Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider: “With the circular economy, we are not only helping the environment and avoiding climate-damaging emissions. We are also making the German economy more competitive and resilient, securing our long-term supply of raw materials and opening up new areas of growth. Artificial intelligence can make a valuable contribution along the way. That is why, with the Circular AI Hub, we are supporting companies in putting their ideas into practice even faster.”
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH is responsible for the technical and administrative implementation of the Hub. Its technology partners are the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the VDI Technologiezentrum. Further partners from research and industry are involved depending on the respective topic.
Dr. Constanze Haug, Managing Director of Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG): “As a specialized service provider to the German Federal Government for environmental, nature and climate protection, we are proud to further develop the Circular AI Hub with a focus on artificial intelligence in the circular economy. With this new strategic direction, we are creating the conditions for developing promising AI solutions together with companies and successfully scaling them. In this way, we are making a concrete contribution to strengthening a competitive circular economy.”
With its strategic realignment, the Circular AI Hub is targeting industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups and scale-ups. It supports innovations throughout the entire development process, from the initial idea and testing through to scaling in real-world applications. The focus is on transfer projects, the replication of successful solutions and the development of a strong innovation ecosystem for AI in the circular economy. Modern innovation and technology funding instruments such as the AIDEAS competition will be used for this purpose.
Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger, CEO of DFKI: “Artificial intelligence can significantly advance the circular economy when it analyzes complex interrelationships and uses them to create robust foundations for decision-making. In the Circular AI Hub, together with our partners, we develop the AI methods needed for this and transfer them into concrete applications for industry and small and medium-sized enterprises. This results in innovative and resource-efficient solutions with immediate practical benefits.”
AIDEAS #1 competition launches
As its first initiative, the Circular AI Hub is launching the “AIDEAS #1 – Ideas for Circular Business Models” competition. The competition is seeking ideas from science, business and society that harness the potential of artificial intelligence for circular economy business models.
Idea providers can submit their concepts until 16 October 2026. An interdisciplinary jury comprising representatives from business, AI development and politics will review and evaluate the submissions and select up to ten teams to participate in the implementation phase. During this phase, the selected teams will receive earmarked funding to further develop their business model. The winning AIDEAS will be presented to the public at the Circular AI Hub Forum on 10 November 2026.
From Green AI Hub Mittelstand to Circular AI Hub
The Circular AI Hub has evolved from the Green AI Hub Mittelstand, which over the past four years has successfully developed innovative AI solutions together with small and medium-sized enterprises and introduced them in short development cycles. More than 20 projects have resulted in practical applications with a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) aimed at increasing resource efficiency. These continue to be available to other companies as open-source solutions.
Further information:
Circular AI Hub & AIDEAS #1 – Ideas for Circular Business Models