CIRCLETECH HUB
Multidisciplinary and dynamic research teams working across a range of key focus areas form The CiRCLETECH HUB. Our expertise covers urban and waste mining, material recycling, advanced processing technologies in waste recycling, circular manufacturing, and the sustainable energy transition with a strong emphasis on just transition principles.
Urban and waste mining, material recycling
Processing technologies in waste recycling
Sustainable energy transition – Just transition
Circular manufacturing
Urban and waste mining, material recycling
Urban mining and material recycling are at the forefront of addressing several global challenges. As the availability of primary raw materials diminishes and the need to reduce waste grows, is increasingly vital to explore new methods of reclaiming valuable resources from waste. Urban mining is a sustainable approach that aims to recover valuable compounds and elements from various types of waste, such as demolition waste from buildings, Li-ion batteries, vehicles, and electronic equipment.
Why is it important? – Challenges
The finite amount of raw materials, the need to reduce waste, the need to reduce environmental degradation caused by waste treatment, the reduction of space available for final disposal of waste: all these factors mean that resources in waste need to be recovered and reclaimed.
Key challenges:
- Finite amount of raw materials
- Growing need to reduce waste
- Environmental degradation due to traditional waste treatment
- Limited space for final disposal
Goal: Recover and reclaim valuable materials from waste streams.
What is Urban Mining?
THE AIM OF URBAN MINING
The aim of urban mining is to recover valuable compounds and elements from waste, such as demolition waste from buildings, Li-ion batteries, vehicles and electronic equipment. This reduces the environmental impact and recovers valuable raw materials instead of traditional mining and opencast mining. Concrete, steel, glass, aluminium, copper, zinc, but also gold, silver, platinum, cobalt, lithium, among others, can be reclaimed. Resource recovery includes the energy that can be generated by treating and managing wastes as well as materials recycling. In addition, urban mining reduces the environmental impacts of traditional mining: habitat destruction, damaging land and water pollution, thus using less energy and water, also reduces carbon emissions.
♻️ Urban mining aims to:
- Recover valuable materials (e.g. metals, glass, concrete) from waste
- Replace traditional mining practices with sustainable alternatives
- Reduce environmental impacts: CO₂ emissions, energy/water use, land degradation
📦 Examples:
- Li-ion batteries
- E-waste (electronics)
- Construction and demolition waste
- End-of-life vehicles
Where Do Resources Come From? – Sources
RECLAIMING COMPOUNDS AND ELEMENTS FROM WASTES
Urban Mining extends landfill mining to the process of reclaiming compounds and elements from any kind of anthropogenic stocks, including buildings, infrastructure, industries, products and environmental media receiving anthropogenic emissions. The stocked materials may represent a significant source of resources, with concentrations of elements often comparable to or exceeding natural stocks.
Urban mining is not limited to landfills!
Resource types include:
- Buildings and infrastructure
- Industrial products
- Electronic equipment
- Environmental media with anthropogenic emissions
These often have higher concentrations of valuable elements than natural deposits.
Materials Recycling
Materials recycling aims to transform selected wastes into materials that can be used in the manufacture of new products. Packaging waste (plastics, paper, cans, glass), bottom ash, sewage, exhausted oils, scrap tyres, WEEE, end-of-life vehicles etc., are waste flows commonly considered as falling within material recycling strategies. The recovered materials after processing (not necessarily implying an extraction process) are reintroduced in production cycles.
🎯 Objective: Transform selected waste into reusable materials for new product manufacturing.
♻️ Typical waste streams:
- Packaging waste (plastics, paper, metal, glass)
- Bottom ash, sewage sludge
- Used oils, scrap tyres
- WEEE and end-of-life vehicles
Focus Areas & Research Topics
The Urban and waste mining research subtopic focuses on the technical and scientific as well as the social awareness development of materials recovery, materials recycling and resource recovery of anthropogenic stock and flow types of resources. Research is based on the existing knowledge and experience of the partner Universities as the starting point and further seeking new applications and target material streams.
Key areas:
- Aluminium recycling
- Construction & demolition waste
- Buildings, vehicles, batteries, ceramics, polymers
- Microstructure analysis
- Glass foam recycling
- Hydrometallurgy & biometallurgy
- Tailings (including fly ash), red mud
- Geopolymer and fiber-reinforced geopolymer foam
- Automated sorting and sensor-based handling
- Landfill mining
- Water permitting & social license to operate
- Electrocoagulation (toxic waste treatment)
- 3D printing for infrastructure (e.g. noise barriers)
- Concrete replacement technologies
Methods:
- Material characterization
- Analytical techniques for microstructure
- Urban resource mapping & sampling
- AI-driven modeling and classification
- Technology development for resource recovery
Social and Economic Perspectives
👥 Our research also explores:
- Public awareness and education on circular economy
- Economic aspects of urban mining
- Growth trends, investments, startups
- Application of AI for urban mining forecasting, optimization, and planning
Our Team
Material recycling
Prof. Dr. József Faitli
Municipal waste management: sampling, EPR, landfill surveys, processing technologies, air and multiphase flow, rheology, settling velocity
Prof. Dr. Szabolcs Nagy
Behaviourial analysis, market research, economic evaluation of intellectual and innovative activity of enterprises
Ngandu Cornelius Ngunjiri
green concrete incorporating waste materials, Use of C&D waste in geopolymer and cement concrete
Dr. Emese Sebe
pyrolysis and gasification of refuse derived fuel, thermogravimetric analysis
Dr. Emese Mesterné Kurovics
composite materials, glass-ceramic foams, material testing
Alexandra Hamza
cement foams, red mud in cement foam, material testing
Tamás Kurusta
CO2 sequestration, mechanical activation, mineral processing
Seyedmohammadreza Arefzadeh
Hydrometallurgy, Solvent extraction, Extractive metallurgy
Youssef El Ouardi
Materials science; Metal recovery; Secondary resources; Hydrometallurgy
Dr. Gábor Gyarmati
Al alloys, Al recycling
Processing technologies in waste recycling
The European Commission has adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan – one of the main blocks of the European Green Deal, Europe’s new agenda for sustainable growth. The new Action Plan announces initiatives along the entire life cycle of products, targeting for example their design, promoting circular economy processes, fostering sustainable consumption, and aiming to ensure that the resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.
Why is it important? – Challenges
📜 Circular Economy Action Plan:
The European Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan is part of the European Green Deal, aiming to make the EU’s economy sustainable by ensuring resources remain in the EU economy as long as possible.
It promotes circular economy processes and sustainable consumption, targeting product design and waste management along the entire life cycle of products.
🔌 E-Waste as a Resource:
E-waste (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – WEEE) includes electrical and electronic products that have become waste.
These products often contain high-value materials necessary for production (e.g., Indium in LCDs).
The EU’s e-waste generation has increased from 7.6 million tonnes in 2012 to 12.4 million tonnes in 2020.
Challenges in WEEE processing include:
Small concentrations of valuable elements
Composite materials and thin layers
Rapid technological changes and market price variation of raw materials
Our Research Group Focuses On the Following Material Flows and Waste Flows
🔋 E-Mobility & Mobility:
Auto parts, sensors, electronic parts, PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards), plastic
Li-ion batteries (LiBs), parts of the drive train
High-tech equipment (LED, displays, PCBs)
🏙️ Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW):
Waste processing, RDF/SRF (Refuse Derived Fuel/Solid Recovered Fuel) production
Key Research Areas
Processing Technologies in Waste Recycling
Pre-Processing & Processing
Mechanical Separation & Separation Techniques
Advanced Separation Technologies
Critical Raw Materials Recovery
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Waste & Flue Gas Analysis, Heat Transfer
Logistics, Mechatronics, Industry 4.0 Technologies, Robotics
Our Team
Waste recycling
Dr. Sándor Nagy
recycling of end of life vehicles, tyres, batteries, WEEE, municipal solid wastes processing, water and wastewater treatment, processing of biomass
Dr. Ákos Cservenák
logistics, mechatronics, Industry 4.0, robotics, automation, simulations, smart systems (vehicles, traffic, drones, waste bins)
Maen Adel Mohammed Alwahsh
mechanical activation of glass waste from monocrystalline solar panels for enhanced cementitious applications
Izabella Rebeka Márkus
grindability, secondary raw materials, electronic wastes with a focus on OLED screens
Annamária Polyákné Kovács
investigation and applicability of PEEK in the automotive industry
Dr. Máté Petrik
heat exchanger structures, heat transfer processes, pressure vessel systems
Prof. Dr. Gábor L. Szepesi
unit operation, modelling, CFD, gas explosion, BLEVE
Ildikó Fóris
glass waste recycling, glass foams
Dr. Katalin Bohács
wet stirred media milling
Dr. Zsófia Forgács
industrial automation
Sustainable energy transition – Just transition
The transition to sustainable energy is crucial for mitigating climate change and ensuring a sustainable future. The European Union’s ambitious ‘Fit for 55’ package aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, with the ultimate goal of making Europe climate-neutral by 2050. However, this transition needs to be fair and just, ensuring that no one is left behind. This includes addressing energy poverty, promoting energy efficiency, and creating new green jobs. A key part of this transformation is the development of energy communities and innovative technologies that can make energy systems more resilient and accessible to all. This research focuses on the policies, challenges, and technological advancements necessary to achieve a just and sustainable energy transition, with a special focus on the household sector, heating decarbonization, and smart energy solutions.
Why is it important? – Challenges
📌 Key Challenges:
EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ aims to reduce GHG emissions by 55% by 2030.
Transition to a climate-neutral Europe by 2050.
Energy efficiency improvements and higher energy costs affecting residential consumption.
Social welfare initiatives like the ‘Social Climate Fund’ for energy and mobility poverty.
REPowerEU’s response to the energy crisis from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
📊 Challenges in Energy & Climate Goals:
Studies (M. C. LaBelle and T. Szép, 2022) show setbacks in achieving SDGs 7, 11, and 13 (Affordable and Clean Energy, Sustainable Cities, and Climate Action). EU member states are not on track for 2020 energy targets, and Covid-19 worsened progress.
💥 Impact of Unjust Transition:
An unjust energy transition undermines SDGs, weakens community resilience, and exposes regions to future crises.
New Policies & Energy Communities
📈 Policy Development Focus:
The research group emphasizes policies that tackle energy inequalities, especially energy poverty, while promoting energy democracy and justice.
Energy Communities: New solutions for energy democracy, fair pay, and creating green jobs supporting the just transition.
Main Goal: Build sustainable energy systems to improve resilience during crises.
Household Sector & Heating Decarbonization
🏠 Focus Area:
Northern Hungary’s coal regions transitioning from fossil fuels face challenges in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.📊 EU Household Sector:
In 2020, the household sector was responsible for 27% of final energy consumption (Eurostat, 2022).
Despite significant energy efficiency potential, the sector remains underdeveloped.
🔋 Key Issue:
The share of household primary biomass use in renewable energy consumption was 82.5% in 2020 (Eurostat, 2023). CEE is trapped in traditional biomass use.🔥 Heating Decarbonization:
Key to reducing energy poverty and increasing resilience.🔌 Smart Energy:
Smart cities, appliances, and smart metering are emerging research areas to drive innovation.
Research Focus Areas
Sustainable Campus Solutions
Grid-Scale Energy Storage
Decentralized Energy Production & Island Operations
Community Heating Systems
Energy Security & Grid Stability
Circular Carbon Economy: Emissions capture, CO₂ storage, and products from CO₂.
Biomass-Based Feedstocks & Energy Carriers: Computational chemistry design.
Hydrogen Production Alternatives:
Carbon & mineral resource assessment
Technological solutions for carbon-based hydrogen
Hydrogen blending in natural gas networks
Hydrogen and gas turbine studies
LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) studies
Our Team
Sustainable energy transition
Dr. Tekla Szép
energy transition, households, energy prices, solar PV, energy citizenship
Dr. Beáta Siskáné Szilasi
mobilty, social inequalities, social sustainability, just transition
Dr. István Szunyog
energy storage, hydrogen storage, CO2 storage, hydrogen production, hydrogen in natural gas systems, cost analysis, renewable gases
Dr. Katalin Lipták
green labour market, regional differences, energy poverty, circular economy, sustainable labour market
Dr. László Molnár
environmental sustainability & quality in product improvement
Dr. Helga Kovács
biomass combustion, alternative energy sources, waste to energy, secondary RM from energy production systems, environmental pollution, climate change, hazardous and valuable metals in energy production systems
Dr. Mohammad Jaber
energy poverty, fuel poverty, climate change, econometric analysis, energy policies, climate change policies, energy transition, energy inequality, spatial & path analysis
Dr. Csilla Margit Csiszár
Business intelligence, business database management, consumer protection, data asset management, data security, digitalisation, digital transformation, GDPR, information technology
Dr. Marianna Vadászi
underground hydrogen storage, hydrogen trading system, hydrogen blending into natural gas pipelines, levelized cost of hydrogen, hydrogen storage, green hydrogen production
Dr. Ágnes Horváth
corporate energy management and decarbonisation, EU-ETS, energy intensive industries, district heating, energy market challenges, coal phase-out, strategies for energy sector, profitability
Adrienn Takácsné Papp
energy transition, energy management, energy policy, decarbonisation, Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans, coal phase-out, just transition
Gómez Soto Franklin Vinicio
hydraulic fracturing, geothermal energy
Circular design and manufacturing
Circular Design and Manufacturing focuses on the development of sustainable production systems that prioritize durability, repairability, and recyclability. The goal is to transition from a linear ‘take–make–dispose’ model to a circular economy, where resources are reused, waste is minimized, and environmental impacts are reduced. This approach involves designing products for multiple lifecycles, enabling continuous recovery of value from end-of-life products. By implementing circular manufacturing practices, industries can achieve significant economic and environmental benefits, ensuring long-term sustainability and efficient resource use.
Why is it important? – Challenges
🌍 Linear Economy Issues:
Current production and consumption patterns follow a ‘take–make–dispose’ model, causing inefficiencies in the entire lifecycle (from resource extraction to disposal).
The linear model focuses primarily on profitability, placing pressure on finite resources and environmental sustainability.
Key issues:
Limited resource recovery due to product design focused on a single-use cycle.
Depletion of natural resources as the Earth’s capacity to absorb waste and regenerate resources is finite.
⚙️ Closing Material Loops & Eliminating Waste:
The challenge involves closing material loops (recycling and reuse) and eliminating waste.
Traditional manufacturing focuses on cost reduction, but end-of-life (EoL) products often carry substantial remaining value that isn’t addressed.
Research in remanufacturing shows significant potential for recovering value and reducing environmental impact.
Circular Solutions
🌱 Circular Design & Manufacturing:
Goal: Create durable, reusable, repairable, and recyclable products, while generating zero waste.
Design Process: The design phase influences 80% of a product’s environmental impact, and circular design prevents waste from the start.
Circular Manufacturing (CM): The focus is on implementing circular production systems that balance profitability and environmental sustainability. Although the potential benefits are evident, successful circular systems are still rare.
📐 Design for Multiple Lifecycles:
The key to circular manufacturing lies in designing products to be used for multiple lifecycles.
Economic & Environmental Potential: The adoption of circular manufacturing in the EU could save hundreds of billions of dollars annually and yield significant environmental benefits.
🌍 Realizing a Circular Economy:
Circular manufacturing is a critical tool for realizing a circular economy.
Research will focus on evaluating life cycle scenarios (reuse, recycling, etc.) to reduce resource consumption and environmental load.
🔄 Life Cycle Management & Sustainable Materials:
Topics include life cycle management of mass-produced components, use of renewable raw materials, and the development of sustainable, recyclable, reusable, and repairable products.
Advanced manufacturing technologies are reshaping how manufacturing processes are organized and impacting sustainability.
3D Printing
- Sustainable Technology: 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, supports circular production systems by using recycled and reclaimed materials.
- Focus on recycling, repair, and the use of bio-based materials in production.
Technical Cycles, Recycling & Sustainable Logistics
🔧 Production & Consumption System:
Circular manufacturing aims to maximize resource efficiency through closed-loop and regenerative approaches.
Recycling plays a crucial role in this system, particularly in technical cycles, where recycled materials supply parts manufacturers.
🔄 Research on Recycling and Logistics:
Key areas of focus:
Sustainability in recycling logistics
Automated material handling and Industry 4.0 technologies
Material reuse in industrial production
Research Focus Areas
Environmentally Friendly Design
Life Cycle Management
Sustainable 3D Printable Biocomposites
Industry 4.0 Technologies
Cutting Processes
Product Lifecycle of Electric Cars
Green Logistics & Manufacturing
Industrial Robots & Sensors
Coating Formation on Machined Surfaces
Tribological Properties Analysis
Wear & Lubrication Dimensions under Environmental Conditions
Mono and Hybrid Nanofluids for Heat Transfer & Efficiency
CAD Modeling
Our Team
Circular manufacturing
Prof. Dr. Gabriella Vadászné Bognár
tribology, fluid flow, Newtonian fluids, non-Newtonian fluids, surface pattern models, nanofluids, viscosity models
Prof. Dr. Tamás Bányai
logistics, optimisation, in-plant supply, supply chain design, vehicle routing, Industry 4.0, just-in-sequence supply, sustainability of logistics processes, energy efficiency in logistics
Dr. Csaba Felhő
metal cutting & simulation, surface roughness measurement, CAM, machining, Finite Element Simulation of Metal Cutting, cutting force measurement, additive & advanced manufacturing, precision machining technology
Prof. Dr. György Czél
biopolymers, biocomposites, heat conductive polymers, new recycling technology, materials testing, smart materials
Eszter Borsodi
design methodology, conceptual design, product planning, design process, generative design, AI-in-design, 3D printing, circular design, sustainable materials & design
Dr. Csilla Margit Csiszár
Business intelligence, business database management, consumer protection, data asset management, data security, digitalisation, digital transformation, GDPR, information technology
Dr. Péter Veres
SCM, Warehouse Planning, Inventory Management, Logistics 4.0, Route Planning, AI Logistics, Sustainable Transport, Logistics Optimization, Metaheuristic Methods
László Erdei
manufacturing, digital twin, digital shadow, production planning, FTS, logistics, material flow, maintenance, QM, transportation.
Dr. György Hegedűs
CAD design, numerical methods, tool profile, grinding, Siemens NX, Matlab, Maple, generative design, reverse engineering, rapid prototyping
Dr. Ákos Cservenák
logistics, mechatronics, Industry 4.0, robotics, automation, simulations, smart systems (vehicles, traffic, drones, waste bins)
Dr. László Rónai
industrial robot, robot programming, robotics, mechatronics, force feedback, sensor, microcontroller, PLC programming
Dr. István Sztankovics
assembly, cutting force, cutting procedures, efficiency, FEM, high feed milling, machining, production planning, rotational turning, surface roughness
Dr. Klára Szűcsné Markovics
sustainable facility management, capital budgeting, investment decisions, corporate resource management, energy efficiency, cost accounting, KPIs, social innovation
József Lénárt
industrial robot, robotics, mechatronics, sensor, microcontroller, PLC programming, data acquisition, embedded computing, FPGA
Dr. János Juhász
supply chain, SCM, logistics, just-in-sequence, just-in-time, scheduling, supply models, manufacture, service, efficiency
Dr. Ferenc Sarka
3D technologies, additive manufacturing, reverse engineering, FEM simulations of additive manufactured parts, waste reduce of additive manufacturing
Dr. János Ferenc Szabó
optimization of machine elements, FEM, trend analysis and forecasting of phenomena described by sigmoid curves
Géza Németh
epicyclic traction drive, helical torsion spring, principle of self-help, reparability, design for disassembly, elongation of life rating
Henriett Matyi
logistics, digitalization, sustainable packaging, Industry 4.0, decision support system, supply chain, simulation, packaging system
Dr. Ágnes Judit Takács
design methodology, conceptual design, design thinking, product planning, design-develop-invent, design process, elements of design
Dr. Katalin Voith
sustainability, sustainable energy, air pollution, glass waste recycling
Winnie Atieno Onyango
polymer hybrid biocomposites
Sajid Nazir
Supply Chain Resilience, Circular Economy, Digitalization
Judit Albert
sustainable design