which around 30 companies have signed up to date. The TTZ initiative, whose spokesperson is Baumgürtel, forms a common platform for the circular transformation in the economy and society. The alliance aims to secure competitiveness, added value, and jobs. Here, companies from the Emscher-Lippe region and its surroundings are pooling their strengths to mutually support each other in the circular transformation and to advance the region in its development towards an ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable future.