Post by Filipe Costa

♻️ Last week, I joined the discussion on Germany's National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS) at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, alongside Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider and other leaders from industry, politics and academia. The consensus was clear: for a country with limited raw materials, the circular economy is no longer just an environmental topic.  🌍 It is an economic and strategic imperative. It means resilience, competitiveness and independence from fragile global supply chains. It was great to see critical raw material recovery, recycling innovation and digital product passports take center stage in the government's action programme. 🔋 But scaling circularity depends on one condition that deserves more attention.👇 📈 Recycling only works when the markets for recovered materials are open and these goods can be traded internationally. 🤝 It has to pay off for everyone in the value chain, not just the end processors, but everyone who collects, sorts and refines along the way. ⚖️ The more open the market, the fairer the price. And this must apply equally to scrap and to black mass. So our ask to the NKWS is simple: we need open, competitive markets with fair prices for all participants. ✅ That is what raises recycling rates.  ✅ That is what motivates new players to build in our domestic markets. Closed or distorted markets do the opposite. They concentrate value at the end of the chain and discourage the very investment we need. 🚫 Circularity will be one of the defining drivers of Europe's industrial future, but only if the markets behind it stay open. 🇪🇺 Thank you to the Federal Ministry for the invitation and all participants for an open and forward-looking exchange, including Niclas-Alexander Mauss (CIRCULAR REPUBLIC), Max-Frederick Gerken (Optocycle), Lars Baumgürtel (ZINQ), Lucas Dörr (FAUN Group), Martin David Ledwon (UPM), Stephanie Otto (Berliner Stadtreinigung), Stefan Roll (REMEX Group), Christina Labusch (REMONDIS Recycling) and Dr. Jochen Rahmfeld(Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH). #CircularEconomy #NKWS #BatteryRecycling #CriticalRawMaterials #OpenMarkets #BlackMass #ResourceEfficiency