AI in focus at the Circular Economy Conference 2026
The nova-Institut is focusing on AI at its next circular economy conference and has announced the members of the advisory board.
The AI Circular Economy Conference 2026 will take place from 4 to 5 March 2026 in Cologne and online, according to the Hürth-based research institute. According to the nova Institute, the event will focus on artificial intelligence, whose transformative power the institute hopes to further develop and advance by hosting the conference. "Artificial intelligence is changing our entire economy in many ways. But for the bioeconomy, CO2 utilisation and recycling, AI can be a game changer, as there is still considerably greater potential for optimisation here that can be leveraged with AI than in the fossil-based, linear world," emphasises Michael Carus, CEO of the nova-Institut. Lars Börger, Co-CEO of the nova-Institut, underscores: ‘AI is developing into a powerful catalyst for the renewable carbon economy and circular economy – it is accelerating the maturation of technologies and enabling completely new business models.’
According to the information provided, the advisory board for the event is made up of leading experts from the fields of artificial intelligence, the chemical and materials industry, biotechnology, software and research. Co-managing directors Lars Börger and Michael Carus, as well as Head of Technology & Markets Achim Raschka, represent the nova-Institut on the advisory board. According to the information provided, the following individuals are also represented on the board: Dr Tina Buchholz, German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), Dr Christine Bunte, Plastics Europe Germany (PED), Alex Dickmann, AI German Federal Association KI Bundesverband, Dr Patrick Glöckner, Evonik, Prof. Dr Dirk Hecker, Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS, Dr Tobias Klement, Cluster Industrial Biotechnology e.V. (CLIB), Dr Wolfgang Lippert, Microsoft Germany, and Nils Janus, Covestro.
Sources:
- Press release nova-Institut (17.9.2025)
- Photo: © nova-Institut