CircThread Hackathon

Challenge Description:

EU regulations are reshaping product lifecycles. This hackathon helps businesses in construction & built environment, textiles & fashion, ICT & electronics, and plastics & packaging – and more - stay compliant while unlocking innovation and circular economy benefits.

The CircThread project is already paving the way with a cutting-edge platform that supports DPPs and a marketplace of new apps and web services, to enable smarter choices across the product lifecycle. After successful pilots with white appliance manufacturers, we’re expanding our focus and inviting forward-thinking SMEs, value chain operators, and sector experts from the Electrical & Electronic Equipment (EEE), Plastics & Packaging, Construction & Built Environment, and Textiles industries to join our two-day hackathon.

What You’ll Gain:

✅ Regulatory Readiness – Learn from DPP experts and prepare for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and mandatory Digital Product Passports (DPPs).
✅ New Business Models – Ideate with others on concepts for new services and apps that will leverage DPPs to track materials, optimize recycling, and boost circularity for cost savings, sustainability and wider commercial benefits.
✅ Industry Innovation – Collaborate with industry peers to develop cutting-edge digital solutions tailored to your sector, integrating digital technologies to enhance product authentication, traceability, and circular value chain efficiency.
✅ Pitch to Win – No coding experience needed. Compete for one of three spots in the IMR Digital Accelerator (worth up to €60,000 in support).

CircThread’s Hackathon

Participants are encouraged to bring their own teams and propose challenge opportunities, though this is optional. You can collaborate on a variety of challenges, including:

EEE: Develop service prototypes to track maintenance histories, manage spare parts, or create repair ecosystems for electrical devices.
Plastics & Packaging: Create digital solution concepts for better material tracking and packaging lifecycle data for improved recyclability and reusability.
Construction & Built Environment: Design services for material reuse, waste optimization, or lifecycle assessments of building materials.
Textiles: Collaborate on digital solutions to boost textile circularity through improved reuse, repair, and recyclability with DPPs.

No coding skills required—just bring your expertise and ideas (and laptop!). Shape the future of data-driven, circular solutions. Register now!

Hackathon Prize

Hackathon teams will compete for one of three places in the IMR's Pilot Digital Accelerator. This prize includes free technical advisory support from the IMR Team (valued up to €60,000) to help move their digital circular apps or service concepts to the next level. Terms and conditions apply.

For more information please refer to our event brochure here

The 2 day circular economy and digitalisation hackathon will kick off on 25^th Feb:

Day 1 – Learn and Connect: You will hear directly from DPP regulators, thought leaders and technology providers, to unpack their regulatory and circularity implications. In the afternoon, participants will reflect on DPP readiness and start exploring challenges areas. This day will conclude with a complimentary networking evening dinner in the Mullingar Park hotel.
Day 2 – Innovate and Compete: Hear industry insights and experiences from Katie O’Riordan, (CEO & Co-Founder of Irish DPP-provider, Kinset). Teams will then dive into circular economy digital solution development which leverage DPPs to track materials, optimize waste, and enhance supply chain transparency and culminate in a pitch for a spot in the IMR Digital Accelerator—offering up to €60,000 in technical advisory support to move your ideas forward.

Aisling McCarthy, Assistant Principal, Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment

Aisling trained as an environmental scientist and has worked in various roles in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for the last 20+ years. She is currently working in the Climate Programmes Unit of the Department and leads on Ecodesign policy and legislation, including on national implementation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.

Rüdiger Fritz, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Twindustrial

Rüdiger Fritz - Industrial Engineer with over 25 years of experience in IT business. Recently serving as Director Product Management for Industry 4.0 and Supply Chain Innovations at SAP. Now Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Start-up Twindustrial®. Thought leader e.g. in the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance (OI4) with special focus on the Digital Product Passport

Katelyn O'Riordan, CEO & Co-Founder, Kinset

Katie O'Riordan is a passionate advocate for sustainability and the CEO and Co-Founder of Kinset. With over 20 years of experience, including significant roles at Burton Snowboards as Product Manager and Category Manager for outerwear, Katie honed her expertise in product development and lifecycle management. At Burton, she played a key role in launching innovative outerwear collections that emphasised performance and sustainability, integrating eco-friendly materials and processes. Notably, Katie designed the 2010 US Olympic snowboarding uniforms, further highlighting her status as a respected leader in the industry, exemplifying her ability to merge high-performance design with innovation.

In addition to her work at Burton, Katie founded her own sustainable fashion label, Theo + George, reflecting her dedication to transparency and responsible design. Her contributions to the industry have garnered increasing recognition, including a shortlist nomination for the IDI Universal Design Award in 2015 and the title of 2017 IFIA Fashion Designer of the Year. She served as a board member of the Council of Irish Fashion Designers for nearly a decade and is also a member of the European Fashion Alliance. Beyond Kinset, Katie actively shapes the future of sustainable fashion through her involvement in key working groups for CIRPASS-2 and the Community of Practice, where she helps advance digital product passport standards across Europe.

She holds a degree in Physics and Economics from Colgate University and began her career in engineering and architecture before transitioning into sporting goods and fashion. This diverse background has equipped her with strong analytical skills, allowing her to approach challenges in the fashion industry with a unique, data-driven perspective.

Koen Warmerdam, Co-Founder, Aware

Koen Warmerdam is a seasoned fashion entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in the industry. As the co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Aware™, he is dedicated to revolutionizing traceability in fashion and putting an end to greenwashing. Aware's™ cutting-edge technology ensures transparency by securing the exchange of data and materials, making sustainability claims verifiable and trustworthy. When brands face scrutiny, Aware™ stands as their strongest defense, setting a new standard for accountability in the fashion industry.

Matthew Ekholm, Strategic Engagements Manager, Circular Economy, Protokol

As Strategic Engagements Manager, Circular Economy at Protokol, Matthew is responsible for the overall commercial strategy in relation to our Digital Product Passport offering, understanding and translating customer needs into value-adding solutions, alongside the expansion of Protokol's DPP Partner Ecosystem. A former Director of Circular Services at Multi-National Packaging company Stora-Enso, and a former Operations Manager for Circular Economy Transformation, Matthew has years of experience in the Circular Economy space; helping companies develop new circular business models and unlock new opportunities through an increased focus on sustainability and circularity.

Join us for the CircThread Digital Product Passport Hackathon

Challenge Description:

For more information please refer to our event brochure here

Agenda:

Confirmed Speakers:

Registration for Hackathon