The initiative aims to use domestic raw materials in a climate-friendly manner and to support the competitiveness of the European chemical industry. Industry experts, politicians and leading scientists from the three countries also discussed new conversion technologies and the development of legal framework conditions.
Following the successful start of the trilateral cooperation last year in Zabrze, Poland, the experts exchanged views in two sessions at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Dresden. The main topic was the material use of coal and carbonaceous waste for a circular carbon economy.
The experts from the three countries agreed to support a common European carbon cycle network. Partners from the energy, waste management and chemical industries, together with leading research institutes in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, are to develop technologies that take account of the future requirements for a harmonized regulatory framework in the European Union and contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the chemical industry in Europe. The initiative "European Network towards a Circular Carbon Economy" (ENC2E) will be presented to the responsible representatives of the European Commission at the next meeting of the "Coal Regions in Transition" platform in Brussels. The responsible national ministries should be informed in advance about the breakthrough for a common strategy.
The next workshop will take place in October 2019 in the Czech town of Litvinov. The hosts are then the lignite research institute VUHU in Most and Unipetrol A.S.
