Engineering Pathways Driving the Circular Economy
The REMADE Circular Economy Tech Summit brought together leaders from policy, industry, and research to explore practical routes toward mainstreaming circularity. The event emphasized that no single discipline can deliver the shift alone; instead, multiple pathways must converge to address the intertwined challenges of climate, resource use, and industrial sustainability.
Andrés Clarens, assistant director for industrial decarbonization at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), underscored the stakes for hard-to-abate sectors such as concrete, cement, steel, and aluminum. “There is no way to get to net-zero unless we use circular economy,” he stated, pointing to OSTP’s work on sustainable alternatives to mined ingredients in construction materials. Clarens argued that policy is a critical lever for commercializing new materials and chemicals, noting that “Circularity is a key tool for meeting accelerating demand for these materials.”
Hans Bruyninckx, member of the U.N. Environment Programme’s International Resource Panel and former executive director of the European Environment Agency, framed the issue in global terms. “We will not get there by tweaking at the margins,” he said. Summarizing UNEP IRP’s Global Resources Outlook 2024, Bruyninckx called for international protocols to reduce resource use in high-consumption countries while enabling sustainable growth in low-consumption regions. He emphasized the need to phase out resource-intensive behaviors and stabilize sustainable ones.
From the technology sector, Google’s lead for circular economy, Mike Werner, highlighted AI-driven tools to boost recycling efficiency. “We need to be sequestering carbon in the circular economy,” he said. Werner showcased the Recycling Near Me feature and CircularNet, an open-source machine-learning platform for detecting recyclable plastics in materials recovery facilities (MRFs). In Bangladesh, CircularNet helped recover 50 tons of plastic from landfill streams. Google’s Moonshot Labs is developing AI capable of identifying waste materials at the molecular level, building a “ground-truth” dataset to advance recycling science and policy.
Textiles emerged as another critical frontier. Kedron Thomas, anthropologist at the University of Delaware, presented ReSpool’s Fiber Shredder technology, which transforms fabrics into fibers suitable for high-value applications. With 92 million tons of textile waste generated annually and 85 percent discarded, the innovation addresses the costly, quality-reducing challenges of separating mixed-material garments.
In metals processing, Georgia Tech’s Bert Bras examined aluminum ingot handling. By treating hot ingots as “heat energy batteries” and using thermal imaging to prioritize the hottest for pressing, his team found ways to cut reheating energy demand—a significant step for a sector still reliant on natural gas.
Design for remanufacturing (DfR) was another focal point. Brian Hilton, sustainable design technical program manager at RIT, is developing a DfR module for CAD platforms to help designers make choices that ease product restoration. “How do you get the most out of product without remanning it?” he asked, stressing efficiency in value recovery.
Ajay Ranjith Vempati of Cisco Systems described the company’s “circular economy teardown” process, in which teams dismantle products to rethink designs for circularity. This approach integrates sustainability into corporate design culture.
Collaboration was a recurring theme. Theresa Kotanchek, vice chair of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board, stated, “[Circular economy] will require reimagining what we do, where we do it, and how we do it.” Amazon’s Sarah Dimson-Tararuj outlined partnerships, such as with Rivian to electrify delivery fleets, that support its 2040 net-zero goal. Jeff Marootian of the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy described funding initiatives like the Re-X Before Recycling Prize to spur clean energy market growth, estimated at $23 trillion by 2030. AMMTO director Chris Saldaña linked circularity to national security, domestic supply chain resilience, and manufacturing competitiveness.
The Department of Defense echoed this perspective. “Our warfighters can’t use it if our manufacturers can’t make it,” said Jeff Pacuska of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, emphasizing supply chain forecasting.
Stephen Hammer, CEO of the New York Climate Exchange, discussed plans for a $700-million interdisciplinary hub on Governor’s Island to blend arts, policy, and science in communicating climate and circular economy strategies. “There is an opportunity here — we just haven’t capitalized on it yet,” he noted, underscoring the need for integration across sectors.
