IKV Boosts the Plastics Branch

The IKV Colloquium demonstrated the plastics industry’s resilience in addressing current challenges.

On February 28th-29th, 2024, RWTH Aachen University’s IKV organized an event fostering industry-academia exchanges.

You can also read: 32nd IKV Colloquium, The Five Cutting-Edge Topics

The event and key speakers

Around 600 participants in the 15 lecture sessions actively engaged in discussions about the latest developments and technologies in the plastic engineering sector at Aachen Eurogress and IKV’s technical facilities. Distinguished keynote speakers, including VDI President Prof. Lutz Eckstein, highlighted the industry’s innovation potential and the future of engineering professions.

By and large, keynote speakers addressed various industry themes from different perspectives. Correspondingly, Dr. Alexander Kronimus, CEO of PlasticsEurope Germany, outlined the plastics industry’s role in achieving a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. During the analysis of the status quo in Europe, he concluded that the goal cannot be achieved by solely optimizing the plastic system for climate protection. Instead, what is needed is the integration of basic chemicals into the circular economy, so that plastic waste not only serves as a source of raw materials for the plastics circular economy, but can also be used for the production of basic chemicals.

Prof. Hopmann highlighted IKV’s efforts in addressing sustainability and digitalization challenges, counteracting societal skepticism towards new technologies, and securing scientific talent for the future. He introduced Prof. Dr.-Ing. Achim Grefenstein, IKV’s new scientific director for circular economy, highlighting sustainability and industry collaboration.

Closing the gap between research and application

The IKV Colloquium demonstrated the plastics industry’s resilience in addressing current challenges. On February 28th-29th, 2024, RWTH Aachen University’s IKV organized an event fostering industry-academia exchanges.

Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann, Director of IKV, stressed the need to pause and reflect amid hectic daily life. The colloquium provided ample opportunities for such reflection, including presentations of cutting-edge research, guided tours of IKV’s facilities, an industry exhibition, recruiting speed dating, and networking during breaks.

Sessions covered a wide range of topics, including process technologies, material characterization, and simulation models, all with a focus on industry relevance and sustainability.

IKV 360° allowed attendees to experience research in action, touring IKV’s laboratories and witnessing ongoing projects firsthand.

Recruiting Speeddating facilitated connections between the industry and young talent. The industry exhibition provided a platform for networking and showcasing innovations across the plastics value chain.

The next IKV International Colloquium will take place on March 4th and 5th of 2026 in Aachen.

To read more: IKV Insights