The Healthcare Challenge Offers CIRCULIFE the Opportunity to Extend Device Lifecycles with Hospitals

In this interview, Virginie Versavel, founder of CIRCULIFE, explains how her company is helping organisations manage their equipment more economically and therefore also more sustainably. With the support of the Circular Kickstart Healthcare Challenge, CIRCULIFE is taking its Circular Asset Management solution to the healthcare sector, aiming to extend the lifecycle of medical devices and reduce waste of all sorts.  

What is CIRCULIFE’s mission, and how did it all begin? 

The circular mindset has been embedded in me from a very early age. I was taught the value of reuse, something I want to pass on to the corporate realm. I worked in a corporate environment for over 17 years, gathering experience in the supply chain of the healthcare sector as well as in the leasing of ICT, industrial and medical equipment. This made me realise there is often no real sense of asset value at every stage of the asset lifecycles. 90% of organisations still choose to buy over leasing, but have no idea what happens to their assets at their end-of-life, nor do they understand the true cost, value or impact potential. 

CIRCULIFE was launched to help organisations manage their assets more sustainably and more transparently with selected and screened partners. We focus on electric and electronic equipment, making sure it gets repaired and reused instead of being thrown away, dumped, exported, incinerated or recycled.    

Our goal is to create closed-loop systems where devices' lifecycles are extended. This not only reduces waste but also supports local economies by encouraging and creating repair and upgrade jobs. We provide full lifecycle transparency, meaning organisations can manage their assets and make more informed decisions about their use at any stage during the lifecycle. 

How does CIRCULIFE’s solution benefit the healthcare sector? 

Healthcare is a perfect fit for what we do. Hospitals deal with a lot of medical equipment that needs to be managed carefully, and CIRCULIFE can help them identify, track and manage these devices, proactively and more efficiently reduce waste and costs, and optimise their utility rate. With the Circular Kickstart Healthcare Challenge, we plan on starting two pilot projects with the healthcare institutions that have partnered with the Circular kickstart, to show how our system works in practice and secure future contracts at other hospitals in Belgium. This will also help us attract more investors to grow further. 

What challenges does CIRCULIFE face in the market? 

 The Healthcare Challenge has been a fantastic opportunity for us. We applied last year but didn’t make the selection, so we came back prepared with a more refined plan, valuable insights and a stronger business model. This time, we secured one of the twenty coveted spots in the programme and were granted direct access to the otherwise difficult to enter healthcare market - truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! 

It’s really going to help us connect with hospitals that are already interested in circular solutions. The support and connections we’re gaining through the Challenge are crucial in getting our foot in the door and building further connections with potential partners. 

What challenges does CIRCULIFE face in the market? 

One of the biggest challenges is shifting the mindset around repair, upgrades, and lifecycle extension. A lot of organisations think they’re doing enough by donating or recycling equipment, but without transparency, the real impact of these actions is unclear, be it financially, economically, socially or environmentally. 

We create insights and awareness to highlight that real value lies in knowing exactly what happens to your assets at the moment of procurement, during use and at their end-of-life. That’s why our focus is on transparency - helping organisations understand the full lifecycle and how it fits into their economic, social and environmental goals. In doing so, we also assist with their ESG-reporting, taking away the laborious and time-consuming task of gathering data, comparing it and putting it in the right reporting standards. 

Another challenge is getting companies to see the financial benefits of circular asset management. Extending the life of equipment saves money and reduces environmental impact at their own use phase or beyond, but it takes time to shift perspectives. 

What are CIRCULIFE’s plans for the future? 

While ICT and healthcare are a big focus for us, we’re also planning to expand into industrial equipment. A lot of equipment is underutilised, or not optimally managed during and after their use cycles. A more efficient spare parts management is also required. On top of the two projects with partnered healthcare institutions, by the end of this year, we will start up ten new projects with other companies as well. The more proof-of-impact we can gather, the more organisations, partners and investors we can convince of the value of circularity, and the more action we can drive. By 2030, we aim to reduce the CO2 footprint of our customer base by 45%, showing the broader value of circular lifecycle management. 

Long-term, we want to leverage our insights and data to move manufacturers towards eco-design, highlighting weak spots in their value chain, feeding modular designs and spotting opportunities. Our end goal is to facilitate and serve more product-as-a-service models, where equipment stays in circulation longer thanks to local modular upgrades and exchange, making sure nothing goes to waste and costs of use remain transparent and under control. Our ultimate goal is to create profitable, self-sustaining, closed-loop ecosystems that benefit both the planet and the economy. 

Any advice for startups considering joining the Circular Kickstart? 

Circularity is a mindset. Think: Complementary partnerships for acceleration. Think at the end even before you begin. Measure impact with “value” and “reduced costs and waste” over the full value chain and asset lifecycles. And only then calculate the TCO or “Total Cost of Ownership" to compare apples to apples.