Digital Technologies for the Circular Economy

• Background: model change and a new paradigm.
• Core Principles of the Circular Economy.
• Circular Business Models and Strategies.
• Policy and Regulatory Landscape for Circular Economy.
• Introduction to Digital Technologies for Circularity. The Role of Digitalization in Circular Economy.
• Overview of Key Digital Technologies:
  • Internet of Things (IoT): Sensors, connectivity, data collection.
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML): Data analysis, predictive maintenance, optimization, automation.
  • Blockchain Technology: Transparency, traceability, secure data sharing.
  • Digital Twins: Virtual representation of physical assets, real-time monitoring, simulation.
  • Big Data Analytics: Insights from large datasets.
  • Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing): On-demand production, reduced waste, customization.

• Explain the core principles of the circular economy and contrast them with the traditional linear model.
• Identify and describe key digital technologies -like IoT, AI, blockchain, and digital twins- and their potential role in enabling circularity.
• Discuss the policy and regulatory landscape that supports the transition to a circular economy.

Prof. Justo García-Navarro is a Full Professor of Agroforestry Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), leading the CIRCULAR Community at the EELISA European Alliance of Universities and heading UPM’s “Sustainability in construction and industry” research group. He coordinates UPM’s Master’s in Circular Economy of Minerals and Construction Products and the AMIR Erasmus Mundus Joint Master. He serves as Director of the UPM-Nfq ESG & TALENT Chair and is involved in educational innovation in rural engineering technologies.

Prof. García-Navarro is a technical expert and evaluator for various Spanish accreditation bodies, and has participated in the assessment of R&D projects across multiple organizations. With work on more than 50 R&D projects at national and EU levels and over 120 scientific papers and books published, he is a recognized expert in circular economy and sustainability in construction, and was awarded the Alfonso Martín Escudero Research Award in 2001.

• Use Cases in Circular Economy:
  • Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW): Blockchain-enabled transparent tracking of materials throughout recycling and reuse chains.
  • Electric Vehicle (EV) Batteries: Lifecycle data management and secure documentation for reuse, resale, and recycling.
  • Textile Industry: Using blockchain to enhance traceability, circular design, and consumer trust.
• Blockchain Capabilities for Circularity:
  • Waste-Resource and Energy Recapture: Verifying resource provenance and ensuring compliance with sustainability standards through immutable data records.
  • Digital Product Passports: Digital product passports to enhance traceability, circular design, and consumer trust.
  • Smart Contracts: Automation of compliance, logistics, and incentive structures for closed-loop systems.
• Cross-Cutting Issues:
  • Operational Technology (OT) Cybersecurity: Ensuring integrity and resilience of blockchain-integrated systems within industrial environments.
• Debate and conclusions.

• Explain how blockchain technology ensures data integrity and traceability throughout a product's lifecycle.
• Analyse real-world use cases of blockchain in sectors like construction, EV batteries, and textiles to enhance circularity.
• Discuss how blockchain can be integrated with other technologies, such as smart contracts and Digital Product Passports.

Prof. Alexandra Suzana Cernian is a Romanian Associate Professor at the University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, specializing in Artificial Intelligence, Business Intelligence, Blockchain, and Machine Learning. She has led and contributed to over 20 national and international research projects and serves as an EIC Accelerator evaluator for the European Commission. Alexandra is co-founder & CEO of Recycllux, an innovative startup leveraging Earth Observation, AI, and Blockchain for marine plastic recycling.

She holds a PhD in Systems Engineering and teaches master's and bachelor's courses on digital and computing subjects, including AI, databases, and software engineering. Alexandra is also active in national policy as a member of Romania’s Council for Digital Transformation (CNTD), and mentors startups through programs like Ingenius Hub and Startarium. Fluent in English and French, she is a prominent figure in European digital innovation and entrepreneurship networks.

• Introduction, motivation and general framework.
• Application of the Digital Product Passport to various sectors: Construction and Demolition Waste; Waste-Resource and Energy Recapture; EV Batteries; and Textile Industry.
• European standards applied to the Digital Product Passport.
• European policies for the Digital Product Passport.
• Interactive activity.
• Debate and conclusions.

• Summarize the purpose and framework of the Digital Product Passport (DPP) within the EU's regulatory context.
• Illustrate how the DPP can be applied in specific sectors, such as construction, EV batteries, and textiles.
• Evaluate the role of the DPP in enhancing transparency, traceability, and circular business models.

Prof. Marcos García Alberti is a Ph.D. Civil Engineer and faculty member at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), specializing in construction technology, smart construction, BIM, and special concretes. He leads significant research in digitalization of construction, Digital Twins, and machine learning applications, with over 100 scientific articles, including 73 in JCR journals, and an h-index of 26. He directs the University-Industry Chair Calle 30 at UPM and is principal investigator on several state and EU-funded projects.

He co-founded the startup BIM-Data and has extensive experience in construction, project management, and structural design. Recognized among Stanford's World's Top 2% Scientists in 2021, Marcos has also received multiple awards including the Extraordinary Doctoral Thesis Award from UPM and the Fundación José Entrecanales Ibarra Award. He supervises doctoral theses and has been involved in over 40 research contracts with industry partners.

• Overview of AI capabilities (machine learning, computer vision, NLP, optimization).
• Alignment of AI with CE strategies: efficiency, traceability, predictive insights.
• AI Applications in Key Circular Economy Loops
• Case studies:
  • Design & Production: AI in eco-design, generative design for resource efficiency.
  • Consumption & Use: Smart product-as-a-service models, AI for personalized sustainable consumption.
  • Collection & Sorting: Computer vision for automated waste recognition and sorting.
  • Reuse & Repair: Predictive maintenance using IoT + AI, spare parts optimization.
  • Recycling & Material Recovery: Machine learning for material quality prediction, robotics in disassembly.

• Identify and explain how AI and machine learning can be used to optimize resource use, reduce waste, and improve efficiency across various industries.
• Describe specific AI applications, such as predictive maintenance, intelligent sorting for recycling, and demand forecasting.
• Analyse the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing AI solutions in a circular economy context.

As Technical Director of the Data & AI division at Hiberus, Mariano Minoli has spearheaded the unit’s growth over the past six years, positioning it as a benchmark in the industry. With a career spanning data consulting and expertise in technologies such as Oracle, DB2, and SQL Server, he is also a certified instructor for Oracle and Microsoft. His work is marked by a unique blend of academic rigor, hands-on technical expertise, and strategic leadership in technological innovation.

Beyond his corporate role, Mariano Minoli maintains a strong presence in the AI and data analytics ecosystem across Spain and Latin America. He has taught at universities in Argentina and Spain, contributed to research groups, and published in outlets like CompartiMOSS and MSDN. Holding a degree in Systems Engineering from UTN (Argentina) and a PhD in Computer Science from URJC—where he was awarded Cum Laude for his thesis on distributed agile development—he continues to bridge industry, academia, and innovation.

Andrés is the Data & AI Consulting Lead, where he manages a team of specialists and drives innovation projects for leading clients across Spain and Latin America. His career reflects a strong track record in data strategy and analytics, having previously served as Head of Data & Analytics at Mayoral Moda. There, he founded and led the department, designing data architectures, launching business intelligence initiatives, and defining the company’s analytics roadmap. With earlier roles as an E-commerce Product Manager and Logistics Analyst, Andrés brings well-rounded expertise in data-driven decision-making, international supply chain optimization, and advanced analytics implementation. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering, a master’s in Project Management, and a Master’s in Business Analytics & Data Strategy. Skilled in Power BI, SQL, Azure Data & AI tools, and ETL processes, he combines technical proficiency with strategic vision to deliver impactful results for organizations.

• Introduction to Digital Twins within the context of the circular economy.
• Core capabilities and components of Digital Twins.
• Typologies of Digital Twins and the concept of the Composable Digital Twin.
• The Digital Twin Maturity Model.
• Data Analytics applications across circular economy sectors.
• Key challenges in implementing Digital Twins.
• Strategic use cases of Digital Twins across industries.
• Guidelines for developing a Digital Twin strategy.
• Debate and conclusions.

• Define a digital twin and its core components, explaining its relevance to the circular economy.
• Categorize different typologies of digital twins and understand the concept of a composable digital twin.
• Formulate a strategy for implementing digital twins to optimize resource management and enhance circular business operations.

Prof. Dr. Birgul Çolakoğlu is a Professor of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), specializing in computational design, circular design, and digital design technologies. She holds a Ph.D. in Design and Computation from MIT and completed postdoctoral research in architecture there. She founded and directs the Circularity in Built Environment Research Group at ITU and coordinates the Digital Twins for Infrastructures and Cities Executive International Master Program. 

With a background leading the Computational Design Graduate Program at Yıldız Technical University and having served as Head of ITU’s Department of Architecture, she is an influential figure in architectural education and research. She has also been president of the European Computer Aided Architectural Design Research Group (eCAADe) from 2018 to 2020.

• Towards a sustainable finance industry: More objective ESG-ratings using remote sensing data and spatial data science.
• The challenge: Aiming for responsible and sustainable investing.
  • Digital tools for the finance sector: a powerful lever for green, sustainable economy
  • Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principle.
  • Moving beyond self-declaration using data-driven approaches.
• The opportunities:
  • Remote sensing and geospatial data as objective basis for ESG, mainly E.
  • AI for collecting and structuring asset level data (locations, footprints, and attributes).
  • Spatial data science for data fusion.
• The Case study: Sourcing minerals for the energy transition.
• Group work: Challenges and opportunities for three exemplary key industries:
  • Group work form: World Cafe, three groups, 15 Minutes per rotation.
  • Note taking on a miro board.
  • Cafe table topics: Mining, Cacao, and Car industry.
• Debate and conclusions.

• Evaluate how remote sensing and geospatial data can provide objective insights for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings.
• Assess the challenges and opportunities of using emerging technologies like AI and spatial data science in sustainable finance and supply chain management.
• Collaborate with peers to analyse and propose solutions for circularity challenges in key industries like mining, cacao, and the automotive sector.

Prof. Patrick Laube is Professor of Geoinformatics at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), where he leads the Geoinformatics Research Group. He studied geography at the University of Zurich, earning his PhD in 2005 with a dissertation on spatio-temporal data mining of geospatial lifelines, and later completed his habilitation in geography. His academic career spans institutions in Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA, including research fellowships at the University of Melbourne, the University of Auckland, and Penn State University. His research focuses on geographic information science, with particular expertise in computational movement analysis, spatial data handling, and digital methods for understanding and managing environmental systems. 

Beyond research, Patrick is an accomplished educator and mentor, teaching across undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs in geography, GIScience, and environmental sciences. He has supervised numerous MSc and PhD theses and played a central role in curriculum design for innovative programs such as Circular Economy Management at ZHAW. His professional contributions include service on editorial boards, program and steering committees, and as co-organizer of international workshops advancing movement data science. With over two decades of academic and applied experience, Patrick combines rigorous research with a strong commitment to teaching, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the application of digital technologies to sustainability challenges.