The conversation partners

Sabrina Schreiner and Anna Krüger jointly head the Research Department “Application and Demonstration” at Fraunhofer CCPE. Sabrina Schreiner is also the group leader for User-Centered Technology at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT. Anna Krüger works as a research associate in the Polymer Engineering division at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT. Together, they contribute their expertise in product development, product design, and polymer technology to the development of practical solutions for the circular economy.

The EU is continually tightening its requirements for sustainable products. Many companies are only now responding. Isn’t that actually too late?

Sabrina Schreiner: The pressure to act has definitely increased. At the same time, we see this as a major opportunity. Companies that only consider circularity at the end of the product development process will face difficulties in the future. It should be an integral part of the design, development, and decision-making process from the very beginning, not just an add-on, so that added value and economic efficiency can go hand in hand.

Anna Krüger: That’s exactly where we support companies. We take a holistic view of products – from the selection and development of materials and manufacturing processes all the way through to use and recycling. This results in solutions that meet both regulatory requirements and market expectations.

Recycling is often seen as a panacea for the circular economy. You take a much more nuanced view. Why?

Anna Krüger: Recycling remains indispensable. However, there are limits to what it can achieve if a product wasn’t designed with the circular economy in mind. That’s why we help companies transform from, for example, multi-material to single-material solutions.

Sabrina Schreiner: This is why we talk about circular design. It’s also about designing products so that they can be repaired, disassembled, and recycled to a high standard. The crucial decisions are made long before a product even reaches the market. Material selection, design, and recyclability must therefore be coordinated from the very beginning. That’s the only way to create products that truly meet the requirements of a functioning circular economy.

Monomaterials are considered a key building brick for the circular economy. Do they fulfil this role?

Sabrina Schreiner: Monomaterials can make an important contribution because they significantly simplify recycling. But they are not an end in themselves; we still need to keep the technical requirements in mind so that the monomaterial product can be successful on the market.

Anna Krüger: A key aspect of our monomaterial approach is considering the technical requirements in order to select, based on this, the appropriate base polymer and the modular building bricks of the morphologies developed from it. Close collaboration between design and engineering is essential to properly engineer and manufacture these products.Platform for exchange and cooperation

There is often a wide gap between scientific findings and industrial application. How do you bridge that gap?

Anna Krüger: That’s exactly why we develop demonstrators, such as our child seat or the circular, reusable transport box. They make research tangible and show companies how new materials, designs, and manufacturing approaches can work in practice. We’re happy to invite company representatives to examine our demonstrators at CCPE events and have their questions about the path to industrial application answered.

Sabrina Schreiner: In addition, demonstrators help identify the potential and limitations of new concepts at an early stage. Together with industry partners, we can then further develop solutions in a targeted manner and bring them to market more quickly.

If you had one wish: What change is most urgently needed in product development?

Sabrina Schreiner: The strategies and methods for increasing – or even enabling – circularity must become a natural part of everyday product development: as integrated goals. They must be as self-evident as quality, safety, and cost are today.

Anna Krüger: I would like to see a shift in mindset, from linear to circular, and a little more courage to break new ground. Design, material development, production processes, and recycling can and must be considered together from the very beginning. It is precisely this interplay that is at the heart of our work in the Research Department “Application and Demonstration.”