In addition to the main conference program, this year’s Renewable Materials Conference offers a wide range of workshops for in-depth knowledge exchange. If you register by August 17, you will receive a 10% discount on the price of conference tickets.
From 22 to 24 September 2025, the nova-Institute is once again organizing the Renewable Materials Conference (RMC) in Siegburg near Cologne. At this leading event for renewable materials, innovative solutions for the use of renewable carbon from biomass, CO₂ and recycling instead of fossil carbons in chemicals and materials will be presented. The conference brings together key players from industry, science and politics to discuss technologies, innovations and legal frameworks for a sustainable circular economy.
More than 500 international participants are expected to attend this year’s conference. The conference includes 75 specialist presentations and 20 panel discussions as well as a networking area with an exhibition spanning two floors.
A particular highlight this year is the strong focus on the exchange of in-depth knowledge through a variety of interactive expert workshops. These will take place parallel to the main program and complement the presentations and panel discussions on each of the conference topics. Their scheduling allows participants to attend both the conference sessions and the topic-related workshops without overlap. The workshops are organized by renowned companies, institutes and international initiatives and offer in-depth insights into industry-relevant topics, policy insights and best practices.
A highlight of the conference: twelve interactive expert workshops
Workshops on Day 1, September 22, 2025:
The first day of the conference opens the workshop program with four specific workshops addressing key aspects of industrial transformation and business development. Florian Kleinwächter from Holcim (DE) will present how to turn CO2 into business opportunities: The perfect opportunity to get in touch with Holcim. Timo Ture and Markku Nikkila from Syklo (FI) will present “From Waste to Wonders”. This is a new industrial concept in which cardboard and plastic waste is recycled into technical biocomposites with a low carbon footprint.
In parallel, a policy-oriented workshop will take place in which the PtX Lab Lausitz (DE) will examine policy instruments to promote the sustainable conversion of petrochemical clusters to CO₂ use. This workshop will be led by Irina Akhmetova and Lukas Horndasch together with guest expert Clemens Schneider from the University of Kassel.
In the afternoon, the nova-Institute (DE) will offer a practical workshop for emerging companies entitled “Business plans for renewable chemicals and materials for start-ups and SMEs”. Led by Lars Börger, Narendar Raju Poranki and Gillian Tweddle, the workshop will explain what makes a successful business plan and how nova experts can support start-ups and SMEs. Practical case studies will round off the event.
Workshops on the 2nd day, September 23, 2025:
The second day offers a very diverse workshop program: Kai Junge Puring from Fraunhofer UMSICHT (DE) will present the “Air2Chem” project. This project is about replacing fossil chemicals with chemicals that are obtained directly from atmospheric CO₂. In addition, the vision of a chemical industry that integrates air as a raw material will be highlighted.
Michael Carus, founder and managing director of the nova-Institute/Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI, DE), will present a comprehensive model study by BIC/RCI on the availability of biomass for chemicals and derived products in Europe and worldwide.
In a parallel session on marketing, Stefanie Fulda and Dušica Banduka from nova-Institute (DE) will explore effective communication strategies for renewable materials and chemicals.
HYDRA Marine Sciences (DE) and BASF (DE) are jointly organizing a workshop addressing the key open questions on biodegradability to further structure the complex topic and achieve integration into the circular economy concept. Miriam Weber, Christian Lott and Andreas Künkel will explain the role of renewable, biodegradable materials in a circular economy.
Kim Schoppink from the Science Based Targets initiative (EU) will open a discussion on the main proposed improvements of the revised Corporate Net Zero Standard and their impact on the use of renewable carbon.
Workshops on the 3rd day, September 24, 2025:
On the last day of the conference, Jan-Harm Urbanus and Pieter Imhof from TNO (NL) will show how AI can be used in polymer design to mitigate the negative impact of plastics and develop innovative, breakthrough material solutions.
In parallel, Matthias Stratmann from nova-Institute (DE) will discuss the role of renewable carbon in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as well as carbon footprint guidelines, methodological work and case studies.
To conclude the workshop series, Christopher vom Berg from nova-Institute and RCI will host the workshop “Facilitating Change – Policy for a Renewable Carbon Transition”. Participating experts include Janine van Kampen (Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth, NL), Sebastian Kunz (Südzucker, DE) and Luciano Proto Cassina (nova-Institute, DE).
For the workshop program, abstracts with short descriptions and more information on how to book your own workshop, please visit: www.renewable-materials.eu/workshops/.
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