Supporting the transition towards circular economy in European cities and regions: Development of a replicable model for local circular economy projects

Project Information

InvestCEC

Grant agreement ID: 101082131

DOI

10.3030/101082131

Project closed

EC signature date 19 August 2022

Start date 1 November 2022

End date 31 October 2025

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 1 961 575,00

EU contribution

€ 1 961 575,00

Coordinated by

ENSPIRE SCIENCE LTD
Israel

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - InvestCEC (Supporting the transition towards circular economy in European cities and regions: Development of a replicable model for local circular economy projects)

Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2025-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

European cities and regions aim to accelerate the circular economy (CE), yet many - solutions struggle to attract investment due to regulatory complexity, fragmented value chains, and limited proof of financial viability. InvestCEC addressed these barriers.
The model structures cooperation across 4 stages: defining local needs; identifying and selecting circular solutions; preparing entrepreneurs and municipalities for investment; and developing an investment programme that mobilises public and private capital.
The model was only partially demonstrated in the city of Klagenfurt, Austria. Stadtwerke Klagenfurt AG (city utility) guided technical feasibility and municipal integration. A full EuVECA/AIF fund architecture was prepared, alongside a recently presented venture-partnership “virtual fund”.
2 Calls for Entrepreneurs organized by G2G produced a diverse pipeline of circular and linear innovative business cases, evaluated by STW-AG and VENCAP. The evaluation confirmed that aligning city needs with investment criteria enables clearer decision-making and faster pilot deployment, while highlighting supply chain and procurement challenges relevant to EU policy discussions.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Structured Identification of Municipal CE Needs
Developed a structured framework to define municipal CE needs across waste, water, energy and material recovery.
Transparent Selection of Circular Solutions via a Technical Deal-Funnel
Implemented a transparent 2-stage selection procedure. 2 Calls for Entrepreneurs generated 59 applications.
Technical Assessment of Financial Barriers and Investment Constraints
Analysis of the financial, and valuation barriers affecting circular projects, including validation gaps, supply chain risks and municipal budgeting constraints. The work produced a set of technical mitigation measures that directly informed the design of the investment programme and feasibility methods.
Integration of Model Learnings into a Technical Policy Framework
Translated operational evidence into policy-relevant insights on regulation, procurement, and investment conditions.
Activation of a Circular-Economy Investment Programme
Prepared a €20m EuVECA/AIF fund structure and a complementary venture-partnership “virtual fund”, which was not tested or demonstrated.
Integrated Tools, Templates, and Replicable Technical Frameworks
Across the 4 stages, produced openly accessible instruments: needs-definition templates, solution-provider templates, selection criteria, deal-funnel guidelines, feasibility methodologies, investment-readiness checklists, and fund-application guides.
InvestCEC concluded with a public–private cooperation model that links municipal CE needs with market solutions and investment routes. It produced: A proven methodology for problem definition, solution sourcing, and feasibility assessment; Tested evaluation tools and decision frameworks integrating municipal and investor requirements; Supported investment-readiness support for SMEs; An architecture for an investment programme capable of financing and scaling circular projects.
These achievements deliver a functioning, science-based framework that EU cities and regions can adopt to design, validate, and finance CE projects.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

A key advancement is the replication-ready evaluation logic that balances circularity impacts, municipal integration, and bankability. Standardised templates, scoring rubrics, and circular KPIs provide a transparent method for comparing solutions. The project also introduces a financing architecture.
InvestCEC delivers a complete investment-readiness stack, including feasibility methodologies, business-model guidance, risk-adjusted financial logic, and standardised documentation to help circular SMEs meet operational and financial expectations of utilities and investors.
A replication package, made publicly available, equips cities with reusable tools, workflows, and a pipeline of evaluated solutions, so that medium-sized cities, which often face constraints, can adopt a validated process for sourcing and preparing circular projects.

InvestCEC partners at CIRPLEX

InvestCEC Final Event at the European Parliament, Brussels

VENCAP Presenting InvestCEC at CIRPLEX

InvestCEC partners at Stadtwerke Klagenfurt Day