Circular Valley’s mission is to drive economic growth while protecting the environment. They are looking for startups committed to accelerating the transition towards a circular economy model. Now in its ninth batch, their accelerator programme offers:
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Exclusive access to the international Circular Valley network
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Prominent participation in the Circular Valley Forum 2025
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Financial support to cover travel, accommodation and visa expenses
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Direct connection with laboratories, experts, business leaders, scientists and policymakers
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Opportunity to pitch your project to investors, large companies and media
Batch #9 focuses on the following seven topics:
1. Design4Circularity – Economically viable Circular Product Designs as enablers for circular products and low-emission business models
2. Reverse Logistics – Economically viable Take-Back Concepts and/or Reverse Logistic Concepts for returning products from household use
3. Industrial Symbiosis – Concepts that enable the collaboration between companies of the same or different industries for the utilization of by-products and surplus resources, increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impact
4. Metals in the loop – Innovative solutions for metal recovery with higher efficiency
5. Carbon & climate – Concepts for renewables-based carbon materials for a closed carbon loop
6. Digitalization as an enabler for the Circular Economy – Digital tools that push viable circular business concepts by data pooling for:
(a) the traceability of material data to comply with regulations,
(b) the recyclability of materials for a circular product design,
(c) the financial analysis and comparison of various circular routes including business as usual
7. Other – Wildcard
Application deadline: 27 July 2025
Programme duration: October to November 2025
On-site phase in Germany: 27 October to 15 November (with the possibility of extending to 21 November)
Participants will have the chance to engage with over 160 partners, develop mentoring relationships through an extensive network in the Rhine-Ruhr region, carry out experiments, collaborate with scientific staff, and exchange experiences with other startups.