Manufacturing companies face a double challenge: they must make their processes climate-neutral and resource-efficient while remaining economically successful. Legal requirements, social expectations, and rising energy prices are increasing the pressure. At the same time, the transformation opens up enormous opportunities for innovation, competitiveness, and new business models.
The 2nd Leuphana Industry Colloquium addresses the following questions:
- How can circularity be incorporated into the product development phase?
- How can material flows in internal and external supply chains be closed?
- Which business models enable effective recycling and economic profitability?
We will explore these and other questions in depth in the three focus areas:
- Innovative technologies: Circularity in product development and through individual technological processes
- Process management: Effects of circular products on production planning and supply chains
- Business models: Circularity meets economic profitability
- Providing guidance: What issues do companies need to address if they want to introduce circular-optimized products?
- Practical discussion: Using a case study and an interactive gallery walk, we work together to develop ways in which companies, research, and politics can shape circularity.
- Making connections visible: How do technological innovations, process management, and business models influence each other?
- Providing impetus for transformation: We show how ecological responsibility and economic success are not contradictory, but rather form the basis for sustainable production.
2:00 p.m.: Welcome and introduction by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Noomane Ben Khalifa
2:10 p.m.: Keynotes on the focus topics
- Christian Hein, Head of Decarbonization @ Aurubis AG
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Arthur Seibel, Leuphana IPTS & Henning Peitzmeier, Development Engineer @ HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
- Dr.-Ing. Kathrin Kramer, Circularity & Sustainability Advisor
2:55 p.m.: Open questions and interests of the community on the topic of circularity
3:10 p.m.: Break
3:25 p.m.: Gallery Walk – Interactive exchange between science and industry
4:25 p.m.: Wrap-up of the most important content of the Gallery Walk
4:40 p.m.: In-depth discussion and exchange over snacks in the Laboratory for Sustainable Manufacturing Technology (C27)
Christian Hein has been working in the fields of sustainability, energy efficiency, decarbonization, and environmental protection for almost 30 years. After studying environmental technology at Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, he took on management positions in energy management and sustainable corporate development. Since 2011, he has been coordinating energy and climate issues across the Aurubis AG group, a leading global supplier of non-ferrous metals and one of the world's largest copper recyclers. Today, as Head of Decarbonization, he is responsible for the group-wide transformation process towards climate-neutral production. His focus is on recyclability, resource efficiency, and innovative solutions for CO₂ reduction—key levers for the sustainable competitiveness of the industry.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Arthur Seibel has been head of the Chair of Product Development and Design Engineering at Leuphana University Lüneburg since 2023. Previously, he was head of department at Fraunhofer IAPT in Hamburg and habilitated at the Technical University of Hamburg in the field of design engineering. His research focuses on digital and sustainable product development. With numerous publications on methodical and environmentally friendly design, he combines basic research with industrial application. In projects on AI-based knowledge management and sustainable product architectures, he develops solutions that transfer recyclability and resource efficiency into industrial practice.
Henning Peitzmeier conducts research at the intersection of sustainable electronics, product development, and resource efficiency. Since 2023, he has been pursuing his doctorate at HELLA in cooperation with Leuphana University Lüneburg on circular strategies in electronics development. Previously, he gained experience as a development engineer at BSH Home Appliances and as a research assistant at the VDI Center for Resource Efficiency. His academic background includes a master's degree in Integrated Design Engineering from the University of Magdeburg and a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences. With his interdisciplinary profile, he combines practical industrial experience with scientific expertise and develops innovative approaches to anchor recyclability in electronic systems from conception to implementation.
Dr. Kathrin Kramer has more than ten years of experience in the field of renewable energies and has specialized in circular economy over the past five years. Her research focused on the development of circular supply chains for the European wind industry, resulting in numerous publications, research projects, and an extensive industry network. Her professional career at Aquila Capital, where she held positions in business development and investment management in the renewable energy sector, complements her scientific expertise with in-depth practical experience. Today, as an independent consultant, she supports companies and political institutions in scaling circular value chains, thereby promoting the sustainable transformation of industry.
Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart is a process engineer, chemist, and co-founder of the internationally renowned cradle to cradle concept, which he developed together with William McDonough. He teaches as a professor of eco-design at Leuphana University in Lüneburg and at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and heads the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) in Hamburg. He is also the scientific director of the Hamburg Environmental Institute. With his concept of eco-effectiveness, he has provided global impetus for recyclable products, production processes, and business models. As an author, speaker, and consultant, he has been shaping the discussion on sustainable industrial and design solutions in the spirit of a consistent circular economy for decades.
The Leuphana Innovation Community Sustainable Production is committed to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient and economically viable transformation of manufacturing companies and brings together stakeholders from science, industry and society. Shape the future with us and become part of the community!