Circular value creation

Circular economy? This is how it works.

1 June 2024

Founder, Chief Executive Officer

Have you ever thought about what happens to your old toothbrush? Reuse is out of the question. Nevertheless, it can become a toothbrush again, or a watering can, or trainers or an eraser. That's the circular economy. I learnt how it works on a field of sunflowers. In Bulgaria.

Sunflower field

In 2014, I stood with a Bulgarian farmer on his land 12,000 hectares stretching out in front of us. He wanted to grow sunflowers for oil production. His problem: the weather. Bulgaria has hot summers and little rain. Without water, there's no harvest. The existential problem of all farmers. To solve it, fields have to be irrigated. That costs energy. And that is in short supply in Bulgaria.

Energy from waste

Here in Switzerland, in rural Appenzell, I come home in the evening, flick the switch and there's light. It's different in Bulgaria. There, it's normal for the power to go off for longer periods of time. Together with engineers and chemists from the University of Sofia, I worked with Stefan Abele on a test facility, which is produces oil from plastic waste by means of thermolysis. To help the farmer, we wanted to use our process to generate energy.

Nothing is waste. In a closed-loop system, everything is a form of raw material.

Instead of plastic waste, the farmer's waste product was to be utilised: the coats of the sunflower seeds that would otherwise remain in the oil press. Through thermolysis, fuel can be produced from the husks to power the irrigation of the sunflower fields.

Western countries compost the coats for disposal. Or simply burn them, which is a shame. But the Bulgarian farmer did not regard his husks as waste. And he's right: everything is a form of raw material that should be utilised. In this sunflower field in Bulgaria, I started - quite literally - thinking in circles.

Innovative circular economy

Of course, a closed-loop system only becomes profitable when it pays off, when more comes out of it than was invested. This is why many innovative technologies fail at the development stage. Among them are good ideas that should not be abandoned quite so quickly. But it takes enormous perseverance and an unshakeable belief that it will work out in the end.

Nobody would describe a solar cell as a pipe dream today.

You may remember how the first solar cells were ridiculed and their economic viability questioned. Today, nobody would describe a solar cell as a pipe dream. In Germany, 12 per cent of the electricity generated has been produced by photovoltaics technology. But the journey from the invention of photovoltaics (1839 by Alexandre Edmond Becquerel) to market maturity took almost 200 years.

Political support

I know from my own experience that innovative technologies also need external support. In the case of solar cells, support came in the form of subsidy programmes after the oil crisis and the nuclear accidents in Chernobyl and Harrisburg. Thanks to several amendments to the Energy Act, the use of photovoltaic systems has continued to increase since 2003.

We are following the revision of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) with great hope.

Our technology, which enables the chemical recycling of mixed plastic, also needs this kind of support. Here in Switzerland, we are following the debates on parliamentary initiative 20.433 "Strengthening the Swiss circular economy". It was submitted in May 2020 and is intended to contribute to the revision of the Environmental Protection Act (USG).

From recycling to circular value creation

enespa's business model is what is known as the circular economy. We help to keep resources in cycles for as long as possible without loss. This contributes to the conservation of resources, sustainable management and climate protection

In Bulgaria, recycling is not a green idea, it is a necessity. And this will soon be the case in our country too, as resources become scarcer and our environmental problems become more serious.

Author

Cyrill Hugi

Founder, Chief Executive Officer

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Cyrill Hugi's passion for technology has never wavered since his first apprenticeship. Various international training programmes have seen him travel as far as the USA. His professional career has taken him to Italy and Germany, where he previously held management positions in major global corporations in the commercial vehicle sector. Cyrill Hugi fulfilled a dream when he founded enespa ag. With the support of his team and visionary investors, he strives to "make the impossible possible". The outcome is circular economy solutions aimed at protecting nature, which is something very close to his heart.

enespa's vision

Clean beaches, rivers and streams. Free from plastic waste. No animals dying because we humans simply dump our rubbish in the environment. That is our vision. enespa is helping to remove waste from nature. Together with many like-minded campaigners, this vision will become reality.

enespa's history

The story of enespa began over 20 years ago over dinner. A vision of a world free of plastic waste was born around the table. As a specialist in chemical recycling, we are helping to solve this problem.

Circular economy? This is how it works.

Sunflower field

Energy from waste

Innovative circular economy

Political support

From recycling to circular value creation

Cyrill Hugi

enespa's vision

enespa's history

enespa shares

enespa bonds

Circular economy? This is how it works.

Sunflower field

Energy from waste

Innovative circular economy

Political support

From recycling to circular value creation

Cyrill Hugi

enespa's vision

enespa's history

enespa shares

enespa bonds

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