Eureka: Circular Value Creation

Circular economy is gaining new momentum in society and the economy.

It is becoming increasingly important to conserve our limited resources, maximise the lifespan of components and keep them in a cycle.
Circular economy is already being successfully implemented in some areas with a focus on material recycling and/or returning materials to production.
However, these are often individual solutions and although some circular processes are already technically feasible, they are not profitable for companies and are therefore not implemented.
The idea behind circular value creation is to further develop the circular economy in such a way that individual solutions or individual cycles are networked with each other and material and component flows are harmonised.

Due to the global distribution of resources and the international trade of production goods, a functioning circular value chain can only be conceived globally, but must nevertheless be implemented specifically for the respective regions and sectors.

The international Eureka network, which links as many cycles as possible, creates intersections that significantly simplify the implementation of circular processes. To achieve this, we need to think about and discuss a systemic approach, the right data economy, the people who will implement this and the necessary technologies.
In order to incorporate the diverse global requirements and objectives, it is necessary to discuss them in an international process with experts from the Eureka member countries and to derive research needs and recommendations for action for policy-makers.
From July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, Canada and Germany co-chaired Eureka. Individual areas of the vision, so-called vision clusters, have been discussed in several design thinking workshops in order to create the basis for an economic, social and ecological realisation of the vision – research needs and political recommendations are the results in each case.

The results have been summarized and lead to the Eureka Call on „Circular Value Creation“ (Deadline: 30. September 2025):

• 114 submitted project outlines (500+ partners)
• 24 project outlines recommended for funding (100+ partners)