G+D Goes Big on Sustainability at Symposium

Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) held its Currency Technology Symposium 2023 in July in Munich. Normally a biennial event, this is the first to be held since 2019 due to COVID, and was attended by more than 300 customers from central banks, printworks and commercial cash handling industry.

The big themes of the symposium were sustainability, hyper-efficiency, resilience and the future of cash (including the role of Central Bank Digital Currencies).

This article reviews G+D’s latest developments in the first – and in particular its revolutionary new technology for banknote repurposing, the Banknote Fibre Extractor (BFE), as well as the significant work taking place to create banknotes made from sustainable materials.

Turning the rules on their head for repurposing cotton banknotes

The cotton used in a banknote is high value because its fibres have properties that are useful in a wide range of applications. The challenge for almost any central bank has been how to make banknote waste usable and useful. G+D has found a solution that is straightforward, flexible and scalable.