Turning industrial symbiosis from an ambitious concept into a practical solution requires more than technological innovation. It depends on cooperation between industries, researchers, regional stakeholders and the organisations helping translate project results into knowledge that others can use.
This collaborative approach was at the centre of the IS2H4C project‘s 6th General Assembly, held in Graz, Austria, from 23 to 25 September 2026. Hosted by AEE INTEC, the three-day meeting brought together consortium partners to assess progress across four European Hubs for Circularity, address implementation challenges and agree on priorities for the next six months.
EEIP attended the meeting as the project’s communication and dissemination work package leader, contributing to discussions on how emerging results, practical experiences and lessons learned can reach stakeholders beyond the consortium.
Four Hubs, Different Challenges, Shared Ambitions
IS2H4C is developing and demonstrating approaches to industrial-urban symbiosis across four hubs in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Türkiye.
The underlying principle is straightforward: resources that are underused or discarded by one industrial process may have value elsewhere. By connecting businesses, infrastructure and regional actors, industrial symbiosis can create opportunities to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and support industrial decarbonisation.
Putting this principle into practice, however, requires solutions adapted to local conditions.
The four IS2H4C hubs operate in different industrial environments, with distinct infrastructure, stakeholders, resource flows and regulatory considerations. Their experiences therefore offer valuable opportunities for comparison and mutual learning.
During the Graz General Assembly, partners reviewed developments across the hubs and discussed how technical progress, stakeholder engagement and implementation challenges differ between locations.
These exchanges are particularly important for understanding which approaches might be transferable to other European industrial regions and which depend on specific local circumstances.
Connecting Research, Demonstration and Practical Implementation
Beyond individual hub updates, the General Assembly provided an opportunity to examine how the project’s different activities fit together.
IS2H4C combines industrial demonstrations with research into digital tools, resource and energy management, governance approaches and business models. Progress in one area often depends on developments elsewhere.
A technological solution, for example, may require suitable business arrangements, cooperation between several organisations and a supportive regulatory environment before it can be implemented effectively.
The presentations and workshops in Graz allowed partners to discuss these interdependencies, identify obstacles and coordinate their next steps.
Rather than treating challenges as isolated problems, the meeting encouraged joint discussions between partners bringing different expertise to the table. This helped establish a common understanding of priorities for the coming six months.
EEIP’s Role: Connecting Project Results with European Industry
For EEIP, participation in the General Assembly was also an opportunity to strengthen the connection between the project’s technical developments and its wider communication and dissemination activities.
As leader of Work Package 8, EEIP coordinates efforts to communicate IS2H4C’s progress, share knowledge and engage audiences interested in industrial symbiosis and Hubs for Circularity.
An important part of this work is understanding what is happening across the hubs and identifying developments that can provide useful insights for other industrial regions.
The exchanges in Graz offered first-hand perspectives on the opportunities and difficulties involved in implementing circular solutions. These experiences can inform future project articles, stakeholder activities, knowledge-sharing events and other dissemination outputs.
For industrial symbiosis to expand beyond individual demonstration sites, practical knowledge needs to become accessible to businesses, regional authorities, researchers and policymakers.
This is where EEIP’s wider expertise in European project communication and stakeholder engagement contributes: connecting technical work with the people and organisations who may eventually apply, support or replicate its results.
Learning from AEE INTEC’s Research Facilities
The General Assembly also included a visit to AEE INTEC’s facilities, giving consortium partners an opportunity to learn more about the host organisation’s research activities and ongoing initiatives.
The visit added a practical dimension to the meeting, complementing the presentations and workshops with direct exchanges about research and innovation.
Seeing research activities first-hand also created opportunities for informal discussions between partners, helping strengthen relationships across the consortium.
Such exchanges are particularly valuable in multidisciplinary projects like IS2H4C, where cooperation between organisations with different specialisations is essential.
Turning Shared Knowledge into Wider Impact
The Graz meeting reinforced an important lesson for European industrial innovation: developing circular technologies is only one part of the challenge. Their successful implementation also depends on coordination, knowledge exchange and the ability to adapt solutions to different industrial environments.
Over the coming months, IS2H4C partners will continue advancing activities across the four hubs, building on the priorities and discussions established during the General Assembly.
EEIP will continue supporting the visibility and dissemination of these developments, helping connect the project’s practical experiences with Europe’s wider industrial sustainability community.
We thank AEE INTEC for hosting the consortium in Graz and welcoming partners to its facilities, as well as all IS2H4C partners for their constructive contributions throughout the meeting.
To explore the project’s ongoing activities and developments across the four hubs, visit the IS2H4C official website.
Funding Acknowledgement
IS2H4C has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101138473.
Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor HADEA can be held responsible for them.
