Optimising Resource Flows in Hubs for Circularity – A New Research Paper from IS2H4C

We’re excited to announce that a new research paper from the IS2H4C project has been published, offering groundbreaking insights into how resource flows in Hubs for Circularity (H4Cs) can be optimised for greater sustainability, efficiency, and resilience.

Authored by Jiayun Wang, Alessio Trivella, Daniela Guericke, and Devrim Murat Yazan from the University of Twente, this paper presents a practical, data-driven framework to support hub managers and decision-makers in navigating the complex dynamics of circular industrial ecosystems built on research and practical gaps identified through a comprehensive literature review.

A Smarter Way to Manage Circular Resource Flows

The H4C concept pushes industrial symbiosis to the next level — enabling resource sharing not just within an industrial cluster, but also across urban and rural interfaces. However, the benefits of such systems are often difficult to capture due to cross-company coordination, uncertainty in daily operations and sustainability trade-offs.

This newly published paper addresses these barriers through a two-phase framework:

  1. Phase I: Hub Analysis

    This phase involves data collection and synergy identification, which is illustrated in two real H4Cs in Spain and Türkiye. 
  1. Phase 2: Hub Optimisation

    This phase integrates predictive and prescriptive analytics to guide decision-making in daily hub operations while accounting for uncertainties in market prices, energy supply, and waste streams. 

Why It Matters

The framework equips H4C stakeholders with clear guidance on choosing and applying optimisation methods suited to their scale, data availability, uncertainty dynamics, and sustainability goals. This represents a big step toward making circularity work in real-world conditions — and is fully aligned with the broader mission of IS2H4C to build replicable models for sustainable regional development.

📄 Read the Paper

We invite researchers, hub managers, policymakers, and circular economy enthusiasts to read the full study and consider how these insights can be applied across Europe and beyond.

Read the full paper here!

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