50 Shades of Minerals: Extending & Improving Mineral Resource Lifespans : Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

21 May 2025   Conference

The Circular Wallonia Days is a two-day international event taking place on May 21-22, 2025 in Mons, Wallonia (BE). 

As Wallonia takes over the Presidency of the Greater Region* for 2025-2026, it seizes this opportunity to lead discussions on achieving true mineral circularity with all European regions.

A region at the forefront of innovation and spearheading groundbreaking initiatives in mineral circularity, Wallonia offers a unique opportunity for the European mineral industry to engage in collaborative, innovative projects in the circular minerals value chain.

*this includes the Walloon region and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (Belgium), the former Lorraine region, now Grand-Est (France), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Länders of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland (Germany)

 

KEY TOPICS:

  • Advancing Legislation with Circular Techniques in the Mineral Construction Sector
  • Economic Sustainability of the Circular Materials Model
  • Contribution of Circular Minerals to Sustainable Construction: Inspiration from EU Regions
  • Eco-Design of Circular Materials
  • End-of-Waste and the Right Materials in the Right Place
  • Extending the Lifespan of Construction Materials
  • Resistance to Change in Circular Practices

Additional Highlights:

  • Innovation Talks: Presentation of Walloon and EU Projects in Mineral and Material Circularity for Construction
  • Site Visits: Explore innovative projects in action
  • B2B Sessions: Connect with key stakeholders and partners

 

PROGRAMME (stay tuned for regular updates!):

DAY 1

09.00 >09.30 Welcome Coffee

09.30 > 13.00 – Plenary Session 

  • Opening word by a Minister Cabinet (tbc)
  • Katharina KNAPTON-VIERLICH, Head of Unit Construction, DG GROW, EC: European Integrated Circular Construction Sector
  • Chris VAN DE VOORDE, Circular Economy Expert, Co-Founder of the Circular Value Institute, Flanders, Belgium: Circular Value as a Key Leverage to Achieve European sustainability goals
  • Jos BROUWERS, Full Professor and Chair of Building Materials at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), The Netherlands: Keys to a Profitable and Sustainable Circular Model
  • (Speaker TBC) Service for S4 Strategic Projects and Entrepreneurship, Government of Navarra, Spain: Contribution of Circularity in Minerals to Sustainable Construction
  • ACLIMA, Association Cluster of Environmental Industries of the Basque Country, Spain: The Basque Approach to Circular Economy: Regional Strategies and Industrial Opportunities
  • Innovation Talks: pitches of EU projects     
    • Niels HULBOSCH, R&D Expert, Unit Structural Works - Concrete Technology, BuildWise, Belgian Innovation Center in the Construction: H2020 PIONEERS - Recovery of excavated soil and sand for use in the concrete of key side docks at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges
    • ANEFA, National Association of Aggregate Manufacturers, Spain (Speaker TBC): HE ROTATE - Facilitating the generation of synergies between diverse industrial sectors related to mining and quarrying
    • (Speaker TBC) Greater Green+ :Greater Region ecosystem to accelerate the ecological transition and economic resilience through the development of greener technologies
    • Thijs LAMBRECHTS, Doctoral Candidate, Built Environment, Innovative Stractural Design, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), The Netherlands: H2020 ReCreate - Turning the Reuse of Concrete Elements into a Profitable Business 

13.00 > 14.00 – Networking Lunch 

14.00 > 17.30 – Walloon Circular Valley

  • Jean-Marc ALDRIC, Director Department of Soil and Waste, Public Service of Wallonia: End-of-waste - Context, Limits, and Perspectives of Mineral Circularity in Wallonia
  • Stéphane NEIRYNCK, General Director Centre Pierre et Terre: ‘REMIND Wallonia’ - Contributions to the European Mineral Valley
  • Olivier BONTEMS, Director Energy & Sustainable Solutions Directorate at the Territorial Development Agency (IDETA): MC2 (Mineral Circular Centre) - Walloon reference hub for the decarbonisation of the earth and stone industry, and the circularity of mineral materials
  • Pitches of the Walloon Projects: 
    • Sacha DRUART, Product Innovation and Strategy Manager, Heidelberg Materials: COSMOCEM - Transform Walloon Waste Streams into Reactive Mineral Additives
    • Elise AUBRY, Innovation Lead, Carmeuse: MINERAL LOOP - Capture and Sequestration of Industrial CO₂ Through Mineral Waste Carbonation
    • Johnny ZSCHAU, CRO Roosens Béton: CIBER - Circularity of Precast Concrete
    • Thomas VAN HOYE, Quality Manager, Eloy: Monocrete - Thick Single-Layer Coating Based on Alternative Binders and Recycled Aggregates
  • Eco-Conception of Mineral Materials in the Construction Sector (speaker tbc)
  • Wrap-Up: Lionel FOURDRINIER, Coordinator Win4C, Metallurgical Research Center (CRM): Perspectives of the Walloon Strategic Innovation Initiative Win4C

17.30 > 20.00 Networking Dinner

 

DAY 2

09.00 > 09.30 Welcome Coffee

09.30 > 12.30 – Workshops (choose your preferences during registration)

The aim of the workshops is to produce Paper Briefs outlining the main barriers and potential solutions to the key issues related to the circularity of construction materials, per workshop topics

The number of places is limited and allocated on a "first come, first served" basis. We reserve the right to assign you a workshop that is not your priority choice. Thank you for your understanding

 1/ End-of-Waste and Right materials in the Right Place

Animators: Claudia NECULAU, Project Coordinator REMIND Walonia & Alexis DE MEY, Director SODEA SRL, Permanent Member of the Environment Cluster of the Economic and Social Council of Wallonia (CESE)

  • Didier GOHY, Senior Advisor Department of Infrastructure Management and Waste Policy, Public service of Wallonia: End-of-Waste: Building a Reliable Regulatory and Technical Framework – Insights and Challenges for Wallonia
  • Pierre HENNEBERT, Consultant on Industrial Waste Management : Tacit EOW Management - Framework and a French Use Case
  • Robert BAUDINET, Co-Founder and CEO, Matvision, Belgium : AI and Robotics in the Industrial Waste Sorting System
  • Claudia NECULAU, Project Coordinator REMIND Walonia: Waste2CEM, Minimising the Environmental Impact of Clinker by Incorporating Secondary Mineral Materials (SMM) into the raw mix
  • Stéphane VERSTRAETE, Co-founder of Brownfield Academy: Valorisation of Waste
  • Stéphanie STEVENART, Project Manager Wallonie-Entreprendre: Redevelopment of an Industrial Brownfield from the Former ArcelorMittal Steel Facilities
  • Other (tbc)
  • Open public discussion

2/ Extension of the Lifespan of Construction Materials

Animators: Johnny ZSCHAU, CRO Roosens Béton & Benoît PRIEUR, Administrator at Transversality and Member of the Administrative Body of GreenWin

  • Michaël GHYOOT, Architect, Rotor: PreUse Interreg Project - Actions, Challenges and Solutions to Enhance Reuse
  • Sonia SARACINO, Project Coordinator CETMA (Centro di Ricerche Europeo di Tecnologie Design e Materiali): Re4.eu (Horizon2020) - REuse and REcycling of CDW materials and structures in energy efficient pREfabricated elements for building REfurbishment and construction
  • Agnese ATTANASIO, Technical Project Manager, CETMA: i-Clima Built (Horizon 2020) - Developing, Upscaling and Testing Innovations in Building Envelope Materials and Technical Systems
  • Other (tbc)
  • Open public discussion

3/ Resistance to Changes in the Face of Circularity

  • Tania NOEL, Environmental Psychology, University of Liège: Psychosocial Barriers and Drivers to the Adoption of Recycled Materials
  • John WANTE, advisor on environment policy for the Belgian federal minister of Environment, Climate, Sustainable Development and Green Deal, Public Service of Flanders for Waste, Materials, and Soil (OVAM): Strategies to Foster Greater Social Acceptance
  • Ian WILLIAMS, Professor in Applied Environmental Science, University of Southampton: Role of Young People in Circular Economy
  • Jean-François NIVART, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Mineral Geo-resources & Geological Imaging, Urban and Environmental Engineering, University of Liège: GR-CIRKLA (Interreg), Circular Business Models: the Development of New Models Adapted to the Implementation of a More Circular, Shared, and Inclusive Economy
  • Aline VERGAUWEN, Energy & Sustainable Solutions Department, BuildWise, Belgian Innovation Center in the Construction: "Living Lab Circulair Beton" in Flanders: Solutions to Overcome Technical and Non-Technical Barriers to the Adoption of Circular Concrete
  • Other (tbc)
  • Open public discussion

12.15 > 13.00 Networking Lunch

13.00 > 18.00 Site Visits (choose your preferences during registration):

        1/ Roosens Béton (Seneffe, 26 km from Mons) - Development of Concrete Construction Materials
        2/ Site Recymex, Tradecowall, (St-Ghislain, 10 km from Mons) - Management of Waste from Deconstruction/Construction Sites

Please note: This event is not livestreamed and is exclusively available to registered in-person participants.

 

PRICING [ contribution to costs ] for 2 days:

> GreenWin & Win4C & SIM & UNI-GR CIRKLA Members:

  • € 80.00

 > Non Members : 

  • € 150.00

 

VENUE:

- DAY 1 - Van der Valk Congres & Spa Hotel Mons (Av. Mélina Mercouri 7, 7000 Mons)

- DAY 2 - Palais des Congrès Mons (Av. Mélina Mercouri 9, 7000 Mons)

 

In case of any questions or issues, please contact: yulia.firsova@greenwin.be

If you need a specific order form/reference from your organisation to pay the registration fees, please have this sorted out before filling the registration form here below in.

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