Startup Collaboration: How to Build Win-Win Partnerships

Circular Sovereignty Forum

IFAT Munich 2026 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 actually want from EU regulation: predictability above all. First movers need to know the rules they invested in will not be reversed by the next reform. • Why recycling alone will not close the gap. Reuse, leasing, and product as a service have to scale alongside it, even when fast innovation cycles make reusing yesterday's components harder. • Why venture money is shifting toward Europe as US green subsidies are rolled back, and where Europe still loses ground on a level playing field. The episode also covers Europe's urban mines and the secondary raw materials in them, and the case for diversifying supply rather than concentrating it on single suppliers. This is the first episode in the Circularity.fm IFAT special, recorded at IFAT. People Susanne Kadner, Co-Founder, Circular Republic (UnternehmerTUM) https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-kadner/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-kadner/] João Merico, Senior Strategy Associate, Critical Minerals & Energy Transition, Ellen MacArthur Foundation https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo%C3%A3o-murilo-silva-merico-a88633202/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo%C3%A3o-murilo-silva-merico-a88633202/] Roland Gauß, Innovation and Product Development Director, EIT RawMaterials https://www.linkedin.com/in/roland-gau%C3%9F-52108b126/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/roland-gau%C3%9F-52108b126/] Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/] Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:22 Why a Sovereignty Forum at IFAT 03:11 What companies want from Brussels: clarity and predictability 04:37 How US finance pulls startups out of Europe 05:46 Front runners vs companies waiting on Brussels 07:52 Why sovereignty needs collaboration 08:37 João Merico: why critical minerals matter 09:15 Beyond recycling: other circular business models 09:57 Reuse and fast innovation cycles 11:12 Global vs regional circular economy 12:27 Circularity and climate goals 13:45 Roland Gauß: Europe's raw materials and urban mines 14:50 The level playing field and US incentives 16:55 Winning the hesitant majority to diversify 18:42 Outro About IFAT is the world’s leading trade fair network for environmental technologies. It focuses on water, wastewater, waste, recycling and circularity, bringing together companies, innovators and industry professionals to present solutions for resource efficiency and sustainable infrastructure. IFAT Munich is the flagship event of that network and the most important meeting place for the sector. It takes place every two years in Munich and showcases technologies and services for water, wastewater, waste and raw materials management, with the 2026 edition featuring around 3,400 exhibitors from about 60 countries. Further Links IFAT: https://ifat.de/en/ [https://ifat.de/en/] Circular Republic: https://www.circular-republic.org [https://www.circular-republic.org] UnternehmerTUM: https://www.unternehmertum.de [https://www.unternehmertum.de] Ellen MacArthur Foundation: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org [https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org] EIT RawMaterials: https://eitrawmaterials.eu [https://eitrawmaterials.eu] One-page Summary Sign-up for the Circularity.fm Newsletter and get a summary with the take-aways of this episode. Register here: https://circularity.fm/episode/circular-sovereignty-forum/ [https://circularity.fm/episode/circular-sovereignty-forum/]

Startup Collaboration: How to Build Win-Win Partnerships

Incineration in the Circular Economy 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 startups and corporates operate at different speeds, and why that difference is the point of the collaboration • Three founders, three completely different business models built around partnering with corporates • What Florian calls the "secret sauce" of a partnership that works The episode also covers how NEEW Ventures operates as both venture builder and bridge maker for EEW. This is the final episode of the series Incineration in the Circular Economy, produced in sponsoring partnership with NEEW Ventures. People Florian Fehr, Managing Director at NEEW Ventures https://www.linkedin.com/in/florianfehr/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/florianfehr/] Startup Founders: Rajiv Singhal, Grensol Group https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajiv-singhal-008b1b/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajiv-singhal-008b1b/] Gary Lewis, Resourcify https://www.linkedin.com/in/circular-gary/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/circular-gary/] Stefan De Linde, Minimise https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-de-linde/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-de-linde/] Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/] Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:25 Series recap and episode plan 1:39 Meet Florian and NEEW Ventures 3:28 Why corporates need startups 5:17 Founder spotlight Grensol 12:06 Founder spotlight Minimize 17:15 Founder spotlight Resourcify 20:31 What makes collaborations succeed 23:55 Outro About NEEW Ventures is a venture builder and subsidiary of EEW Energy from Waste, one of the market leaders for thermal waste treatment in Germany.  Founded in 2021 in Berlin, NEEW Ventures builds startups that use data, AI, and digital tools to create value from waste. Its portfolio includes Wasteer, which uses AI-based waste composition analysis to cut emissions and operating costs at incineration plants, and Minimise, a digital traceability platform for e-waste recycling. NEEW Ventures also runs the Circularity Hub for startups, researchers, and industry professionals, and the Waste & AI Hub (WAIH), connecting AI experts with waste industry operators. Find out more at: neew-ventures.com Further Links https://www.neew-ventures.com/ [https://www.neew-ventures.com/] https://www.eew-energyfromwaste.com/ [https://www.eew-energyfromwaste.com/] Startups: Grensol: grensolgroup.com [https://grensolgroup.com/] Minimise: registry.minimise.today [https://registry.minimise.today/en] Resourcify: resourcify.com [https://www.resourcify.com/] One-page Summary Sign-up for the Circularity.fm Newsletter and get a summary with the take-aways of this episode. Register here: https://circularity.fm/episode/startup-collaboration-how-to-build-win-win-partnerships/ [https://circularity.fm/episode/startup-collaboration-how-to-build-win-win-partnerships/]

Sustainability Reporting: Turning ESG into Decisions

Incineration in the Circular Economy HEADING TEXTHOW 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 one balanced system rather than competing priorities • What CSRD, ESRS, and the EU taxonomy actually require, and the difference between treating them as a reporting burden and using them as a strategic tool • How to make sustainability work land internally with different functions: the language that gets operations, finance, and the board on board The episode also covers how green bonds and ESG-linked credit conditions are reshaping the cost of capital, and why focus matters more than completeness when reporting to multiple stakeholders. This is the fifth episode of the series Incineration in the Circular Economy, sponsored by NEEW Ventures. People Fabian Böhmer, Head of Sustainability at EEW https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabian-b%C3%B6hmer/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabian-b%C3%B6hmer/] Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/] Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:26 A sustainability report for your private life? 04:44 The triangle of sustainability 10:23 Landfilling vs waste-to-energy 14:29 Why landfilling still wins on cost 19:21 What happens to the residues 23:09 The waste hierarchy 25:09 Bringing the three dimensions together 31:22 The sustainability report under new regulation 38:16 Communicating with all stakeholders 43:38 The financial value of a good report 48:54 Hacks for bringing colleagues onboard 52:48 Closing About EEW Energy from Waste GmbH (EEW) is one of Europe’s leading companies in the field of thermal waste and sewage sludge recovery. Today, EEW makes an important contribution to climate and resource protection and is therefore an essential part of the circular economy. At the company’s 17 current sites, around 5 million tonnes of waste per year can be used for energy recovery. More than 1,400 employees take responsibility for using the energy in waste, reducing waste volumes, safely and harmlessly eliminating hazards from waste, and recycling scrap metal and composite materials. In addition, the energy contained in waste is used efficiently to generate process steam for industrial plants, district heating for residential areas and electricity produced in an environmentally friendly way. Further Links https://www.neew-ventures.com/ [https://www.neew-ventures.com/] https://www.eew-energyfromwaste.com/ [https://www.eew-energyfromwaste.com/] One-page Summary Sign-up for the Circularity.fm Newsletter and get a summary with the take-aways of this episode. Register here: https://circularity.fm/episode/sustainability-reporting-turning-esg-into-decisions/ [https://circularity.fm/episode/sustainability-reporting-turning-esg-into-decisions/]

100th Episode: Key Lessons from Six Years of Circularity.fm

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 overlooked levers within the circular economy • How the circular landscape has evolved since 2020 This special also covers what led Patrick to start the podcast, and what's next for Circularity.fm. Dear listeners, thanks for listening to the show! People Patrick Hypscher, Circularity.fm Founder, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/] Celinne de Paula, Circularity.fm Team https://www.linkedin.com/in/celinnedepaula/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/celinnedepaula/] Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:05 The Start of Circularity.fm 06:09 Patterns and Insights from 100 Conversations 09:02 Barriers and Levers for Circularity 11:55 The Evolution of Circular Economy 14:58 Personal Reflections and Future Aspirations About Circularity.fm is the podcast about understanding, building and managing circular business models. Each episode features candid conversations with managers, founders and investors, unpacking the numbers, trade-offs, and playbooks behind scalable circular models. Produced in partnership with top-tier circularity events worldwide, we bring you fresh strategies, case studies, and deal-room insights from the global stage. If you're building the next generation of resilient, low-resource businesses, tune in to Circularity.fm - where circularity meets profitability. One-page Summary Sign-up for the Circularity.fm Newsletter and get a summary with the take-aways of this episode. Register here: https://circularity.fm/episode/100th-episode-key-lessons-from-six-years-of-circularity-fm/ [https://circularity.fm/episode/100th-episode-key-lessons-from-six-years-of-circularity-fm/]

Carbon Capture: How Waste-to-Energy Cuts CO2

Incineration in the Circular Economy 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 process works step by step • What needs to fall into place for carbon capture to scale The episode also covers why EEW chose the Netherlands as the first pilot site, and where the team is looking for partners on capture technology and CO2 utilisation. This is the fourth episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures. People Jörn Jakob, Director Innovation at EEW https://www.linkedin.com/in/j%C3%B6rn-jakob-124192214/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/j%C3%B6rn-jakob-124192214/] Eike Diedecke, Carbon Capture Project Leader at EEW https://www.linkedin.com/in/eike-diedecke-365703221/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/eike-diedecke-365703221/] Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/] Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:35 Meet Jörn Jakob 2:52 Why incineration plants emit CO2 4:48 EEW's approach: amine scrubbing 5:32 The CC Mobile pilot at Delfzijl 6:46 Meet Eike Diedecke: inside the Delfzijl plant 8:36 How amine scrubbing works 11:38 Why carbon capture needs so much energy 12:35 The pilot's real success criteria 15:02 What captured CO2 looks like 16:57 Back to Jörn: storage and pipelines 22:49 Why the Netherlands, not Germany 23:19 Regulation and partner search 27:23 Outro About EEW Energy from Waste GmbH (EEW) is one of Europe’s leading companies in the field of thermal waste and sewage sludge recovery. Today, EEW makes an important contribution to climate and resource protection and is therefore an essential part of the circular economy. At the company’s 17 current sites, around 5 million tonnes of waste per year can be used for energy recovery. More than 1,400 employees take responsibility for using the energy in waste, reducing waste volumes, safely and harmlessly eliminating hazards from waste, and recycling scrap metal and composite materials. In addition, the energy contained in waste is used efficiently to generate process steam for industrial plants, district heating for residential areas and electricity produced in an environmentally friendly way. Further Links https://www.neew-ventures.com/ [https://www.neew-ventures.com/] https://www.eew-energyfromwaste.com/ [https://www.eew-energyfromwaste.com/] One-page Summary Sign-up for the Circularity.fm Newsletter and get a summary with the take-aways of this episode. Register here: https://circularity.fm/episode/carbon-capture-how-waste-to-energy-cuts-co2/ [https://circularity.fm/episode/carbon-capture-how-waste-to-energy-cuts-co2/]