About nova

As an internationally recognised think tank, nova-Institute has specialised in defossilisation and renewable carbon. We are a team of excellent professionals who are passionate about providing in-depth analyses and advice. In particular, nova supports clients in chemicals, plastics and materials industries with the transition from fossil to renewable carbon from biomass, direct CO₂ utilisation and recycling.

We are active both in international innovation projects as well as in individual, science-based consulting. A multidisciplinary team of scientists at nova deals with the entire range of topics from renewable raw materials, technologies, markets, economy, policy framework, life cycle assessments and sustainability to communication, target groups and strategy development. That is how our experts from various disciplines work together on the defossilisation of the industry and for a climate-neutral future.

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Michael Carus

CEO & Founder

Linda Engel

COO

Lars Börger

CEO

What we do

As the world undergoes significant transformations, we are confronted with major challenges, and climate change is a pivotal factor. Now more than ever, it is imperative to make substantial reductions in CO₂ emissions. While the energy sector can be decarbonised via renewable energies, the chemical and materials industries will always need carbon as a feedstock. The equivalent to decarbonisation in this sector therefore hinges on the transition to renewable carbon. Both strategies lead to defossilisation of these key industries.

Currently 90% of the embedded carbon in chemicals and materials originate from fossil carbon in the ground. This urgently needs to be changed. In this context, sustainability emerges as the key to success. The future of the chemical and materials industry requires sourcing carbon feedstocks exclusively from the atmosphere, biosphere and technosphere, ensuring carbon remains inherently renewable and part of sustainable carbon cycles. This is the path to a circular economy. And these are the topics we support our clients with.

Our approach

At nova, we bring our unique expertise to help your business make the transition to a climate-neutral future. Our focus areas include feedstocks, technologies, the intersection of economy and policy, sustainability, communications and strategy development. For this goal nova’s departments – technology & markets, economy & policy, sustainability, communications and the office of the Renewable Carbon Initiative – work closely and in an interdisciplinary approach to provide science-based advice to navigate your journey towards more sustainability.

Whether you look for in-house workshops, comprehensive reports, Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), technology and market research, policy screening or communication plans – nova’s experts thrive on digging deep and delivering solutions. Rest assured that we can help you with the most commonly asked questions: What are the future challenges, environmental benefits and successful strategies to substitute fossil carbon with biomass, direct CO₂ use and recycling? What are the most promising concepts and applications for reducing CO₂ emissions? How can we become more sustainable?

Join the network

Welcome to nova’s vast networking opportunities. As a dynamic research institute dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions for the chemicals and materials sector, we have excellent contacts with various national and international stakeholders when it comes to topics like renewable carbon, sustainability or circular economy. To further connect the dots, over the years we have developed several ways for our clients and partners to benefit from our large network. Some of them include paid services, such as sponsoring, exhibition or advertising, but just as many opportunities are for free.

First and foremost there are four prestigious nova conferences and several webinars, called nova sessions, that you can attend. If you want to promote your company to the network check out our business directory of Renewable Carbon Companies, which currently lists 140 companies and averages 30,000 downloads per year. In addition, nova publishes several newsletters, including the daily Renewable Carbon News and the monthly nova newsletter. You are welcome to subscribe! Or join nova’s LinkedIn community to stay up to date. Finally, consider partnering with the Renewable Carbon Initiative, which offers the most comprehensive form of engagement.

Conferences & Seminars

Find out more about our huge variety of networking events.

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A team of exceptional experts

nova’s experts represent a wide range of backgrounds, including materials science, policy, economics, chemistry, biology, environmental science, biotechnology, physics and communications. This gives nova a unique understanding of the bio-based, circular and renewable carbon economy.

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Lukas Albrecht