Post by Patrick Hypscher

⛏️ Europe's next mine isn't underground. 🗑️ It's the pile of dead electronics in the corner. Gold, copper, palladium, rare earths - already above ground, sitting in scrap we shred or ship abroad. The problem was never the metal. It was getting it out cleanly, and taking the product apart to get there. ‼️ That's the bet behind the Circular Technology Award, launched by Knorr-Bremse AG, Heinz Herrmann Thiele Foundation and CIRCULAR REPUBLIC. Matthias Ballweg calls automated disassembly "physical AI" - the one AI use case where Europe can lead. Oliver Klug, Knorr-Bremse's Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, went a step further: not just prize money, but PoCs to move winners from concept into real operations. The award had four winners: R3 Robotics - robots that disassemble batteries and e-drives Hiro Robotics - AI-driven e-waste disassembly DEScycle - low-temperature salts that dissolve gold, silver and palladium HyProMag GmbH - hydrogen that cracks rare-earth magnets apart 🎧 Listen to the final episode of our IFAT worldwide series at Circularity.fm. #CircularEconomy #CriticalRawMaterials #UrbanMining