Beyond Circularity on tour 2024: Forward with synergy

As summer turned to fall, it was time for our annual Beyond Circularity ecosystem event. This year, we went on a virtual tour. With over 280 partners in Finland and abroad, we wanted to make the event accessible to all our partners, regardless of their locations. The event was broadcast from Wolttigroup’s studio in Helsinki on October 3. 

Around 300 participants joined in the event and received updates on the program’s status under the guidance of our superb moderator Anna Ståhle.  

Beyond Circularity on tour

The event began with a “Beyond Circularity on tour” session. Janne Pynnönen, SVP, Operational Development at Valmet brought greetings from the Valmet Executive Team: “Beyond Circularity is Valmet’s biggest R&D program ever, and it already has had a huge influence on what we do. It has affected our internal project portfolio and improved our work together. We also want to continue learning from our partners and how to succeed in collaboration since these are needed for the future.” 

Virpi Puhakka, Director, Ecosystem, and Viivi Villa-Nuottajärvi, VP, R&D, both from Valmet shared the program update. 

“We have made significant progress and taken many important steps over the past year. I am pleased to announce that we have over 280 partners and 34 ecosystem projects, co-funded by Business Finland and the European Union. I truly believe that together, we can achieve far more than we could individually,” Virpi says. 

The program has also made significant progress at Valmet. “Collaboration inside Valmet, between business lines, has clearly increased. We have over 90 internal R&D projects from all our business lines on going. I’m also happy that the expected business portfolio is significant which is good for the future,” Viivi continues.

Navigating the ecosystem

In the “Navigating the ecosystem session”, Valmet's stream leaders Henrik Wallmo, Karoliina Haapaniemi, Jukka Ylijoki and Sampo Immonen updated the status of their streams. 

You can read more about the streams and the exciting ecosystem projects on our Beyond Circularity web page. 

Stream leaders had also invited some guest stars on stage.

Joakim Autio, Manager, Solution Development at Valmet's Pulp and Energy business line, explained the pyrolysis technology and the latest developments in that field.	Heli Kangas, Development Manager at Valmet's Paper business line, updated the status of the EU project called PESCO-UP, which brings together partners across the whole value chain to develop textile recycling.

Associate Professor Tuomas Korhonen from Tampere University talked about the new ecosystem project called EBITDA.

Building trust beyond

The event continued with a panel discussion titled ‘Building trust beyond’. Atte Jääskeläinen, President, Sitra, Youssef Zad, Chief Economist, Finnish Startup Community, and Ulla Heinonen, Director, Green Growth, Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) discussed the success factors needed in ecosystem, competitiveness, growth, trust, and the green transition. One highlighted topic was also how to enhance collaboration between start-up and other companies.

We also introduced a special guest AI to give its insights on its role in enhancing collaboration in green transition: “In the context of the green transition, my role is to serve as a powerful tool that enhances collaboration by breaking down silos, accelerating innovation, and enabling industries, governments, and researchers to work more effectively together. By analyzing vast datasets, predicting outcomes, and ensuring transparency, I help streamline the process of solving complex sustainability challenges. Ultimately, my purpose is to empower teams to act in a coordinated, data-driven way, making sure that their efforts are both impactful and scalable. Together, with AI as a facilitator, we can make the green transition not just a goal, but a reality on an industrial scale.”

Stream breakout rooms finalized the intensive but inspiring event.

And what happened behind the scenes?

Watch this video to find out.