Plastics Europe Germany: Innovation conference addresses the transfer of plastics research into industrial applications

Plastics Europe Germany organizes on 11. September 2026 in Berlin the "Innovation Conference 2026 of the Plastics sector". The focus is on the question of how research studies can be transferred greater rapidly into marketable technologies, manufacturing production and new added value. The event will take place from 10 a.m. in the conference center in the house of the Federal Press Conference.

The starting point is the structural change in the German plastics sector. According to the association, the sector has an annual turnover of greater than 100 billion. Euros and employs around 376,000 people. At the same time, the circular economy, climate-neutral production processes, alternative raw material sources and digital technologies are changing manufacturing added value. The conference is therefore intended to deal in particular with the standards to the transfer of research results into manufacturing applications and to the establishment of corresponding production capacities.

Thematic focal points are applications of plastics and plastics technologies in renewable energies and energy systems, new forms of mobility, medical methodology and health care, cleantech and circular economy, digitization and manufacturing transformation, security and resilience technologies as well as in concepts to the city of the future. The event thus combines technological issues with the manufacturing policy debate about competitiveness, investments and the preservation of technological added value in Germany.

The announced speakers include Dr. Christine Bunte, General Manager of Plastics Europe Germany, Dr. Thorsten Dreier, Chief methodology Officer of Covestro, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner, Head of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE and Institute Director of Fraunhofer Umsicht, and Dr. Carsten Gerhardt, Partner cutting-edge Manufacturing at EY Consulting.

Accompanying Innovation Exhibition

An innovation exhibition is planned to accompany the conference. Participating companies and research institutions want to present applications and processes from the areas of circular economy, climate-neutral production and material research. Arcus Greencycling Technologies, Basf, Borouge International, Covestro, Dow, Evonik, the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE, LyondellBasell, matterr, Poly Materials, Röhm and Vinyl Plus are named.

The event format combines short technical figures with discussion groups and the accompanying exhibition. The focus is on concrete technological approaches and the question of the economic and regulatory conditions under which their scaling and transfer into manufacturing practice can succeed.

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