GoProZero team visits ZF and gains insights into circular value creation
Reprocessing as a building block of circular business models: On November 25, 2025, the GoProZero project team visited the ZF site in Bielefeld together with partners from research and industry. The technology group is one of the companies worldwide that is intensively engaged in developing sustainable business models for the future – a perfect fit for the goals of GoProZero.
The visit focused on the question of how remanufacturing can be developed into a viable circular business model. Natalia Moriz (research group leader) and Philip Sehr (research associate) from the Interconnected Automation Systems working group headed by Prof. Dr. Henning Trsek participated on behalf of inIT.
ZF provides valuable insights into processes and technologies
The excursion provided an opportunity to discuss how industrial companies can combine the circular economy, resource-efficient product operation and digital technologies. The focus was on how remanufacturing can be incorporated into a circular business model, among other things.
Jörg Witthöft, the site manager, and Thorsten Krug, the technical manager at the Bielefeld site, demonstrated how clutch assemblies and torque converters are remanufactured, enabling components to be returned to the recycling cycle. They also provided insights into AI-supported processes for detecting the condition of product springs and certifications based on the cradle-to-cradle approach.
What problems does GoProZero address?
GoProZero is a research project within the leading-edge cluster it's OWL and supports companies in designing products that are more sustainable and recyclable. The goal is to develop a system that combines the circular economy, digital technologies, and resource-efficient product operation. The consortium includes research institutes, a technology network, and several industry partners. inIT is involved as a project partner, particularly in the areas of lifecycle data management and data-based support for engineering decisions.
Interfaces between ZF and GoProZero
The excursion demonstrated the value of direct exchange between industry and research. During the discussion, it quickly became clear where practical experience from reprocessing and the issues raised by GoProZero converge—and where new perspectives arise. At the same time, the visit provided an opportunity to strengthen networks in the region and beyond. It was beneficial for both sides to gain insights into each other's working environments and to see how approaches from practice and research can complement each other.
“The visit to ZF in Bielefeld clearly demonstrated how remanufacturing works in practice and how it can contribute to circular business models. It was particularly valuable for GoProZero to see the added value that circular business models can bring to companies in Germany. This confirms once again that we are working on exactly the right levers with GoProZero.” – Natalia Moriz.