04.05.2026
Renewable Materials Conference: Final Program Released
The Global Networking Point of the Renewable Carbon Economy will take place in Siegburg/Cologne, Germany, from 22–24 September 2026
The Renewable Materials Conference (RMC) will once again be the outstanding international meeting place for innovators, companies and brands, investors and policymakers to come together to develop and shape the future renewable carbon economy. As in previous years, the conference organiser nova-Institute expects 400-500 participants from around the world. The RMC is the leading global event of the renewable carbon economy, showcasing the latest progress in and prospects of bioeconomy, CCU and recycling for the defossilisation of chemicals and materials. Accordingly, this year’s focus topic is “Defossilisation through innovation”.
Content of the Conference
80 presentations, more than 20 panel discussions, 16 workshops and an exhibition offer comprehensive networking opportunities. The three conference days are structured into different session topics:
Day 1 “Defossilisation of the Chemical Industry”: Renewable Carbon Strategies; New Pathways: Fine and Speciality Chemicals; Lignin and CO₂ utilisation.
Day 2 “Fossil-free Plastics”: Bio-based Polymers: Market and Application Development, Coating, Adhesives and Binders; CO₂-based Polymers; Recycled Polymers & Plastics; Automotive, Consumer Goods, Packaging, Textiles and Toys.
Day 3 “Setting the Frame for Renewable Carbon”: Creating Market Pull and Vision & Strategy. “Biodegradation”: Science & Policy Progress, Applications and System Solutions.
The final program with an overview with all speakers of the main sessions across the three conference days has just been released, and can be found here: https://renewable-materials.eu/program/
The sixteen workshops will cover a wide range of topics, including policy, strategy, carbon footprint and new technologies. With a timeframe of 1.5 hours and around 20 participants, intensive exchange and lively discussions are guaranteed. Few time slots are still available.
At the exhibition, 40 booths across two floors will present progress in the renewable carbon economy. With long breaks during the day, three evening events and professional matchmaking software, successful networking is a certainty.
A particular highlight is the “Renewable Material of the Year 2026” innovation award. Submission for abstracts has recently been closed and six innovations will soon be nominated by the RMC advisory board. The nominees will be given the chance to present during the conference, with the audience voting live to select the three winners. The list of submitted innovations shows that some truly exciting innovations are set to be unveiled this year!
Join the conference to learn about and discuss the future of renewable chemicals and materials, expand your network, and explore new value chains. Siegburg is easily accessible from Frankfurt, Cologne, Brussels and Amsterdam airports via high-speed train connections. We welcome your ideas, strategies and innovations.
Options to present your company at the conference
Few workshop slots are still available, which is a very attractive format for presenting and discussing your topics with other experts and potential clients. Please find more information here: https://renewable-materials.eu/workshops/
Join as exhibitor: https://renewable-materials.eu/exhibition-booking/
Become a sponsor of this outstanding conference: https://renewable-materials.eu/sponsoring/
Submit a poster: https://renewable-materials.eu/call-for-posters/
Until 16 August you can register as participant with a 10% discount: https://renewable-materials.eu/registration/
Partners and Sponsors
The nova-Institute would like to thank UPM Biochemicals (FI) for supporting the conference as Platin Sponsor, Celluranics (CN), GS Biomats (CN), Leaf Biotech (CN) and VERBIO (DE) as Gold Sponsors, as well as Peterson Solutions (DE) and TÜV Austria Belgium (BE) as Silver Sponsors. The innovation award “Renewable Material of the Year 2026” is sponsored by Covestro (DE).
The Renewable Materials Conference is supported by industry and trade associations, non-profit organisations, research institutions and interest groups that are thematically linked to the conference: AVK (DE), BCNP (DE), C.A.R.M.E.N.(DE), ChemCologne (DE), ChemieClusterBayern (DE), CLIB (DE), CO2Value Europe (EU), European Bioplastics (EU), IBB Netzwerk (DE), kunststoffland NRW (DE), NRW.Energy4Climate (DE), Plastics Europe (DE), Renewable Carbon Initiative (EU).