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Best Startups in Critical Raw Materials & Automated Disassembly
IFAT Munich 2026
Which startups are solving Europe’s two key circular economy challenges: automated disassembly and critical raw materials recovery?
This episode covers the Circular Technology Award, launched by Circular Republic and Knorr-Bremse, to back startups working in both fields.
Matthias Ballweg, co-founder of Circular Republic, and Oliver Klug, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Knorr-Bremse, explain why they created the award, what they learned from the applicants, and why they paired prize money with proof-of-concept partnerships instead of funding alone.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
• Why automated disassembly is finally viable, and what the robots can now do that they couldn’t five years ago.
• How two very different approaches recover critical raw materials in Europe: hydrogen to reclaim rare earth magnets, and low-temperature salts to pull metals from electronic scrap.
• What corporates like Knorr-Bremse look for before adopting a startup’s technology.
The four winning startups then present what they’ve built: Xavier Kohll from R3 Robotics and Tomaso Manca from Hiro Robotics winners in automated disassembly, Carlo Burkhardt from HyProMag and Fred White from DEScycle winners in critical raw materials recovery.
This is the final episode of the IFAT Munich 2026 series, recorded live at the fair.
People
Matthias Ballweg, Co-Founder, Circular Republic
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthias-ballweg/
Oliver Klug, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, Knorr-Bremse
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-klug-932650148/
Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:22 The Circular Technology Award
02:03 Why automated disassembly and critical raw materials
03:56 What the applicant pool showed
05:52 Who is Knorr-Bremse
06:39 Why Knorr-Bremse joined the award
08:07 A proof-of-concept, not just prize money
10:51 R3 Robotics: robotic disassembly
14:09 Hiro Robotics: rethinking electronics disassembly
18:16 Descycle: recovering metals from e-waste
21:53 HyProMag: recycling rare-earth magnets
25:51 Closing and what is next
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
Knorr-Bremse Circular Technology Award: https://www.circular-republic.org/award/
IFAT: https://ifat.de/en/
Circular Republic: https://www.circular-republic.org
UnternehmerTUM: https://www.unternehmertum.de
Knorr-Bremse: https://www.knorr-bremse.com/en/
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/best-startups-in-critical-raw-materials-automated-disassembly/
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By Patrick Hypscher
5
11 ratings
IFAT Munich 2026
Which startups are solving Europe’s two key circular economy challenges: automated disassembly and critical raw materials recovery?
This episode covers the Circular Technology Award, launched by Circular Republic and Knorr-Bremse, to back startups working in both fields.
Matthias Ballweg, co-founder of Circular Republic, and Oliver Klug, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Knorr-Bremse, explain why they created the award, what they learned from the applicants, and why they paired prize money with proof-of-concept partnerships instead of funding alone.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
• Why automated disassembly is finally viable, and what the robots can now do that they couldn’t five years ago.
• How two very different approaches recover critical raw materials in Europe: hydrogen to reclaim rare earth magnets, and low-temperature salts to pull metals from electronic scrap.
• What corporates like Knorr-Bremse look for before adopting a startup’s technology.
The four winning startups then present what they’ve built: Xavier Kohll from R3 Robotics and Tomaso Manca from Hiro Robotics winners in automated disassembly, Carlo Burkhardt from HyProMag and Fred White from DEScycle winners in critical raw materials recovery.
This is the final episode of the IFAT Munich 2026 series, recorded live at the fair.
People
Matthias Ballweg, Co-Founder, Circular Republic
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthias-ballweg/
Oliver Klug, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, Knorr-Bremse
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-klug-932650148/
Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:22 The Circular Technology Award
02:03 Why automated disassembly and critical raw materials
03:56 What the applicant pool showed
05:52 Who is Knorr-Bremse
06:39 Why Knorr-Bremse joined the award
08:07 A proof-of-concept, not just prize money
10:51 R3 Robotics: robotic disassembly
14:09 Hiro Robotics: rethinking electronics disassembly
18:16 Descycle: recovering metals from e-waste
21:53 HyProMag: recycling rare-earth magnets
25:51 Closing and what is next
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
Knorr-Bremse Circular Technology Award: https://www.circular-republic.org/award/
IFAT: https://ifat.de/en/
Circular Republic: https://www.circular-republic.org
UnternehmerTUM: https://www.unternehmertum.de
Knorr-Bremse: https://www.knorr-bremse.com/en/
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/best-startups-in-critical-raw-materials-automated-disassembly/