Michael Brunn

Despite their low market share to date, bio-based plastics are facing a strategic upgrade in the European packaging market.

The recycling of decommissioned ships still takes place largely outside the EU. The reason for this is often a lack of capacity. However, this does not correspond to reality.

Political uncertainty, high energy costs and increasing cost pressure do not seem to be leading to a broad withdrawal from decarbonisation.

The European circular economy for lithium-ion batteries is technically promising, but not yet economically closed.

The supply of gallium is becoming a strategic factor for the energy and semiconductor industries.

The production of high-quality plastic recyclates is time-consuming. This carries the risk of false infor-mation on the quality and proportion of recyclates. Test mechanisms are therefore necessary.

According to model calculations, the increasing copper demand of electromobility can in princi-ple be met by 2050, but with very different consequences for mining, processing capacities and ore grades.

Critical minerals are indispensable for many strategically important applications. Therefore, companies need to make their supply chains more resilient and diverse.

With the global expansion of photovoltaics and stationary energy storage, the demand for anti-mony is increasing much faster than previously assumed.

The increasing demand for aluminium in the European automotive industry is increasing the pressure to use more secondary material in demanding vehicle applications.