MATCHMAKING

Zero Waste Europe is the European network of communities, local leaders, experts, and change agents working towards the elimination of waste in our society. 

Zero Waste Europe advocates for sustainable systems and the redesign of our relationship with resources to accelerate a just transition towards zero waste for the benefit of people and planet. 

Interests: Scaling up biowaste collection and composting; introducing reusable packaging systems for takeaway food & beverages in cities.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Jack McQuibban

More and Romsdal County Council have committed to establishing two areas of industrial symbiosis before 2030. To do this we identified 8 circular hubs in the region. We want to discuss these with other actors. Particularly other regional authorities on how they work, but also other actors involved in industrial symbiosis and circular hubs.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? 5-10 million.

Contact person: Ingrid Gjelsvik, Martin Ose

BIOBOOST aims to accelerate the growth of the bioeconomy in Catalonia by providing project development assistance (PDA) services that address the specific and systemic barriers preventing bioeconomy projects from reaching the investment stage. PDA services will be delivered via a one-stop-shop office in Barcelona, the ‘Accelerator’. The needs of bioeconomy projects will be assessed, Project Development Plans created, and a package of PDA services offered. The office will also work closely with the investment community and public institutions to prepare these stakeholders for the investment and construction phases.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? More than 20 million.

Contact person: Emma Pipo

Circular Flanders is the network and inspiration hub for the Flemish circular economy (CE) in Belgium. It is a partnership of governments, companies, civil society, and the knowledge community that will develop strategies, policies and actions together.

CE is one of the seven transition priorities formulated by the Government of Flanders. To that aim, Circular Flanders strives to decouple the material footprint created by Flemish consumption from economic growth and reduce that footprint by 30 %.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Kris van Looy 

FRONTSH1P aims to support regions undergoing a green transition by demonstrating replicable circular economy models that transform challenges into opportunities for economic growth, decarbonization, social inclusion, and improved quality of life. We focus on systemic solutions that integrate sustainable practices into production and consumption systems. 

The project is carried out in partnership with regional institutions, scientific organizations, civil society, and industry groups. These key stakeholders play a critical role in promoting and enabling systemic circular economy changes at the regional level. Through a participatory approach, we engage municipalities, companies, consumers, and the community to identify needs, overcome barriers, and co-develop a circular strategy with clear goals, measurable targets, and monitoring methods. 

Our strategy also fosters collaborations across sectors to strengthen the regional circular economy network, promote knowledge sharing, and facilitate the adoption of best practices. By building partnerships and creating synergies, the project aims to enable sustainable development and contribute to a greener, more resilient region, serving as a model for replication in other areas. 

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? More than 20 million.

Contact person: Fabio Magrassi 

Providing PDA to cities and regions to facilitate the development and investment in circular bioeconomy projects.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Miguel Angel Suarez, Jose Martin Soriano Disla 

Europe’s regional authorities have a crucial role to play as agents of just, inclusive and resilient economic development for their territories. ROBIN sets out to empower them to fulfil this role with support to co-shape their governance structures and models in ways that accelerate the deployment of their circular bioeconomy targets, while also promoting social innovation and accounting for different territorial contexts. To this end, we establish and demonstrate the potential of innovative circular bioeconomy governance structures and models in five European Regions within Ireland, Germany, Spain, Slovakia and Greece.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Pinelopi Kaslama

Roubaix is the fourth largest city in the Hauts-de-France region of France and is part of the European Metropole of Lille.

The Roubaix Town Council initiated a Zero Waste policy in 2014 after winning a nationwide call for projects on the theme of ‘Zero waste, zero wastage’.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? 5-10 million.

Contact person : Hugo Delahaye

Central Denmark Region (CDR) is one of five regions in Denmark and covers 19 municipalities. The CDR is led by the Regional Council, which is made up of 41 politicians who are elected every four years. The responsibilities of the CDR are health, psychiatry, and social and regional development.

The CDR has approximately 30 000 employees (mainly within healthcare). 17 staff members work on circular economy (CE), including five employees at hospitals.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? More than 20 million.

Contact person: Maria Helene Louwrier

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the lending arm of the European Union. It is the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world and one of the largest providers of climate finance. It supports the circular transition through awareness raising, advisory support and financing, including through its Circular City Centre - C3.

Contact person: Jonas Byström, Audrey Vergnes, Maria Blanco

Sodena is the financial support instrument of the Government of Navarre for attracting and developing business projects with added value for the region, also collaborating in its Smart Specialisation Strategy.

Sodena is a limited company, owned by its sole shareholder CPEN, Corporación Pública Empresarial de Navarra.

Contact person: Montse Guerrero

The EBRD is committed to furthering progress towards ‘market-oriented economies and the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative’. This has been its guiding principle since its creation at the beginning of the 1990s and, new challenges and the welcoming of new countries to the EBRD world notwithstanding, will continue to be its mission in years to come.

Contact person: Nicolo Giachino, Frederic Lucenet, Maya Almog

The European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) is the first venture fund exclusively dedicated to the (circular) bioeconomy. We invest in visionary European entrepreneurs who are driving the shift from a fossil-based to a bio-based economy.

ECBF aims to catalyze the transition towards a sustainable future by investing in biobased growth-stage companies with high potential for innovation, favorable returns, and sustainable impact. As a growth-stage venture capital fund, ECBF invest equity in companies active in AgTech, FoodTech, Industrial Biotech and Biobased Packaging and Construction Materials.

Contact person: Michael Brandkamp

Polestar Capital is an impact focussed financial service company and asset manager, primarily active with private debt impact strategies. Thanks to our expertise, we’re able to balance return, risk and impact to provide smart financing solutions for positive climate action. 

Contact person: Ward Heij

Defossilisation Development Fund (DDF) is a Swiss climate-tech fund dedicated to eliminating fossil fuel dependencies.

Contact person: Vivek Dogra

KOYS is a research Lab operating in innovation’s impact analysis for complex social-economic environments.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Francesco Niglia

EBN (European Business and Innovation Centre Network) is a not-for-profit that serves a pan-European, global community of people that use innovative business as a driver for regional (economic) development.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Joanna Abi Abdallah

The territorial cluster of Southeast Lower Saxony is formed of multiple stakeholders, including municipalities (cities, districts), regional authorities, companies (Salzgitter AG, VW, Electrocycling, H.C. Starck), scientific organisations (universities, research centres, Fraunhofer), civil society actors, and existing networks and communities of interest (REWIMET).

The transformation to a sustainable circular economy (CE) is the common motivation of the members of the territory.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Ani Melkonyan-Gottschalk

Cireco Finland Oy is a designer and builder of a new kind of built environment in accordance with the circular economy.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? 5-10 million.

Contact person: Fuad Ashraf Moghal

Intesa Sanpaolo is one of the top banking groups in Europe, with a significant ESG commitment,
a world-class position in Social Impact and strong focus on climate.
Contact person: Marco Boscolo

An X2Build hub transforming waste and biomasses into products for the construction industry. Solution 1: an industrial park, in which companies collect, sort, clean, and process waste for the production of building materials. Solution 2: a production incubator for scaleups producing biobased building materials. Both solutions rely on shared services and processes.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? 5-10 million.

Contact person: Mikkel Ebbesen Vinther

The Circular Value Institute is a non-for-profit organisation that helps companies generate economic value from circular business models and products with a focus on reuse in the construction sector. We developed the Circular Value Index (CVI), a methodology that calculates the circular value of a product, that helps design products that generate circular value and integrate them into the most suitable business model.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Fabio Barbero

AIJU is the Technological Institute specialised in toys, children’s products and leisure, based in the town of Ibi (Alicante). It also has premises in Valencia.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? 5-10 million.

Contact person: Joaquín Vilaplana

At Venionaire, we excel in multifaceted roles and services, fostering collaborative partnerships in Venture Capital and Private Equity. With extensive expertise, our team offers meticulous due diligence, valuation, and adept deal structuring. We serve diverse clients, including investors, corporations, and emerging ventures.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Paul Stern

Material Mastery is a design and innovation organisation combining material science, cutting edge design and a deep understanding of business strategy.

What is the expected investment volume of the solution/project? Less than 5 million.

Contact person: Johan Bonner