Climate change, and with it the need for massive CO2 savings and more sustainable use of our limited resources, is forcing us to develop new solutions for our products and processes. "Circular Economy" considers the entire product life cycle from design to production, use and end-of-life recycling.
The Innovation Afterwork on Circular Economy hosted by Greentech.Ruhr and the Prosperkolleg project brought companies together with researchers from the region. Companies were able to find out about new research approaches and at the same time share their current issues with the researchers.
The development of the Circular Economy not only brings with it high CO2 savings potential, but could also create many new jobs in the Ruhr region, according to Dr. Manfred Renner, Fraunhofer UMSICHT. He presented the Fraunhofer Cluster Circular Plastics Economy and emphasised the complexity of putting the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan into practice. A joint approach, at least across Europe, was indispensable.
Downcycling could provide a solution for a much higher recycling rate in many cases. Instead of waiting to achieve one hundred percent product quality in the recycling process as with the original product, the recyclates could be used just as well in other areas of application, explained Joshua Grodotzki from the Institute for Forming Technology and Lightweight Construction at TU Dortmund University, using aluminium as an example.
Anna Preut from the Frauhofer IML directed the focus once again to the overall view. With the Self Check of the Circular Readiness Level, Fraunhofer has developed a tool with which companies can scrutinise their product throughout its entire life cycle. In this way, companies could find starting points on how to make their product more sustainable.
A major problem in recycling is still the large number of individual substances contained in a product. Separating them cleanly in order to be able to recycle them again requires a lot of manual effort and is therefore usually uneconomical. Solving this problem is the task of the Circular Digital Economy Lab (CDEL), which was presented by Prof. Dr. Saulo H. Freitas Seabra da Rocha from Prosperkolleg/Hochschule Ruhr West. Using various analytical methods, products are automatically recognised, analysed and finally separated into meaningful parts, which allows a much cleaner separation into the individual substances.
New technological approaches, such as the digital twin of a product, offer opportunities to make the value-added cycle more sustainable. However, political pressure is needed to fully implement the existing possibilities, according to a result of the intensive discussion between the participants and speakers.
After last year's regional meeting of the environmental industry had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, the participants were all the more pleased to finally experience the network live again, away from online meetings and webinars.
Around 100 participants met in the Stadthalle Mülheim under the motto "Together for more sustainability - How we can strengthen innovation in the environmental economy" to discuss the role of cooperation in tackling the acute climate crisis. The Greentech.Ruhr network, which in its fifth year has over 200 network partners, can provide a good basis for this: Small and large, young and established companies, research and educational institutions, but also other actors from the region who care about promoting the environmental economy offer the potential for sustainable innovation and cooperation.
Frank Schimmel of Gelsenwasser AG and Nico Hahn of DABBEL - Automation Intelligence GmbH presented a successful cooperation, which initially started as a project and has since led to a cooperation agreement. Both saw the key to this successful symbiosis above all in open and transparent communication, the courage to innovate and "staying power". Beforehand, Viktor Haase, Head of the Department of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Environmental Economics of the NRW Ministry of the Environment, emphasised that the demand for climate adaptation solutions was growing internationally and that the Metropole Ruhr had good prerequisites to "play right at the front".
In five different workshops or "competence kitchens" ("Energy Turnaround", "Resource Turnaround", "Mobility Turnaround", "Urban Turnaround", Industrial Turnaround"), the network partners were able to get to know each other in a creative brainstorming process based on their competences via the "business cards" handed out. The network partners saw initial points of contact and ideas for accelerating the climate change, for example, in modern and sustainable asphalt surfaces, edible beer bottles or the building material of the future from the 3D printer.
The feedback from the participants shows that the Greentech.Ruhr network already has good ideas that can grow into real cross-sectional cooperation projects for more climate protection, but that there is also a concrete need for cooperation for more sustainability. The Greentech.Ruhr team will get back to you with specific offers in the near future.
The Ruhr region has the chance to become the number 1 hydrogen region. With our virtual event Invest.RUHR - Hydrogen Innovation Transfer, we have further advanced the networking of stakeholders from research and industry. In this way we support the development of new cooperations and projects, because H2 is the key element to CO2-neutral industry.
The contribution of the ZBT the hydrogen and fuell cell center showed that the hydrogen economy has long since ceased to lack innovative power. Cooperation along the entire value chain is essential for supply and demand to reach a healthy balance.
December 2020, January 2021
Don't be afraid of IoT! With the right approach, IoT projects are a profitable investment. Processes can be simplified and efficiencies realised. This was demonstrated by our digital event series "Internet of Things in the Environmental Economy".
At the kick-off, Greentech.Ruhr network partners demonstrated concrete application solutions. The use of sensor technologies, e.g. for measuring CO2, filling levels of containers and floor subsidence, contribute to safety (predictive maintenance), efficiency and thus to saving resources and reducing costs. Existing plants or equipment can also be retrofitted into the IoT application and their service life can be extended by five to ten years. The generated data allow forecasts and facilitate decision-making.
In three webinars, the input from IOX GmbH encouraged participants to tackle IoT projects in their own companies. Due to the rapidly increasing number of IoT solutions on the market, it is becoming increasingly cheaper to convert processes in one's own company. The participants were given a good overview of IoT components, the advantages and disadvantages of different connectivity standards, the correct use of platforms and applications, and project management from concept creation to prototyping, product development and scaling.
There are a variety of public funding options for financing IoT projects. On the one hand, research projects in various degrees of technology maturity, and on the other hand, the concrete implementation of digitalisation solutions in companies are supported by public funds. ZENIT GmbH gave a comprehensive overview at the last event in our series.
We would like to thank our network partners for their input and support: Fraunhofer IML, PHYSEC, GREATECH, Okeanos Consulting, Zolitron Technology, ForkOn, neusta software development west, nexpro.digital and DMT, ZENIT.
If you would like information about the content of the webinars, please contact the Greentech.Ruhr team, Thien Trang Do and Christina Zollmarsch.
Greentech.Ruhr was the first German project to win the European Enterprise Promotion Award in the category "Promoting the development of green markets and resource efficiency". With this award, the European Commission honors outstanding initiatives to promote entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship.
185 applications were submitted from all over Europe, and two German projects made it onto the shortlist for one of the six categories of the award.
Click here for the video of the award ceremony.
7. und 8.10.2020
New ways of recruiting in the company: Greentech.Ruhr network partners learned in the second part of this year's personnel marketing seminar how they can better reach their professionals by understanding modern social media channels. Through various practical examples, our lecturer Peer Bieber, managing partner of ArbeitgeberGold GmbH, illustrated the potentials and dangers of individual social media channels. The seminar participants also got to know online tools with which they can pursue their future recruiting strategy for their "persona" even better.
What can mobility look like in the future? Where is the shoe pinching today and what has to happen to make sustainable ideas a reality? The participants of the digital event "Innovation Afterwork - Sustainable Mobility" discussed these questions together with Prof. Christian Rehtanz (Institute ie³ of the TU Dortmund University), Thomas Müller (bee smart city GmbH), Christopher Burgahn (eMobilify GmbH) and the organizers of StreamUP and Greentech.Ruhr. Sharing models, strengthening public transport and integrated concepts across cities are some of the approaches that were developed in the two breakout sessions. Concrete ideas will now be further developed within the streamUP program.
After long months of pure online formats, our partners benefited from the opportunity to finally network personally again. In a corona-like atmosphere at Lake Kemnade, interesting new contacts and conversations resulted for the participants. The whole range of Greentech.Ruhr was represented: start-ups, small, medium and large companies, research institutions, business development agencies and others. With old and new contacts, the experts discussed the topics of our network for three hours, from sustainable water management to energy issues and resource efficiency. This is how inspiration for new business ideas and cooperations is created.
Not only our ecological responsibility but also demands from customers, financial partners and legislation motivate companies to deal with their CO2 emissions. Determining the CO2 Footprint is a first important component in a holistic climate strategy. Moritz Becker, Arcanum Energy Solutions, explained what it means to determine a corporate carbon footprint or a product carbon footprint in our informative webinar.
Here you have the opportunity to watch the Innovation Talk on determining the CO2 Footprint.
Video of the event (in German)
00:00 Welcome, Christina Zollmarsch, Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH
05:28 Introduction, Moritz Becker, Arcanum Energy Solutions GmbH
10:10 Background and motivation
21:52 Fundamentals of the CO2 Footprint
28:40 Corporate Carbon Footprint
49:55 Product Carbon Footprint
55:05 F&A of the participants
Climate neutrality in 2050 - the Green Deal is both a challenge and an opportunity. How can companies position themselves to be sustainable and crisis-proof? How can they fully exploit the potential of sustainable business models?
This was the topic of the web conference held jointly with KlimaDiskurs.NRW e.V. After a keynote speech by Alexander Bonde, we discussed with experts the chances of climate protection and sustainability aspects for more climate-compatible business models and examined them from different perspectives. In the breakout sessions that followed, the aim was to address the various entrepreneurial aspects together with our impulse generators from practice and to show the audience the practical possibilities.
Here are the results of our morning. (In German)
What role does climate protection play for economic growth? The corona crisis offers opportunities for companies and the environment that must be seized. In her book "Mondays for Future", Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) calls for action: demonstrations on Friday, discussions at the weekend, but also tackling and implementing from Monday.
In the Innovation Talk of Greentech.Ruhr we discussed together with the economic expert as well as Mona Neubaur, regional chairwoman of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen NRW, Arnd Fittkau, member of the board of directors of Vonovia SE, Anja Surmann, managing director of Klima.Diskurs NRW e.V., Michael Groschek, president of the German Association for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Paetzel, chairman of the board of directors of Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband.
Videos and results of the event can be found here. (in German)
Greentech.Ruhr has won the German preliminary round of the European Business Development Award!
The network of the environmental economy of the Ruhr metropolis represents Germany as one of two initiatives at the European Enterprises Promotion Award 2020. In addition to Greentech.Ruhr, the state competition "Start-up BW Local - Gründungsfreundliche Kommune" (Start-up BW Local - Start-up-friendly municipality) is also involved." [Translate to English:] Greentech.Ruhr has won the German preliminary decision of the European Enterprises Promotion Award 2020.
The Federal Government Commissioner for SMEs, Thomas Bareiß, commented: "The two German finalists promote responsible entrepreneurship.
Since 2006, the European Commission has been awarding the European Enterprise Promotion Prize to public authorities, economic and educational institutions and public-private partnerships that have made outstanding contributions to the promotion of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship. The prize is awarded in the 28 EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.
It can also be digital. The search for personnel must and should not be interrupted in this time of crisis.
Digital processes can even shorten the recruiting process and offer good opportunities to involve even more employees in the personnel selection process.
It is important to keep a close eye on the mood in the company. Regular, anonymous surveys help to counteract dissatisfaction and prevent negative comments on evaluation portals.
Peer Bieber, ArbeitgeberGold GmbH, gave these and other impulses for personnel marketing in corona times to the network partners in a 90-minute "Innovation Talks - Greentech".
We have divided the recording of the event into five parts, which you can watch here:
Employer Branding during and after the crisis:
Part 1: Introduction, Facts and figures
How has Corona changed the labour market?
Part 2: External impact - positioning
How do I successfully create an employer brand?
Part 3: Internal recruiting - employee retention
Why do I have to be in close contact with my employees right now?
Part 4: Candidate Journey, social media recruiting
How do I deal proactively with COVID 19 in personnel marketing?
Part 5: Employer evaluation - digitalization of recruiting processes
How do I deal with bad ratings and what does digitalization mean for my corporate culture?
Forward-looking solutions from the Ruhr Metropolis: With an exciting programme at our stand in Hall 4, network partners presented the entire spectrum of the environmental economy at E-World 2020.
Just how closely the subject areas of water and energy, for example, are interlinked was demonstrated by the contribution of the Emschergenossenschaft: the thermosolar drying of sewage sludge as a building block for the Emscher hybrid power plant.
Cross-sectoral innovations were also inspired by the diverse contributions from hydrogen-based energy storage systems (HYCON GmbH), drone technology for measuring the surface and subsoil (ASDRO GbR) to solutions for handling perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals (Cornelsen Umwelttechnologie GmbH).
The innovative power of the Ruhr Metropolis was demonstrated to the international audience of E-World Energy & Water at the Greentech.Ruhr panel "Smart Mobility - Requirements and innovative solutions in the Ruhr Metropolis". innogy SE, for example, uses the existing infrastructure of the street lamps for digital networking, air analyses or parking guidance systems with the Smart Pole Factory. The Essen-based start-up eMobilify GmbH links the charging points of the suppliers to a smart, holistic e-mobility solution. And the Thelen Group and its subsidiary SV Gebäudeautomation are building the digitally networked city quarter #Essen51.
Our stand was always well attended and brought the network exciting contacts and new partners.
Students and young professionals informed themselves about the companies in our network at our stand at the E-World Career Forum in Essen.
Many network partners used the opportunity at the Greentech.Ruhr stand to make their current job offers and master's/bachelor's thesis topics public. This information was received with great interest by the visitors.
10. and 11.12.2019
At the largest meeting of the environmental economy in NRW, Greentech.Ruhr made many new contacts for the network. At our stand we informed about our work and welcomed many of our partners, who took part in the varied offer of workshops and lectures.
Greentech.Ruhr project manager Christina Zollmarsch moderated the session "Using funding for the environmental economy sensibly", in which Michael Niemczyk from the Effizienz-Agentur NRW presented various funding programmes and Elio Brunetti from Intrapore and Peter Mund from atech innovations discussed their experiences with funding projects with the participants.
Together with the IHK Mittleres Ruhrgebiet, Greentech.Ruhr organised a Trend-Speed-Dating for the first time on the 21st of November 2019. Under the trend theme "Green Tech, or: Which technologies can contribute to resource conservation in the future", the participants examined 16 global and regional innovations. From natural rubber made from dandelion to biosolar panels made from algae and E-Quadricycle for delivery journeys to modular wind turbines, various inventions were discussed and evaluated in terms of their potential and degree of difficulty in terms of feasibility. Particularly pleasing was the participation of four partner companies, who came up with their own business ideas, thus illustrating the innovative ability in the Ruhr Metropolis: ASDRO GbR, Kabel.Consult.Ing, Thyssengas GmbH and TURBONIK GmbH.
In the end, all participants agreed that there are already many surprising innovations in the Green Tech sector, but that it was precisely the regional examples that represented the most impressive products and thus illustrated the potential of the Ruhr Metropolis in the field of environmental economics.
23. and 25.09.2019
"Very nice and interactive event, lots of content, compressed and interestingly presented and overall very satisfied. Presentations were provided for your own documents TOP! Thus the voice of a participant of our online marketing seminar.
As a guest at our partner, Gelsenwasser AG, Ms. Kartin Nyland gave the participants a very practical and application-oriented introduction to the topics Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Advertising on two days.
For the time being, this was the last training event in this field. Digitisation and recruiting will be the contents of further offers that we will be presenting to environmental economy companies in the Ruhr Metropolis in the coming years.
September and October 2019
Greentech.Ruhr is repeatedly invited to present the environmental economy of the Metropole Ruhr to international delegations or at events.
This was also the case on 09.09.2019 at an Energy Infrastructure in Germany event organised by renac at the Impact HUB in Essen where representatives from companies and politics from Israel informed themselves about the energy industry in NRW.
We were also able to make exciting contacts at the Business and Investors Forum China in Cologne on 12.09.2019. This year's main topic Smart City & Smart Innovation offered many points of contact for our network.
On 27.10.2019 EWG gave us the opportunity to present the network to a delegation from CzechInvest. During a three-day visit the visitors from the Czech Republic informed themselves about brownfield refurbishment.
Productive networking in producing location
Climate protection and growth are not contradictory - on the contrary. The Ruhr region's strong environmental economy not only stands for the transformation from a coal and steel industry to an industry of the future, but also for growth. At the network meeting of Greentech.Ruhr on Monday evening, the member companies strengthened their successful cooperation.
At the Greentech.Ruhr network meeting on 20 May 2019, around 100 representatives of companies, research institutions and institutions from the environmental economy of the Metropole Ruhr met. At the network partner, Siloxa Engineering AG in Essen, the participants worked out the wishes and goals for Greentech.Ruhr 2.0 under the guidance of network expert Ute Blindert.
Wolfgang Doczyck calls for reason
"Success is never a matter for the individual, but always for teams. For us, Greentech.Ruhr is a network of like-minded people who actively lobby for more sustainability and environmentally friendly management," says Wolfgang Doczyck, CEO of Siloxa AG. The Essen-based company, which is a leader in plant construction for the treatment of gases, hosted the network meeting on Monday.
The Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR) is also committed to a sustainable and economically strong region at Greentech.Ruhr, says Nina Frense, Head of Environment at RVR: "Large, green infrastructure projects such as the IGA are also a laboratory for new technological solutions. They offer the opportunity to showcase themselves as a model region in which economic growth, climate protection and climate adaptation go hand in hand".
Project content for 2.0 developed by the network
The network was very committed during the workshop and worked in small groups - led by network expert Ute Blindert - to develop the wishes and needs for the next three years. The Greentech.Ruhr 2.0 team will focus on the following topics starting in summer: shortage of skilled workers, knowledge transfer and digitisation. For these three pillars of Greentech.Ruhr 2.0 concrete contents from the heart of the network could be compiled in such a way. This ensures that Greentech.Ruhr will continue to respond to the needs of its partners and offer suitable formats in the future.
In her concluding speech, Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser once again stressed the importance of these three topics, which represent new cross-sector opportunities for the environmental economy in NRW. Her plea for a strong environmental industry network rounded off the event.
We would be pleased to provide you with a summary of the workshop results. Please contact Christina Zollmarsch at email@example.com.
The environmental economy of the Ruhr Metropolis in the Gelderland region
Belgian, German and Dutch companies took up the invitation of the Cleantech Regio network on 14/03/2019 to examine what the Gelderland region has to offer in the field of circular economy.
The demand is for raw materials, we offer residual materials
The Zwitsal site in Apeldoorn was the venue for the Circular Economy Day in the SOAP-Zwitsal, an event location built from old shipping containers, with an overview of the cross-regional offers for the circular economy. One practical contribution to the circular economy was a special form of matchmaking, where the target of the search was residual materials of companies that could be used in turn as raw materials by other firms, or companies that enable such residual materials to be used by others.
The circular economy in action in Kleefse Waard
Participants could subsequently explore the Kleefse Waard industrial park in Arnhem. The industrial park is privately run and already adheres to the principle of the circular economy. Instead of disposing of the waste of the firms located there in the classic fashion, this is collected in part of the park and serves as a source of raw materials for innovative concepts. One example of such a use is the Airhunters Dock Office, built exclusively from pressed plastic waste.
The event was organised by the Cleantech Regio network from the Gelderland region in co-operation with the networks GREEN WIN of Belgium and Greentech.Ruhr.
Planergruppe GmbH Oberhausen relocated to Essen last December. The previous office site in Oberhausen city centre had grown too small for the 18 employees. One key element in the choice of Essen was that the majority of the employees live in Essen and the area to the east of it. As a result, there is an annual saving of a total of 36,000 kilometres that no longer need to be driven! Thanks to the better public transport links the team can now also reach a number of its projects quickly via tram or train, enabling the cars to be left in the car-park more often. As a parting gift to the city of Oberhausen the name of the company – Planergruppe GmbH Oberhausen – remains unchanged.
The panel of experts has recommended our Greentech.Ruhr 2.0 application for further support in the scope of the Regio.NRW.
There is now a good chance that the network will receive funding from the EU and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for a further three years, enabling it to dedicate itself even more intensively to issues such as innovation transfer, the acquisition of skilled personnel and strengthening digitalisation know-how in the Ruhr Metropolis.
To see which other projects are being funded read here.
Greentech.Ruhr used the well-attended career forum at the E-world energy & water to present the strengths of the region and introduce the network with its diverse job opportunities to students and graduates. Many partners had given us specific job advertisements for skilled staff, dissertations or placements, which met with avid interest from visitors to our stand.
We gave visitors a taste of a career in the Ruhr Metropolis with our presentation “The energy industry in the Ruhr Metropolis – prospects and opportunities for newcomers”, held in collaboration with Thomas Daun of EST Ges. für Energiesystemtechnik mbH,
Dr. Roland Gaschnitz of aix-o-therm GeoEnergien and Christoph Dollhausen of STEAG GmbH.
On the Greentech.Ruhr delegation trip to Tel Aviv participants were given an introduction to the Israeli innovation culture and start-up scene. In the course of numerous appointments with incubators and in coworking spaces they were able to gain information about current innovations in the environmental industry and establish key contacts with the start-up entrepreneurs.
A further highlight of the four-day trip from 03-06/12/2018 was the visit to the Shafdan, the waste water treatment plant for the entire Dan region and one of the most advanced worldwide.
The fact that Israel not only develops leading technology in the fields of energy and water, but also plays a pioneering role in, for example, data security was illustrated by a trip to the E.ON corporate challenge with a start-up pitch on the subject of cyber security.
In the end the participants agreed that the contact to the Israel environmental sector was a gain and should definitely be pursued further.
Visit in the scope of the Content Marketing Camp
9./16./23. November 2018
For research and teaching purposes the Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences has 3D printing and augmented reality labs as well as a wind tunnel. These were visited by Greentech.Ruhr partners in the scope of the second Content Marketing Camp.
At the camp the participants joined with Prof. Uwe Kleinkes to develop their personal strategy for content marketing, over the course of three days.
20. and 21.11.2018
The Umweltwirtschaft.NRW took place on 20 and 21 November 2018 at the Messe Essen. In the supporting exhibition Greentech.Ruhr presented the environmental economy of the region.
At the event, the focus of which was on “Digitalisation in the environmental economy of NRW”, visitors could hear keynotes by well-known speakers such as Karl-Heinz Land (author of the book: Erde 5.0- Die Zukunft provozieren) or Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Bullinger (long-serving president of the Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research). In addition, start-ups and junior researchers could also introduce themselves to the audience in the form of pitches.
In six parallel sessions on various areas of the environmental economy participants could talk with other experts and add their ideas to the discussion. The findings of the sessions are to be published on the homepage of the KNUW (Kompetenznetzwerk Umweltwirtschaft).
The team from Greentech.Ruhr made interesting new contacts and used the event for the intensive sharing of opinions with representatives of the worlds of politics and business.
Circular Economy Day: from the region’s most sustainable building to the largest centre for industrial recycling in Europe
The Ruhr Metropolis is the location of the future for the circular economy in Germany. This was the summary of Dutch and German businesspeople at the German-Dutch Circular Economy Day of Greentech.Ruhr on 05 November 2018.
Participants were able to see the potential offered by sustainable construction in a tour of the recently-completed headquarters of the RAG Foundation and RAG on the UNESCO world heritage site Zollverein in Essen. The building is one of the first in Germany to be constructed with the inspiration of comprehensive “cradle to cradle” measures. As a reward, it has received the highest distinction for sustainable construction of the German Sustainable Building Council.
This was followed by a tour of Europe’s largest centre for industrial recycling, the REMONDIS Lippewerk in Lünen. After the visit to the 230-hectare site the participants joined representatives of TSR Recycling and Remondis to discuss the challenges facing the sector.
The German-Dutch matchmaking on the circular economy was organised by Greentech.Ruhr, the network of the environmental economy of the Ruhr Metropolis, in co-operation with the Dutch network Cleantech Regio and the regional business development agencies for Gelderland and Overijssel, oost nl.
Our network partner Intrapore GmbH of Essen has emerged as state winner for North Rhine-Westphalia in the national business competition KfW Award Gründen 2018. The company is focused on the groundwater restoration of contaminated soils on the basis of nano and micro particles (NMP).
Winning the award is a distinction of quality for young companies. With the award the KfW aims to distinguish successful founders as well as helping to raise public awareness of the step towards self-employment.
The business ideas are judged according to their degree of innovation, their creativity and the assumption of social responsibility. Also key to the distinction was how environmentally aware the realisation was and whether jobs and training positions were created or retained.
Content marketing is the key to success on the internet, particularly for medium-sized companies with globally-unique pioneering technology. This was the lesson taken by participants at the second Greentech.Ruhr Content Marketing Seminar.
In two sessions led by Prof. Uwe Kleinkes they learned new techniques for marketing. In the process, the representatives of the firms were taught how to utilise their expertise for an authentic and individual customer approach. The attendees visited our network partners, H2-Netzwerk Ruhr in Herne and the Bildungszentrum für die Ver- und Entsorgungswirtschaft (BEW) in Essen.
Greentech.Ruhr at the Business and Investors Forum China
On 14 September 2018 the state business development agency NRW.INVEST hosted the Business and Investors Forum China (BIFC) for the seventh time.
Here the Greentech.Ruhr team represented the regional environmental sector, prompting avid interest in the managing of mining legacy amongst the Chinese visitors in particular.
This year’s forum saw around 600 managers and experts from China and Germany travel to Düsseldorf to discuss the issues facing the digital economy in the future. The forum is a key network meeting place, offering investors the chance to initiate Sino-German projects.
NRW Economy Minister Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart presents the award to the chairman of TRIMET Aluminium SE, Dr. Martin Iffert
On 03 September 2018 NRW Economy Minister Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart crowned TRIMET Aluminium SE as winner of the "NRW economy in transition" competition.
With its "Vocational training for refugees” project TRIMET aims to open up long-term prospects for young refugees who have found a new home in Germany, thereby facilitating their integration. There are currently 26 refugees working on entry qualifications or as trainees at various TRIMET sites. This number is set to rise to 66 by 2022.
A high-level jury from the fields of business, science, politics and society selected the ten prize winners, who represent the transformation and future capability of the North Rhine-Westphalia location.
Greentech.Ruhr partner trains refugees as specialists for wind energy plants
They came to Germany as refugees – now they are set to work as specialists in the wind energy sector. Since March 2018 twelve young men who fled Syria and Iran have been participating in the first module of the “Empower Refugees” project. Mid-August saw all participants pass the first hurdle, successfully completing this part of the project.
In the five-month further training course of KRAFTWERKSSCHULE E.V. in the Essen district of Kupferdreh the participants were prepared for an apprenticeship in the electrical engineering sector, with a focus on wind energy plants. One key component of this measure was a five-week placement, in which the participants could put their new knowledge to the test in four companies in the wind energy sector.
Clear job prospects as qualified industrial electricians for technical equipment
This year the participants are to have the opportunity to undertake a 16-month retraining as qualified industrial electricians for technical equipment (IHK) in the wind energy sector. The key feature: after this they will be able to begin their professional careers straight away, as the companies involved signed hiring guarantees for all graduates prior to the beginning of the course.
22.6./ 29.06./ 6.7.2018
At the Content Marketing Camp of Greentech.Ruhr the participants developed new strategies and content for their digital marketing. Aided by the expertise of Prof. Kleinkes of Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, the representatives of energy generation and energy efficiency companies drafted an image-based marketing article and an editorial plan over the course of three sessions.
Campus visit to wind tunnel
In conclusion, all interested partners of the network were able to learn about the extensive research infrastructure of the university at its Hamm site – from the building services and electrical engineering lab to the wind tunnel and on to the in-house FabLab with 3D coloured gypsum printer.
New micro steam turbine from Dortmund wins steel innovation prize
Berlin / Dortmund, 19 June 2018. The Greentech.Ruhr partner company Turbonik, a spin-off of Fraunhofer UMSICHT, founded in 2017, has been awarded the 2018 steel innovation prize in the “steel products” category for its innovative micro steam turbine. This saw the most significant German innovation prize awarded to a young Dortmund tech company that gives steam-producing companies the opportunity to create their own electricity economically, even with small volumes of steam. In the words of the jury: “The turbine uses energy efficiently, saves costs and reduces CO2 emissions sustainably.”
Source: Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl
Digital pump wins prize at the ACHEMA
Greentech.Ruhr partner SEEPEX has developed an intelligent metering pump, a pioneering move in the digital development of eccentric screw pumps. The Bottrop-based engineering company has now been rewarded with the Innovation Award in the category “Pumps and compressors”. The firm fought of competition from well-known companies to win.
The Innovation Award was presented for the fourth time by the journal Process and publisher Vogel Verlag in the scope of the world’s leading fair for the process industry, the ACHEMA. The company was able to apply in eleven categories. The award ceremony took place on 12 June at the fair in Frankfurt.
NRW Environment Minister Heinen-Esser welcomes 100th Greentech.Ruhr partner company
From the mobility of the future to data-based, decentralised energy supply: the trends of the future characterise trade gathering in Oberhausen
At the network meeting of Greentech.Ruhr around 100 representatives of companies, research establishments and environmental sector institutions in the Ruhr Metropolis came together on 11 June 2018. In the Technologiezentrum Umweltschutz in Oberhausen the participants joined with the new NRW Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser to discuss the trends in one of the largest future markets in the Ruhr Metropolis.
Heinen-Esser: environmental sector is undergoing a structural transition
Heinen-Esser emphasised the importance of the environmental sector for the sustainable structural transformation of the region . The fact that the Ruhr Metropolis is so strong in environmental technology is largely due to the unique history of the region between Emscher and Ruhr. Because even 100 years ago there was a need to deal with industrial waste water, polluted air and contaminated soil. Today, the environmental sector employs a workforce of around 100,000 and achieves total turnover of 26 billion euros a year. A role model for many other states.
100th partner company in environmental sector network
The environmental sector network in the Ruhr Metropolis supports all partner companies and institutions in establishing themselves nationally and internationally. Greentech.Ruhr has now welcomed its 100th partner company to the network, Volterion GmbH. With its unique batteries, the Dortmund start-up is one of the flagship companies of the region, and can now also benefit from the offers of the network.
Further images at: green-day-ruhr
Continue to photo gallery Voices from the network
At the world’s leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste and materials management, IFAT, in Munich, the Ruhr Metropolis displayed its strengths as a hotspot for the environmental sector. A total of 56 companies from the region presented their premium services and products in the environmental sector in Munich. At the fair stand of Business Metropole Ruhr Greentech.Ruhr, the network for the environmental sector in the Ruhr Metropolis, represented a further 90 companies in the trade.
Top region for the water industry
Together with the three network partners - the Centre for Water and Environmental Research at University Duisburg Essen, Tuttahs & Meyer GmbH and Intrapore GmbH - Greentech.Ruhr presented the Ruhr Metropolis as a top region for the water industry in the new Experience Area Future.
Ruhr Metropolis environmental sector in Rotterdam
On 30/11/2017 representatives of the environmental sector in the Ruhr Metropolis visited innovative projects relating to the water and energy sector in Rotterdam. The Dutch port city has a long tradition in the sustainable use of water. It has therefore reacted innovatively to the rise in sea levels and increasing weather extremes.
Resilience strategy of Rotterdam city council
For example, the Chief Resilience Officer of Rotterdam city council, Arnoud Molenaar, presented the strategy of the city to prepare citizens for the challenges of the future – urbanisation, digitalisation and climate change. Examples include public squares and sports grounds that can also be used as retaining basins in the event of heavy rain.
The construction of the future: floating cattle farm
The participants subsequently took the water bus to visit the former shipbuilding wharf that now serves as the place for innovations in Rotterdam, with the RDM Campus. The site is used in particular to develop construction projects for the future. To illustrate this, entrepreneurs demonstrated a floating cattle farm as well as houses made from sustainable building materials and with integrated cultivation areas for plants. The excursion was rounded off with a matchmaking exercise with Dutch companies and experts from the Rotterdam environmental sector network, Clean Tech Delta. The day trip was organised by Greentech.Ruhr, the network of the environmental sector in the Ruhr Metropolis.