Circularity.fm

Which startups are solving Europe’s two key circular economy challenges: automated disassembly and critical raw materials recovery? This episode covers the Circular Technology Award, launched by Circular Republic and Knorr-Bremse, to back startups working in both fields. Matthias Ballweg, co-founder of Circular Republic, and Oliver Klug, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Knorr-Bremse, e...

Which areas of circular economy are attracting the most startup activity in Europe, and which ones are being left behind? Leonhard Teichert, Program Lead at Circular Republic, presents the findings of the Circular Economy Startup Landscape 2026. Bruno Rudnik, Managing Partner at SEF Ventures and host of the startup area at IFAT, adds the investor's view on financing and scaling hardware startups i...

What is the economic potential of circularity? The Federal Association of the German Industries (BDI) asked Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to answer that for German industry. The report's authors, Claas Oehlmann of the BDI's Circular Economy Initiative and Alexander Meyer zum Felde of BCG, walk through the findings, with Nadine Braun of E.ON bringing the view from a company perspective. What you'll...

Can Europe secure the critical raw materials it needs without stepping back from global trade? Recorded at the Circular Sovereignty Forum at IFAT Munich, with Susanne Kadner of Circular Republic, João Merico of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Roland Gauß of EIT Raw Materials, on the link between circularity, geopolitics, and supply security. What you'll hear in this episode: • What companies a...

Why do startups and corporates need each other, and what makes the partnership work? Florian Fehr, Managing Director of NEEW Ventures, joins Patrick at IFAT and interviews three founders: Rajiv Singhal from Grensol, Stefan Delinde from Minimise, and Gary Lewis from Resourcify about their businesses and what makes a startup-corporate partnership work. What you'll hear in this episode: • Why startup...

How does ESG reporting influence how a company is financed, run, and perceived? in this episode, Fabian Böhmer, Head of Sustainability at EEW, joins Patrick to discuss how ESG reporting can serve bankability, reputation, and internal decision-making. What you'll hear: • Why the business case matters in sustainability, and what happens when ecological, social, and economic dimensions are treated as...

What are the learnings after 100+ conversations with circular economy experts? For our 100th Episode Special, Celinne de Paula from the Circularity.fm team takes over as host and interviews Patrick Hypscher on what six years of conversations with founders, investors, and professionals has taught him. What you'll hear in this episode: • The skills needed to make circular projects succeed • The over...

How does carbon capture actually work, and what does it take to make it commercial? Jörn Jakob, Director Innovation at EEW, and Eike Diedecke, who oversees the carbon capture pilot at the Delfzijl site, share what they are learning from the pilot project. What you'll hear in this episode: • Where the CO2 in waste actually comes from, and the impact of different waste compositions • How the capture...

What is the value of knowing what's in your waste stream? Wasteer founder Benedict von Spankeren talks about how data and AI improve profitability and prevent dangerous accidents for waste management companies. What you'll hear in this episode: • The economic gap between recycling and waste-to-energy margins, and what this means for market entry and finding customers. • How dynamic pricing changes...

What role does waste incineration play in the circular economy and in the transition away from fossil fuels? Sebastian Siewers, Head of Energy at EEW, talks about the contribution of waste-to-energy plants to the circular economy, and the energy system. What you'll hear in this episode: • The business model behind waste to energy: where the revenue comes from, what drives costs, and why CO2 is bec...

Do you know how a waste-to-energy plant actually turn household waste into electricity, heat, and steam? Philipp Böhm, Managing Director of NEEW Ventures walks through the full process at a plant in Premnitz, from the truck pulling up at the gate to energy entering the grid. What you'll hear in this episode: • How waste companies make money: they don't buy their fuel. They charge producers to take...

How do circular practices enable better risk management and what's that means for insurance premiums? Nadin-Shirin Zimmermann from Nexarus breaks down the business logic of insurance products and where circularity changes the equation. Before founding Nexarus, she spent years as a corporate underwriter at Allianz and XL Capital. What you'll hear in this episode: • How business interruption insuran...

Can an insurance company make repair the default choice across the entire supply chain? Søren Frederiksen from Tryg explains how a repair-first claims policy was built and scaled across Denmark, starting from a market where nine out of ten damaged car bumpers were replaced instead of repaired. What you'll hear in this episode: * Why repair in insurance claims is rarely more expensive than replacem...

How does climate risk exposure connect to supply chain decisions, and where does circularity come in? Michael Bruch, Global Head of Risk Consulting Advisory Services, and Lena Fuldauer, Head of Resilience & Business Development at Allianz Risk Consulting, talk about how companies can assess climate risk across their locations and supply chains, and what role circular strategies play in strengtheni...

How can a reuse marketplace for unused industrial assets reduce costs and waste at scale? In this episode, Nathalie Clement, Amanda Fiorillo, and Bernd Schmid from Airbus Defence and Space explain how Airbus built SecondLife, a digital platform where employees trade unused equipment. In three years, 160 tons of waste were avoided and 1,600 tons of CO₂ were saved. What you'll hear in this episode:...

Can the value of a product increase over time instead of declining? In this episode, Aurelia Figueroa, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Gianfranco Gentile, Global Head of Heritage at Breitling, discuss how heritage, repair, and brand identity interact to create a circular model where product value appreciates over decades. The episode is co-hosted by Karel J. Golta, Executive Director at Indeed I...

How can a 100+ year old linear company transform its processes to make circularity commercially irresistible? In this episode, Patrick Lerou, Global Lead for Circularity, and co-host Florian Witt, Director of Technology at INDEED Innovation, discuss how Philips built a circular system for high-value medical equipment that turns trade-ins into revenue, parts harvesting into supply chain resilience,...

How do you build a successful certified refurb program for major appliances? In this episode, Samantha Truesdell, Enterprise Circularity and Climate Strategy Manager, and Caio Doranti, Global Sustainability Senior Manager at Whirlpool Corporation, explain how Whirlpool launched a certified refurbishment program for large home appliances, selling returned units direct to consumer through brand webs...

How can take-back programs move beyond compliance to become a primary sales driver and scaling mechanism? In this episode, Daniel Unger, Environmental Sustainability Manager at Johnson & Johnson MedTech Germany, and Michael Leitl, Executive Director at Indeed Innovation, discuss how J&J’s collection system solves a core operational problem for its customers: the waste management costs for hospital...

How do you scale refurbishment through existing dealer networks? In this episode, Rolf Keller, Head of Circularity, explains how Vitra built its circular model around buying back, refurbishing, and reselling furniture through its dealers, saving 60 to 90% CO2 compared to new products. Co-hosted by Heiko Tullney, Executive Director at Indeed Innovation, this conversation focuses on: • The role of m...

How do you design circular systems, not just circular products? In this episode, Anne Farken from Designworks, a BMW Group Company, talks about why circular design is not only about the product itself, but about the ecosystem around it. The conversation looks at the gap between saying design should be integrated from the beginning and actually thinking product and business model together from day...

How can rethinking product design drive innovation, circularity and reduce costs? In this episode, Nicola Stattmann, Co-founder and CEO of OMC°C, explains why circular product development, when integrated from the start, leads to less investment needed.  The conversation looks at how rethinking material and component choices enable innovation and simplify manufacturing, using the Nike Flyknit's re...

What should designers know about materials before product development? In this episode, Andreas Maegerlein, Head of the Creation Center Europe at BASF, talks about circular design from a material perspective, focusing on how material choices enable or limit circularity. The conversation looks at how product design is affected when materials are developed to last for decades, while products are oft...

How do you identify and act on the biggest levers in your environmental footprint? In this episode, Marcel Niederberger, Head of Sustainability, and Marc Vetterli, Sustainability Expert in Engineering, explain how V-ZUG used life cycle assessment to discover that material intensity (and not just energy efficiency) drives environmental impact in home appliances. What you'll hear in this episode: •...

Can recycled technical plastics meet quality, performance, and price requirements at the same time? In this episode, Isabelle Gola from Bosch Power Tools explains how Bosch developed a closed-loop pilot for power tools using recycled technical plastics while maintaining the same quality and performance standards, at the same price point for the end consumer. What you’ll hear in this episode: • How...