Author: Belma Biogradlija

Cement, responsible for roughly 7% of global CO₂ emissions, has long been one of the toughest industries to decarbonize. Yet a new EU-backed collaboration between Etex and Heidelberg Materials may signal a realistic pathway toward circular cement production. The CEMLOOP XL project, co-funded by the EU LIFE Programme, combines advanced recycling with carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to demonstrate that circularity and carbon reduction can coexist at industrial scale. At the core of the project is a plan to transform fibre cement waste into a secondary raw material capable of replacing clinker—the most carbon-intensive component of cement. If successful,…

India’s electric vehicle (EV) market is accelerating fast—expected to reach $113 billion by 2029, according to the India Energy Storage Alliance. Yet a quieter, more complex challenge shadows this growth: what happens to the batteries when they die? A typical EV battery accounts for nearly 40% of the vehicle’s price, and while its range fades with time, the materials inside remain valuable. This dilemma sits at the core of PeakAmp, a Gurugram-based cleantech startup founded in 2024. Positioned at the intersection of recycling, energy storage, and circular manufacturing, PeakAmp is seeking to redefine how India manages end-of-life EV batteries. Under…

Europe’s path to industrial decarbonization could run through circularity rather than new technologies, according to a new report by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The study finds that integrating circular economy practices in heavy industry could reduce up to 231 million tones of CO₂-equivalent emissions per year by 2050—a figure roughly equal to the combined annual emissions of Spain and the Netherlands. The report, which evaluates steel, aluminum, cement, concrete, and plastics, highlights the disproportionate role these sectors play in Europe’s carbon footprint. Together, they account for nearly 15% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions, underscoring why…

Germany’s construction industry, responsible for nearly 60% of total national waste generation, is under mounting pressure to transition from linear production to material circularity. Against this backdrop, Holcim Germany’s strategic partnership with the A&S Detmering Group marks a significant move toward embedding circular practices into one of the country’s most resource-intensive sectors. Under the agreement, Holcim will acquire shares in A&S Detmering’s recycling and demolition operations, granting the cement producer long-term access to high-quality demolition materials while reinforcing its domestic recycling capacity. The partnership will focus on the metropolitan corridor spanning Hanover, Braunschweig, Göttingen, and Wolfsburg—a region experiencing rapid urban…

India’s telecom industry is entering a phase where energy efficiency is not just a cost metric but a regulatory and strategic imperative. The draft National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2025 puts hard numbers on that shift: a 30% cut in sectoral carbon emissions and 30% renewable power for telecom towers by 2030. These goals formalize what operators are already realizing in practice—energy is the largest controllable expense in mobile networks, accounting for 15–40% of operational costs, and it is increasingly central to competitiveness. The challenge is structural. The radio access network (RAN), which powers mobile connectivity, consumes the bulk of network…

Greece and Albania are stepping up efforts to transition toward a circular and resource-efficient economy through two major cross-border projects funded under the Interreg IPA VI-A Cooperation Programme 2021–2027. Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance of Greece, Nikos Papathanasis, recently signed agreements allocating €1.98 million to the Circular Economy Park (CIRCLE) project and €2.49 million to the Introduction of Digital Tools for Monitoring Waste Management in Urban Areas (DIGITAL). The CIRCLE initiative targets the management of agricultural and aquatic waste, aiming to transform these streams into high-value products that support local economies. Central to the project is the establishment…

Syensqo has introduced a proprietary chemical recycling technology capable of depolymerizing sulfone polymers into purified monomers, a development the company claims could establish a pathway to “infinite circularity” in high-performance thermoplastics. The announcement builds on Syensqo’s six-decade track record in sulfone polymer innovation and aligns with mounting industry pressure to reduce carbon intensity in specialty materials. Global demand for sulfone polymers—valued for their thermal stability, chemical resistance, and durability—spans sectors such as aerospace, healthcare, and water filtration. Their resilience, however, has historically complicated recycling, leading to waste accumulation and reliance on virgin petrochemical feedstocks. By enabling chemical depolymerization of both…

The UK’s transition to a circular economy is under pressure from a critical shortage of skilled workers, according to a new report by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). The report highlights that without immediate action, the workforce needed to support circularity and sustainable material management may fall short, threatening both economic resilience and environmental objectives. Current UK material consumption stands at 15.3 tonnes per person annually—roughly double what is considered sustainable—with over 90% of materials lost at end-of-life. Moving away from this linear “take-make-dispose”…

European businesses spend more than twice as much on raw materials as they do on labor or energy, according to EU figures—a structural imbalance that policymakers believe can be addressed by accelerating the shift to a circular economy. The built environment illustrates both the scale of the challenge and the potential gains. The World Economic Forum estimates that adopting circular practices—such as reuse of demolition materials and large-scale recycling—could reduce the sector’s carbon footprint by up to 75% by 2050 compared to constructing new buildings from virgin resources. Yet today, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reports that just 20–30% of construction…

In Kuwait, where electricity consumption per capita ranks among the highest globally, the integration of renewable energy into housing projects is emerging as both a necessity and a policy priority. The Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) is positioning itself at the center of this shift, aligning new projects with New Kuwait 2035, the national vision for economic diversification and sustainability. A tangible example is the South Abdullah Al-Mubarak housing development, completed in July, which introduced 434 solar-powered streetlight poles out of a total 3,164. This represents 13.7% of the project’s lighting infrastructure, generating annual electricity savings of 104,854 kWh.…