European regions and cities are working towards circular innovation, but often in isolation. Different levels of experience and limited collaboration make it harder to expand new technologies and slow down the shift to a circular economy.
The RIVCircular project brings together six European regions to create stronger, more connected, and more inclusive innovation ecosystems. By combining circular solutions with deep-tech adoption, the project will set up a long-term plan of action to guide regional strategies. This will help public authorities improve innovation policies and ensure active involvement from businesses and other key partners, boosting Europe’s capacity to lead in circular innovation.
In line with the New European Innovation Agenda’s flagship initiative on accelerating and strengthening innovation in ecosystems across the EU and reducing the innovation divide, the RIVCircular project will contribute to building connected Regional Innovation Valleys in the field of circularity.
The consortium brings together six regions that reflect the diversity of the European innovation landscape:
Community of Madrid (Spain) – a Strong Innovator and project coordinator, with a dynamic economy, a dense university and research system, and significant experience in EU pilot initiatives such as the Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRIs).
Innlandet (Norway) – a Moderate Innovator, leading in bioeconomy, agriculture, and wood-based industries, with strong potential in renewable energy and circular business models.
Košice (Slovakia) – an Emerging Innovator, building a vibrant regional innovation ecosystem through the Innovation Centre of the Košice Region (ICKK) and active in the PRIs pilot.
Brandenburg (Germany) – a Strong Innovator with an established industrial base and emerging biotech clusters, supported by universities and research organisations.
Hauts-de-France (France) – a Moderate Innovator, strategically positioned with strong logistics and industrial sectors, also engaged in the PRIs pilot.
Kyiv region (Ukraine) – an Emerging Innovator with growing capacities in renewable energy, food industry, and circular business development.
Together, these regions represent a mix of strong, moderate, and emerging innovators, combining advanced ecosystems with territories that face structural challenges. This composition ensures both knowledge transfer and capacity building, maximising the project’s contribution to reducing innovation gaps while promoting the adoption of circular economy and deep-tech solutions across Europe.
The activities carried out within the RIVCircular project will be fully aligned with the objectives of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). Adopted by the European Commission in March 2020, the CEAP defines a comprehensive programme designed to “close the loop” of product lifecycles through reuse and recycling. As a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, it represents a key instrument for achieving sustainable growth in Europe.
The CEAP introduces measures to establish sustainable products as the standard across the EU; strengthen the role of consumers and public buyers in driving circularity; prioritise high-impact sectors such as electronics and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction, buildings, as well as food, water and nutrients; reduce waste generation through advanced technologies for sustainable resource management and recovery; ensure that circularity delivers benefits for citizens, businesses, regions and cities alike.
Within this framework, the overall aim of the project is to foster the creation of efficient, open, inclusive and interconnected innovation ecosystems in six European regions in line with the New European Innovation Agenda, in the field of achieving circularity. The RIVCircular project will support a strategically oriented long-term programme of activities to enable authorities in charge of public regional innovation policies and programmes, with the participation of the private sector and research and innovation actors
