Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IS2H4C (Sustainable Circular Economy Transition: From Industrial Symbiosis to Hubs for Circularity)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30
The IS2H4C project operates within the strategic policy context of the European Green Deal, Fit-for-55 package, and the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, aiming to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral economy. Industrial symbiosis and circular economy are recognized as key levers in reducing resource use, energy demand, and emissions, while strengthening industrial resilience and regional innovation.
IS2H4C responds to the pressing need for scalable, replicable, and inclusive models of Hubs for Circularity (H4Cs), which integrate technological innovations, multi-stakeholder governance, and smart digital infrastructure. The project’s overarching objective is to demonstrate near-commercial scale H4Cs across four pilot regions (Netherlands, Spain, Türkiye, and Germany), while delivering a validated methodology and tools to facilitate their replication across Europe. The project's six objectives range from demonstrating 17 industrial synergies and developing decision-support tools, to enabling investment and delivering a scalable design methodology.
The motivation stems from fragmented industrial value chains, inefficient resource use, and limited access to financing and coordination mechanisms that currently hinder circularity. Through the integration of social sciences and humanities—particularly in stakeholder engagement, governance modeling, and just transition principles—IS2H4C establishes inclusive pathways for co-creation, local empowerment, and equitable benefits.
Ultimately, the project aims to produce tangible environmental, economic, and social impacts at regional and EU levels by fostering cross-sectorial industrial collaboration, reducing GHG emissions, improving resource productivity, and mobilizing investment towards circular infrastructure.
IS2H4C responds to the pressing need for scalable, replicable, and inclusive models of Hubs for Circularity (H4Cs), which integrate technological innovations, multi-stakeholder governance, and smart digital infrastructure. The project’s overarching objective is to demonstrate near-commercial scale H4Cs across four pilot regions (Netherlands, Spain, Türkiye, and Germany), while delivering a validated methodology and tools to facilitate their replication across Europe. The project's six objectives range from demonstrating 17 industrial synergies and developing decision-support tools, to enabling investment and delivering a scalable design methodology.
The motivation stems from fragmented industrial value chains, inefficient resource use, and limited access to financing and coordination mechanisms that currently hinder circularity. Through the integration of social sciences and humanities—particularly in stakeholder engagement, governance modeling, and just transition principles—IS2H4C establishes inclusive pathways for co-creation, local empowerment, and equitable benefits.
Ultimately, the project aims to produce tangible environmental, economic, and social impacts at regional and EU levels by fostering cross-sectorial industrial collaboration, reducing GHG emissions, improving resource productivity, and mobilizing investment towards circular infrastructure.
Seventeen planned synergies across the four hubs were initiated, focusing on hydrogen deployment, carbon capture and utilization (CCU), renewable energy integration, wastewater valorization, and secondary material reuse. An additional 24 expansion synergies are under feasibility analysis.
The Dutch hub began infrastructure planning for hydrogen pipelines and closed-loop water/oxygen systems. The Basque hub completed CO2 capture trials and CCU plant design. The German hub installed a CO2 capture unit and is preparing e-methanol synthesis. The Turkish hub advanced lab-scale testing of CO2-derived chemicals and NIPU for refrigerators.
DigitalH4C, the modular decision-support platform, was launched in alpha version. It supports synergy mapping, data integration, stakeholder engagement, and will serve as the collaborative backbone of H4Cs.
Modeling tools for resource flow optimization, agent-based simulation, and matchmaking were developed and tested with synthetic data. Validation with real hub data is planned next.
A technology map (D2.1) and hub-specific implementation plans (D6.1) were produced to align synergies with technical readiness and deployment needs.
Social innovation efforts included 32 stakeholder interviews, development of Living Labs, and creation of the Circular Hubs Impact Assessment and Valuation Model (CHIAVM).
Scientific outputs include peer-reviewed articles and international conference presentations, laying a conceptual foundation for H4C development.
Together, these activities form a solid base for entering the demonstration phase and fulfilling the project’s impact-driven ambitions.
The Dutch hub began infrastructure planning for hydrogen pipelines and closed-loop water/oxygen systems. The Basque hub completed CO2 capture trials and CCU plant design. The German hub installed a CO2 capture unit and is preparing e-methanol synthesis. The Turkish hub advanced lab-scale testing of CO2-derived chemicals and NIPU for refrigerators.
DigitalH4C, the modular decision-support platform, was launched in alpha version. It supports synergy mapping, data integration, stakeholder engagement, and will serve as the collaborative backbone of H4Cs.
Modeling tools for resource flow optimization, agent-based simulation, and matchmaking were developed and tested with synthetic data. Validation with real hub data is planned next.
A technology map (D2.1) and hub-specific implementation plans (D6.1) were produced to align synergies with technical readiness and deployment needs.
Social innovation efforts included 32 stakeholder interviews, development of Living Labs, and creation of the Circular Hubs Impact Assessment and Valuation Model (CHIAVM).
Scientific outputs include peer-reviewed articles and international conference presentations, laying a conceptual foundation for H4C development.
Together, these activities form a solid base for entering the demonstration phase and fulfilling the project’s impact-driven ambitions.
IS2H4C brings systemic innovation by moving beyond isolated industrial symbiosis initiatives toward the holistic orchestration of circular ecosystems:
- It pioneers a multi-level, cross-sectoral H4C model, combining technologies, governance, finance, and social engagement in a modular and replicable structure.
- The DigitalH4C platform introduces interoperable tools for planning, monitoring, and optimizing industrial synergies—capable of integration with regional data systems and future regulatory platforms.
- Novel circular business models and financial frameworks are being designed to attract private investment, supported by the CHIAVM tool that quantifies and monetizes circular impacts.
- Results are informing the creation of a top-down design methodology (forthcoming from M25 onward), which will allow regions to design H4Cs tailored to their socio-technical realities while retaining standardization for scalability.
- Scientific contributions span decision-support architectures, resource optimization under uncertainty, and stakeholder-driven governance mechanisms.
Critical needs identified for wider uptake include:
- Expanded access to demonstration funding and blended finance
- Greater regulatory clarity on waste-to-resource classification and cross-border symbiosis
- IPR protection and data governance frameworks to support digital tool deployment
- Structured capacity building to enable regional H4C replication
- It pioneers a multi-level, cross-sectoral H4C model, combining technologies, governance, finance, and social engagement in a modular and replicable structure.
- The DigitalH4C platform introduces interoperable tools for planning, monitoring, and optimizing industrial synergies—capable of integration with regional data systems and future regulatory platforms.
- Novel circular business models and financial frameworks are being designed to attract private investment, supported by the CHIAVM tool that quantifies and monetizes circular impacts.
- Results are informing the creation of a top-down design methodology (forthcoming from M25 onward), which will allow regions to design H4Cs tailored to their socio-technical realities while retaining standardization for scalability.
- Scientific contributions span decision-support architectures, resource optimization under uncertainty, and stakeholder-driven governance mechanisms.
Critical needs identified for wider uptake include:
- Expanded access to demonstration funding and blended finance
- Greater regulatory clarity on waste-to-resource classification and cross-border symbiosis
- IPR protection and data governance frameworks to support digital tool deployment
- Structured capacity building to enable regional H4C replication