9th RUHR-Symposium

Functional Materials in a Circular Economy

October 17th, 2023


Volatility on the global commodity markets has increased significantly over the past 20 years. Extreme examples of this are the drastic price changes – both rising and falling – in rare earths, but also in other industrial metals such as magnesium, silicon, gallium and germanium. Against the background of the energy transition and increasing electromobility, the demand for functional materials will continue to increase beyond the current already very high relevance of these raw materials. In contrast to construction materials, functional materials are generally found in low to very low contents in electronic components, batteries, magnetic materials and as alloying elements in metallic materials.

However, rising raw material prices not only mean that ore mines that were previously not worth mining can be mined economically after all, but also that recycling processes that were previously uneconomical can possibly be operated successfully in economic terms after all. While the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted at the UN General Assembly in 2015 were still formulated as a vision of how to achieve a better world with more prosperity and less resource consumption, the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan is shifting the importance of sustainability and the development of sustainable processes into the focus of European policy. Recycling processes and nearly closed material cycles have long been in place for a number of metals. However, suitable recycling processes have yet to be researched and developed on a large scale for numerous functional materials: because of their markedly dissipative distribution in the products and the waste materials.

Against this background, experts from science and industry will address the future significance of functional materials – which are system-relevant for the energy transition and the development of electromobility – and their recycling options at the 9th RUHR Symposium.


Auf den globalen Rohstoffmärkten hat die Volatilität in den letzten 20 Jahren deutlich zugenommen. Extreme Beispiele dafür sind die drastischen Preisveränderungen – sowohl steigend als auch fallend – bei den Seltenen Erden, aber auch bei anderen Industriemetallen wie z.B. bei Magnesium, Silicium, Gallium und Germanium. Vor dem Hintergrund der Energiewende und der zunehmenden Elektromobilität wird der Bedarf an Funktionswerkstoffen jenseits der aktuell schon sehr hohen Relevanz dieser Rohstoffe weiter zunehmen. Im Gegensatz zu Konstruktionswerkstoffen befinden sich Funktionswerkstoffe in der Regel in geringen, bis sehr geringen Gehalten in elektronischen Bauteilen, Batterien, Magnetwerkstoffen und als Legierungselemente in metallischen Werkstoffen.

Steigende Rohstoffpreise führen aber nicht nur dazu, dass bisher nicht abbauwürdige Lagerstätten doch wirtschaftlich abgebaut werden können, sondern auch dazu, dass bisher unwirtschaftliche Recyclingverfahren eventuell doch ökonomisch erfolgreich betrieben werden können. Waren die 17 Nachhaltigkeitsziele, die auf der UN-Vollversammlung 2015 beschlossen wurden, noch als eine Vision formuliert, wie eine bessere Welt mit mehr Wohlstand und weniger Ressourcenverbrauch erreicht werden kann, so rückt mit dem „Circular Economy Action Plan“ der EU die Bedeutung der Nachhaltigkeit und die Entwicklung nachhaltiger Prozesse in den Fokus der europäischen Politik. Für etliche Metalle existieren bereits seit langem Recyclingprozesse und nahezu geschlossene Wertstoffkreisläufe. Allerdings sind für zahlreiche Funktionswerkstoffe, wegen ihrer ausgeprägt dissipativen Verteilung in den Produkten und den Abfallstoffen, erst noch geeignete Recyclingprozesse zu erforschen und großtechnisch zu entwickeln.

Vor diesem Hintergrund werden sich auf dem 9. RUHR-Symposium Expertinnen und Experten aus Wissenschaft und Industrie mit den zukünftigen Bedeutungen von Funktionswerkstoffen – die für die Energiewende und die Entwicklung der Elektromobilität systemrelevant sind – und deren Recyclingmöglichkeiten beschäftigen.

Oktober 19th, 2022

The Ruhr Symposium explores the pivotal role of functional materials in advancing the principles of a circular economy. By embracing the principles of reducing, reusing, and recycling, the circular economy aims to decouple economic growth from resource consumption and environmental degradation. Functional materials, with their unique properties and capabilities, enable innovative approaches and transformative technologies for sustainable solutions. This gathering provides a platform for multidisciplinary discussions and collaboration among researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers to drive the implementation of functional materials in a circular economy. Enjoy the conference!

Industrial and Academical Partnerships
Session I: CAT – Catalytic Center
Session II: BasCat – UniCat BASF JointLab
Session III: PrometH2eu
Session IV: Full cell implementation of catalyst materials for fuel cells
Session V: HTE4CAT - Catalyst Discovery

Over 200 developers and researchers
from industry and science

Keynotes, Tandem-Sessions
(Industry/Science) & Exhibition

Speaker 2021

November 3rd, 2021 Duisburg


Prof. Malte Behrens

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Kiel University

Prof. Harry Hoster

Scientific Director, The hydrogen and fuel cell center ZBT GmbH

Prof. Anna Mechler

Electrochemical Reaction Engineering, RWTH Aachen University

Dr. Emanuele Instuli

Head of Analytical Chemistry Group, De Nora, Italy

Prof. Wolfgang Schuhmann

Chair of Analytical Chemistry, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Prof. Doris Segets

Process Technology for Functional Electrochemical Materials, University of Duisburg-Essen

Dr. Günter Schmid

Principal Key Expert Research Scientist, Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG

Prof. Walter Leitner

Management Board CAT, Chair of Technical Chemistry and Petrochemistry, RWTH Aachen University

Dr. Christoph Guertler

Head of Catalysis and Technology Incubation, Covestro AG

Prof. Matthias Drieß

Scientific Director BasCat UniCat BASF JointLab / Metalorganics and Inorganic Materials, Department of Chemistry, TU Berlin

Dr. Frank Rosowski

Scientific Director BasCat UniCat BASF JointLab / Process Research and Chemical Engineering, BASF SE

Lars Banko

Founder, Start-up Materials Space Exploration

Olga Anna Krysiak

Founder, Start-up Materials Space Exploration

Dr. Florian Eweiner

Team Leader Innovation, Heraeus Group

Dr.-Ing. Peter Beckhaus

Managing Director, The hydrogen and fuel cell center ZBT GmbH

We are pleased to announce that we will be holding the successful Ruhr Symposium format for the eighth time this year. This event, which is characterized by the combination of representatives from academic research and industry in tandem lectures, will this year be dedicated to the topic of „Functional Materials for Hydrogen“.

A special feature of this year’s event is the scheduling of the Ruhr Symposium together with the Duisburg Future Talks, a public panel discussion sponsored by the MERCATOR Foundation and organized by Duisburg Business & Innovation and the Hy.Region.Rhein.Ruhr association.

Between the symposium and the Duisburg Future Talks, which will take place as an evening event at the Fraunhofer inHaus Center, there will be an interesting bridge program, where we invite representatives from industry and the public to visit the NETZ building and the ZBT.