The 11th International Granulation Workshop took place in Sheffield, England, on 23–24 June 2025. Nikolaus Manolikakes spent two days attending lectures and practical exercises to expand his knowledge of industrial applications of granulation. The workshop provided detailed insights into various applications and technologies of granulation, as well as important factors for raw material properties and analyses relevant to the granulation process.

Nikolaus Manolikakes is currently working on his doctoral thesis on the topic of "Investigation of the binding mechanisms of organic binders and the surface tension of raw materials in the agglomeration of iron ore", with the granulation process being an important agglomeration method.

On 17 October 2024, the final event of the BMFTR-funded research project zirkulierBAR took place. More than 140 participants in a fantastic atmosphere – in the large cinema theatre of the Hackesche Höfe Kino in Berlin Mitte.

In the project, the DBFZ is in charge of quality assurance, standardisation and identifying legal challenges in the production of humus and recycled fertiliser from dry separation toilet contents, together with partners. At an interactive project fair, Dr Claudia Kirsten and Dr Jana Mühlenberg were able to engage in intensive discussions with the participants. On the one hand, the topic of analytics and the safety of the fertilisers produced was presented, and on the other hand, there was an intensive exchange on the topic of ‘Why can't this great substrate be used?’ These discussions were based on our position papers on the current legal situation, which were developed within the consortium. The legal obstacles and hurdles, the highs and lows of the project, how to proceed and how we can address adjustments to the legal framework with the relevant authorities were topics discussed in the concluding panel discussion.

The guiding principle behind the biogeniV-WIR! alliance is the production of green methanol through the use of surplus, regionally sourced biogenic residues, biogenic CO2 and renewable electricity: initial results were presented at the 18th Rostock Biomass Forum in Rostock. Jenny Stukenbrock, responsible for sustainability and climate management at the Cosun Beet Company in Anklam, and Dr Claudia Kirsten gave presentations on "The green world of sugar beet’ and ‘Processing surplus biogenic residues".

There were interesting discussions and important ideas for further cascading uses of biogenic residues. However, many experts agreed that legal requirements are often the biggest obstacles and hurdles to the practical application of the circular bioeconomy and often slow down innovative approaches from R&D.