New conference set to put circular economy innovation on center stage for U.S. manufacturing

The REMADE Institute (REMADE) is hosting the first-ever REMADE Circular Economy Technology Summit and Conference. Organized by the institute in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and with support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the event will take place at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C., on March 20–21, 2023. It will showcase promising strategies and technologies for accelerating the adoption of a circular economy.

Elevating breakthrough innovations

Circular economy is an economic model designed to keep energy-intensive materials in circulation for as long as possible while eliminating waste and regenerating natural systems. It is a driving concept behind both REMADE, a 167-member public-private research-and-development consortia funded by the U.S. DOE, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a nonprofit working at the global scale to promote circular economics among industry and government. The conference is designed to build on a basic understanding of circular economy and show how it can be applied in real industry contexts through technological innovation.

Increasingly, companies and governments alike are turning to circularity as a viable pathway for decarbonizing industry while continuing to meet the world’s needs through economic growth. But there are still sizeable knowledge gaps when it comes to putting circularity into practice, both from a logistical and technological perspective.

Nabil Nasr, REMADE’s CEO and director of RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS), believes the conference represents an important step in closing those gaps and building critical connections between businesses, academia, and policymakers. “REMADE and our partners are very excited about bringing together, for the first time, all aspects of the circular economy into one unified, in-depth, multidisciplinary, action-based scientific conference and national thought-leadership event,” he said.

“This important international event will advance REMADE’s work in moving America toward a circular economy and reducing carbon emissions across the manufacturing sector,” said Steve McKnight, who is the acting director of EERE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office.

What attendees can expect

Experts agree that a systems approach is essential to planning circular economy solutions. It will be a theme throughout the event, focusing on how circular economy can be used to address complex challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, or the depletion of natural resources. Speakers and presenters will explore how technology can be applied to increase the reuse, remanufacturing, recovery, and recycling of energy-intensive materials like steel and aluminum, plastics, paper, and electronic waste (e-waste).

Three themed tracks of presentations will offer in-depth explorations of novel tools and technologies that are capable of advancing the circular economy. These talks will give attendees access to new research from across the globe, including those in the U.S. funded through REMADE. They will explore key focus areas across the material life cycle, including systems analysis, industrial ecology, eco-design, manufacturing-materials optimization, remanufacturing, resource recovery, and recycling.

The two-day agenda also includes keynotes and panel discussions featuring leading strategists in efforts to build a circular industrial system.

How to register

The event is open to the public, but will be especially of interest to manufacturers, industry leaders and innovators, academic researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and students who want to deepen their understanding of emerging technological innovations within the circular economy space. Attendees can register on the REMADE conference website.