At the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) U18 World Championship, automated return stations for reusable cups were installed across two arenas as part of a large-scale circular system.

Over the course of the tournament, 23,000 reusable cups enabled more than 55,000 beverage servings across venues hosting over 70,000 visitors.

The installed Sensoneo Smart DRS return stations processed more than 44,300 cup returns, with fans returning nearly 5,000 cups per day. Cups were returned via automated units, with deposit refunds issued instantly to payment cards — without registration, mobile applications, or manual handling.

The deployment marked one of the first large-scale uses of fully automated reusable cup return infrastructure in a live sporting environment, providing real-world data on circular systems under high visitor volumes.