Session 2
Materials Circularity and Critical Raw Materials

A secure and circular supply of materials—both common and critical—is vital for Europe’s resilience and sustainability, and this session highlights the role of RIs and TIs in achieving it. The objective is to profile RTI-enabled solutions supporting recycling, upcycling, substitution, supply-chain resilience, and development of new advanced circular materials, while stimulating cross-sector dialogue among research, industry, and policy.

The invited speakers represent the full ecosystem, including industry, RIs, TIs, and EU organisations. They will discuss the current landscape, successful projects, and future needs to boost materials circularity and address challenges around critical raw materials.

An interactive roundtable will enable participants to exchange knowledge, explore solutions, and identify opportunities for joint initiatives to strengthen Europe’s materials supply security and technological leadership.

The session aims to provide actionable insights and policy suggestions to better integrate RIs/TIs with European value chains and industrial strategies. It will also seek to identify collaboration models, support mechanisms, and gaps in the current RTI landscape to accelerate Europe’s circular economy and strengthen the security of critical raw materials.

Programme

Meeting room: Rosenborg

09:00–10:15 – Presentations
Moderator: Andreas Falk, CEO, BioNanoNet

Boel Wadman, Marketing Manager, Research, RISE
Mika Härkönen, Professor of Practice, VTT
Polina Naidjonoka, Senior Material Scientist, Yangi
Olli Salmi, Director European Affairs, Finnish Minerals Group
Elise Steyaert, Program Manager, VITO

10:15–10:45 – Break

10:45–12:00 – Round Table
Moderator: Andreas Falk, CEO, BioNanoNet

Eva-Kathrin Schillinger, Secretary General, IAM-I
Barbara Schramm, Head of International Collaboration and Research Funding, HZDR
Mika Härkönen, VTT
Polina Naidjonoka, Senior Material Scientist, Yangi
Olli Salmi, Director European Affairs, Finnish Minerals Group
Elise Steyaert, VITO

Speakers and panelists

Boel Wadman is a Research/Business Developer at RISE, coordinating Sweden’s Manufacturing R&D Clusters and projects on Technology Infrastructures. She drives projects on sustainable, circular production, lightweighting, and materials/process innovation, linking pilots to industry needs.

Marketing Manager, Research, RISE

Boel Wadman

Mika Härkönen is a researcher at VTT, focusing on sustainable manufacturing and materials innovation. His work supports circular value chains, from design for recyclability to industrial-scale recovery of critical raw materials, bridging R&D pilots with industry adoption.

Professor of Practice, Industrial Chemistry and Technology Infrastructures, VTT

Mika Härkönen

Polina Naidjonoka

Senior Material Scientist, Yangi

Polina Naidjonoka is a Senior Materials Scientist at Yangi. She works on dry-forming, fiber-based packaging, advancing material formulations and process development to replace plastics and enable circularity at scale. This supports sustainable manufacturing infrastructures and reduced reliance on fossil-based materials.

Olli Salmi

Director European Affairs, Finnish Minerals Group

Olli Salmi works as Director EU Affairs and Senior Advisor at the Finnish Minerals Group. He focuses on sustainable production and sourcing of critical raw materials in large scale industrial operations across Finland.

Elise Steyaert

Program Manager, VITO

Elise Steyaert is Program Manager at VITO Nexus, where she advances systemic innovation for cities and regions. She works across partnerships to scale energy, water, and materials solutions, linking pilots to policy and investment, promoting local action to meet EU climate goals and resilient urban transitions.

Eva Kathrin Schillinger

Secretary General, IAM-I

Eva Kathrin Schillinger is Secretary General of IAM I, the European association on Advanced Materials R,D & I. She drives industry–research collaboration and policy to boost resource efficiency, reduce dependence on critical raw materials, and scale sustainable advanced materials innovation.

Head of International Collaboration and Research Funding, HZDR

Barbara Schramm

Barbara Schramm leads the International Collaboration and Research Funding department at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), coordinating multi-infrastructure access and EU projects such as ReMade@ARI to accelerate circular materials R&D by stakeholder from academia and industry.

Andreas Falk

BNN

Andreas Falk is CEO of BioNanoNet, a non-profit research organization in Graz. He leads initiatives on safe and sustainable advanced materials and nanotechnologies, fostering EU collaboration, innovation support, and networking across research and industry to enable circular and responsible materials value chains.

Organizing committee