Latest news with #MonaNeubaur
Arabian Post
a day ago
- Business
- Arabian Post
cooldown°earth welcomes North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) funding for matterr
– Public funds and public welfare capital accelerate circular technology – DÜSSELDORF/BERLIN – Newsaktuell – 15 August 2025 – The non-profit cooldown°earth foundation congratulates its portfolio company matterr on receiving funding confirmation from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the EFRE/JTF program ' Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Mona Neubaur presented the funding approval on August 6 in Düsseldorf. Pictured (from left to right): Thomas Tochtermann (Chairman of the Board, matterr), Benjamin Rump (COO, matterr), Wolfgang K. Hoever (Founder/Board, cooldown°earth), Mona Neubaur (Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia), Melanie Hackler (CEO, matterr), Jan Rückold (Head of Finance, matterr) Credit: © MWIKE NRW / Bowinkelmann To help end the export of waste from industrialised nations—a practice that currently places a disproportionate burden on the world's poorest countries—matterr has developed a globally patented solution capable of repeatedly transforming waste back into high-quality raw materials. ADVERTISEMENT With this funding, matterr can accelerate the construction of its second plant, now on a small industrial scale, in North Rhine-Westphalia. The core technology is the depolymerization of PET under mild conditions. This allows mixed waste such as multi-layer packaging or mixed textile fabrics to be broken down into their primary components and fossil raw materials to be replaced on a large scale. By returning the monomer-based process to primary material quality, it enables molecular upcycling: Polyester textiles, which previously could only be recycled for low-quality applications, are now being used to create products of the highest quality – not only new textiles, but even packaging that is approved for food contact. 'This is a unique partnership,' says Wolfgang K. Hoever, founder of cooldown°earth. 'A charitable foundation takes the lead, the state follows – and the result is infrastructure that turns hard-to-recycle waste into a circular GreenTech product. This is great news for climate protection and for our region as a business location.' The funding commitment awarded to matterr is not only the first from this programme but also the maximum possible grant amount of €30 million. The planned NRW facility is scheduled to start operations in 2027 with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes. cooldown°earth is not the recipient of the funding, but an early investor and enabler. Any potential returns from its stake will, in accordance with its statutes, be reinvested in non-profit climate and environmental protection projects. Background The State of NRW and the EU support strategic technologies under the (EFRE/JTF 2021–2027) programme to ensure they remain in NRW/Europe. The first grants went to, among others, matterr ('revolPET plant') and Greenlyte . Minister Neubaur highlighted the triple benefit for climate, jobs and innovation. (Pressrelease NRW) programme to ensure they remain in NRW/Europe. The first grants went to, among others, ('revolPET plant') and . Minister Neubaur highlighted the triple benefit for climate, jobs and innovation. (Pressrelease NRW) matterr's own statement details the funding amount, schedule and process; the plant will replace fossil-based PET feedstock with primary-quality recycled material. (Pressrelease matterr) Hashtag: #cooldown°earth The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About cooldown°earth: The cooldown°earth foundation is a private, non-profit foundation based in Krefeld, Germany. Founded in 2013 by Dr. Annekathrin Edelmann and Wolfgang K. Hoever, it works to promote social cohesion and climate protection. Projects include the Digital Climate School, which helps schools integrate education for sustainable development into their curricula. The foundation fosters skills in using new technologies for sustainability and strengthens motivation for the responsible use of the planet's natural resources.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Business
- Associated Press
cooldown°earth welcomes North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) funding for matterr / – Public funds and public welfare capital accelerate circular technology -
The non-profit cooldown°earth foundation congratulates its portfolio company matterr on receiving funding confirmation from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the EFRE/JTF program ' of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Mona Neubaur presented the funding approval on August 6 in Düsseldorf. To help end the export of waste from industrialised nations—a practice that currently places a disproportionate burden on the world's poorest countries—matterr has developed a globally patented solution capable of repeatedly transforming waste back into high-quality raw materials. With this funding, matterr can accelerate the construction of its second plant, now on a small industrial scale, in North Rhine-Westphalia. The core technology is the depolymerization of PET under mild conditions. This allows mixed waste such as multi-layer packaging or mixed textile fabrics to be broken down into their primary components and fossil raw materials to be replaced on a large scale. By returning the monomer-based process to primary material quality, it enables molecular upcycling: Polyester textiles, which previously could only be recycled for low-quality applications, are now being used to create products of the highest quality – not only new textiles, but even packaging that is approved for food contact. 'This is a unique partnership,'says Wolfgang K. Hoever,founder of cooldown°earth. 'A charitable foundation takes the lead, the state follows – and the result is infrastructure that turns hard-to-recycle waste into a circular GreenTech product. This is great news for climate protection and for our region as a business location.' The funding commitment awarded to matterr is not only the first from this programme but also themaximum possible grant amount of €30 million. The planned NRW facility is scheduled to start operations in 2027 with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes. cooldown°earth is not the recipient of the funding, but an early investor and enabler. Any potential returns from its stake will, in accordance with its statutes, be reinvested in non-profit climate and environmental protection projects. Background About cooldown°earth: Thecooldown°earth foundationis a private, non-profit foundation based in Krefeld, Germany. Founded in 2013 by Dr. Annekathrin Edelmann and Wolfgang K. Hoever, it works to promote social cohesion and climate protection. Projects include the Digital Climate School, which helps schools integrate education for sustainable development into their curricula. The foundation fosters skills in using new technologies for sustainability and strengthens motivation for the responsible use of the planet's natural
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
cooldown°earth welcomes North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) funding for matterr
– Public funds and public welfare capital accelerate circular technology - DÜSSELDORF/BERLIN - Newsaktuell - 15 August 2025 - The non-profit cooldown°earth foundation congratulates its portfolio company matterr on receiving funding confirmation from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the EFRE/JTF program " Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Mona Neubaur presented the funding approval on August 6 in Düsseldorf. To help end the export of waste from industrialised nations—a practice that currently places a disproportionate burden on the world's poorest countries—matterr has developed a globally patented solution capable of repeatedly transforming waste back into high-quality raw materials. With this funding, matterr can accelerate the construction of its second plant, now on a small industrial scale, in North Rhine-Westphalia. The core technology is the depolymerization of PET under mild conditions. This allows mixed waste such as multi-layer packaging or mixed textile fabrics to be broken down into their primary components and fossil raw materials to be replaced on a large scale. By returning the monomer-based process to primary material quality, it enables molecular upcycling: Polyester textiles, which previously could only be recycled for low-quality applications, are now being used to create products of the highest quality – not only new textiles, but even packaging that is approved for food contact. " This is a unique partnership," says Wolfgang K. Hoever, founder of cooldown°earth. "A charitable foundation takes the lead, the state follows – and the result is infrastructure that turns hard-to-recycle waste into a circular GreenTech product. This is great news for climate protection and for our region as a business location." The funding commitment awarded to matterr is not only the first from this programme but also the maximum possible grant amount of €30 million. The planned NRW facility is scheduled to start operations in 2027 with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes. cooldown°earth is not the recipient of the funding, but an early investor and enabler. Any potential returns from its stake will, in accordance with its statutes, be reinvested in non-profit climate and environmental protection projects. Background The State of NRW and the EU support strategic technologies under the (EFRE/JTF 2021–2027) programme to ensure they remain in NRW/Europe. The first grants went to, among others, matterr ("revolPET plant") and Greenlyte. Minister Neubaur highlighted the triple benefit for climate, jobs and innovation. (Pressrelease NRW) matterr's own statement details the funding amount, schedule and process; the plant will replace fossil-based PET feedstock with primary-quality recycled material. (Pressrelease matterr) Hashtag: #cooldown°earth The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About cooldown°earth: The cooldown°earth foundation is a private, non-profit foundation based in Krefeld, Germany. Founded in 2013 by Dr. Annekathrin Edelmann and Wolfgang K. Hoever, it works to promote social cohesion and climate protection. Projects include the Digital Climate School, which helps schools integrate education for sustainable development into their curricula. The foundation fosters skills in using new technologies for sustainability and strengthens motivation for the responsible use of the planet's natural resources. cooldown°earth foundation
Gulf Today
15-02-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Germany faces major labour woes this year
Germany faces major labour disputes in 2025, as an established bond between firms and workers – long seen as a pillar of the country's economic success – is starting to unravel in the wake of brutal competition, economic weakness and spiralling costs. Labour bosses at industrial giants Bosch, Thyssenkrupp ZF Friedrichshafen and Volkswagen, jointly representing more than half a million German workers, say that firms are showing a new level of determination to cut jobs, close factories and move staff abroad. Unlike during previous crises, boards are less willing to compromise and in some cases have unilaterally ended wage agreements or broken off talks with workers, according to more than a dozen interviews with labour representatives, politicians, executives and economists in Germany. That's due to the poor health of Europe's top economy, which has shrunk for the second consecutive year and staked much of its reputation on labour- and energy-intensive sectors such as cars and chemicals. Germany is now one of the world's highest-cost countries. This has raised the question of whether Germany's legally-enshrined principle of 'co-determination', which guarantees a major influence for workers on company's supervisory boards, is becoming a liability by slowing down corporate restructuring,, according to Reuters. Answering this will be high on the agenda of Germany's next government, to be determined in a snap election on February 23. Economic change is already affecting German unions, with data from the Hans-Boeckler Foundation showing the number of unrepresented workers in Germany's largest companies has risen by around 14% since 2019. Germany's top unions IG Metall and Verdi have both seen their membership decline by a respective 8% and 6% since 2016. While unions say they are not in denial about the state of the economy, with insolvency numbers hitting their highest level in nearly a decade, they accuse boards of exploiting the current situation to push through radical change. That also includes Bosch, the world's biggest auto supplier, which is planning to cut around 3,800 jobs in Germany. Bosch said it would honour existing agreements with labour representatives, including avoiding forced layoffs. ZF Friedrichshafen said it remained committed to co-determination, while Thyssenkrupp referred to comments by CEO Miguel Lopez last month that fair cooperation with labour remained critical.. All companies have noted the increased need for deeper structural reform in light of overcapacity and intensifying competition from abroad. Germany's car production has fallen 28% since 2016 to 4.1 million last year, while jobs in the auto sector declined by just 4%, according to data from industry association VDA and the country's statistics office. Mona Neubaur, Economy Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, has called the deepening conflict between labour and companies an 'extreme burden', urging firms to embrace cooperation with their employees. Two senior executives, who declined to be named, said that strong unions made it more difficult for companies to implement deeper structural changes and that prolonged walkouts were an effective way to force management to budge. Statistics from Germany's Labour Agency show that German companies were hit by nearly 600,000 days of strikes in 2023, more than double the year before and the highest level since 2015. And while numbers for 2024 are not yet in, far-reaching walkouts at Lufthansa, Deutsche Bahn and Volkswagen alone have cost the companies nearly 800 million euros ($829 million) last year. Given Germany's economy is expected to remain weak – with economists forecasting GDP growth of 0.2% at best in 2025 – firms and unions are being forced to relearn how to restructure using job cuts, said Hagen Lesch of the IW economic institute in Cologne. 'It is becoming increasingly expensive to keep jobs that are no longer needed.'
