Speakers

Peter Tom Jones is the Director of the KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals (SIM²), an interdisciplinary team of 240 researchers focusing on the extraction, processing, refining and recycling of the energy-transition metals that are essential for a sustainable society. Jones has been working in this field for over 20 years, since completing his PhD in Metallurgy at KU Leuven in 2001. Jones is also the co-founder of KU Leuven’s SOLVOMET Research & Innovation Centre, a platform that provides (circular) hydrometallurgy expertise to industrial partners. Through SIM² KU Leuven and SOLVOMET, Jones has been a coordinator or partner in more than 30 EU-funded projects on sustainable metallurgy and critical raw materials. Additionally, Jones is the author of several books (e.g. Terra Incognita (2006), Klimaatcrisis (2009), Terra Reversa (2009 & 2016)…) and presenter of documentaries (e.g. Responsible mining in Europe (2022), Made in Europe: from mine to Electric Vehicle (2023)) on the transition to a climate-neutral, circular economy and the Europe’s Lithium Paradox released in May 2025.

Paul Iske is Professor ‘Individual and organizational learning in complex, dynamic environments’ at Maastricht University, the Netherlands and he is Visiting Professor ‘Knowledge-driven Innovation’  at the Department of Information Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Paul is founder and CFO (Chief Failure Officer) of the ‘Institute of Brilliant Failures’ (www.brilliantfailures.com), with the mission to highlight the importance of experimentation to achieve paradigm shifts and breakthrough innovation. Paul is Chairman of the Dutch Personalised Healthcare Catalyst Foundation (www.phc-catalyst.nl), with the mission to accelerate the transition towards personalized, data-driven healthcare. He is an international author, consultant and speaker on innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge management and creativity. He spent 18 years as Chief Dialogues Officer, Head of Innovation and Knowledge Management at ABN AMRO Bank. Before that, he finished his PhD in Theoretical Physics and fulfilled several jobs in Strategy and R&D at Shell

Jelena has expertise in production systems and business models for remanufacturing. By applying her analytical decision tool, named Remometer® RRL (Remanufacturing Readiness Level), manufacturers can assess benefits and advance their remanufacturing practices.

Dr. Moheddine Wehbie is a Senior Researcher in Circular Economy at CIIAE, focusing on recycling and reusing end-of-life energy storage systems like lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen electrolysers. His work targets the recovery of critical materials such as graphite, PVDF, Nafion, and strategic metals (Li, Mn, Co, Ir, Ru, Pt), with additional expertise in WEEE recycling, especially LED lamps. He holds a PhD in Separation Chemistry from Marcoule and a Master’s in Deep Tech and Innovation from Mines Paris – PSL.

PhD in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Industrial Innovation (XXXV cycle) and MSc in Chemistry (LM-54) from the University of Pavia. Currently a non-tenured assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the same university. His research focuses on advanced materials for energy storage, including sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries, cobalt-free materials, lithium metal batteries with Janus separators, and 3D printed current collectors. He is involved in the RENOVATE and AutoMat projects, developing innovative, circular economy solutions for the European battery value chain.

Philipp Miksovsky focuses on chemistry with an emphasis on scientific research and teaching.

Postdoctoral Researcher at Chalmers University of Technology, Energy and Materials, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. PhD in Chemical Engineering, Autonomous Metropolitan University, Mexico. Brenda specializes in hydrometallurgical processes for recovering valuable and toxic metals from ores and electronic waste, with an emphasis on thermodynamic studies and chemical speciation in aqueous solutions. Currently, her research focuses on the recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

Dr. Chris Powell is a chemical process engineer specialising in energy materials, environmental systems, and sustainable manufacturing. Currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Faraday Institution’s ReLiB and ReBlend projects at the University of Leicester, he focuses on lithium-ion battery recycling, black mass processing, and circular economy integration. With an EngD in Process Engineering from the University of Nottingham, Dr. Powell has extensive experience in pilot-scale design, lifecycle analysis, and advanced analytical techniques. He is a member of IChemE and an advocate for safety-led innovation in high-integrity engineering environments.

PhD student, MSc in Chemistry (LM-54) at the University of Pavia, BSc in Chemistry (L-27) at the University of Eastern Piedmont. The focus of her research is developing novel and sustainable approaches to the recovery of strategic and valuable raw materials from spent printed circuit boards (PCBs). She previously held a research scholarship at the Milan Cancer Institute, where she focused on developing radiopharmaceuticals for use in positron emission tomography (PET).

Pietro Cattaneo (born Genoa, 1997) earned both his BSc and MSc in “Chemistry” from the University of Genoa (2015–2021). He subsequently obtained a II Level MSc in “Change Management – Sustainability Sciences & Technologies” at IANUA Scuola Superiore (2021–2022), with a thesis entitled “From Mineral Landfills to Urban Mines”. He then pursued his PhD at the University of Pavia (2022–2025), successfully defending his dissertation on “Green and Sustainable Processes for the Recycling and Regeneration of Materials from Spent Li-ion Batteries”. He is currently conducting research at the University of Pavia focusing on the recycling of fluorinated binders from spent Li-ion batteries.

Mrs. Ann-Christine Johansson is a researcher at RISE AB, Bioeconomy and health, in Sweden. Johansson has a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Luleå University of Technology and more than 15 years of experience within thermochemical conversion, pyrolysis including upgrading and gasification, of biomass residues and plastic waste.

Ing. Antonín Šperlich is a third-year Ph.D. student at the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He earned his degree in chemical technology and chemical engineering from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. He developed laboratory skills and techniques during his specialised secondary education in chemistry. His research focuses on industrial chemistry and chemical process engineering, including the design of technologies, with an emphasis on physical separation methods and their applications in recycling and waste management.

RECHARGE is the advanced rechargeable and lithium batteries industry association in Europe, representing all steps of the battery value chain. Ilka von Dalwigk has recently joined Recharge as Director General.
She has previously been working as Policy and Market Intelligence Manager at EIT Innoenergy with the industrial development programme of the EBA since its launch 2017 with a strong focus on sustainability and supply chain topics. She has been instrumental in building up and managing the vast and complex network of key stakeholder along the battery value chain, as well as developing the set of initial recommendations that contributed to make the EU a key player in the global battery market.

Professor Markus Reuter has been one of the main initiators of the circular economy paradigm in the metals industry. He is Chief Expert at the SMS group GmbH (Germany), Adjunct Professor on Recycling at Curtin University (Australia) and Honorary Professor at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany), where he was Director at the Helmholtz Institute for more than five years. Previously, he has worked as Director: Technology Management at Outotec, Chief Executive Technologist at Ausmelt, as well as Anglo American and Mintek.
Prof Reuter has been ranked number 8 in the world in the field of recycling by ScholarGPS, which ranks scholars whose works are of profound impact and of utmost quality. He is the recipient of numerous international awards, including the 1st Prize Publication Award for Handbook of Recycling by the International Solid Waste Association in 2014.

Since 2007, oversees the general management of the association. Pascal has been involved in all manner of e-waste programmes, policies and projects for twenty years. Formerly he was Government Affairs Manager on WEEE at APPLiA, the European home appliance manufacturing industry association.

In 2009, he took on the management of the WEEE Forum’s WEEELABEX project that created the world’s first set of harmonised e-waste standards and set up the WEEELABEX Organisation in Prague, Czechia. In the past ten years, he was legal entity authorised representative for the WEEE Forum of multiple EU grant-funded projects. He is also a Sherpa to the High-Level Steering Group of the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials and as such contributed to the Strategic Implementation Plan. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of CIRCULARISE, a start-up that seeks to make the value chain more transparent.

Lisbeth M. Ottosen currently leads the sector development project Circular Civil Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark. This project brings together academia and the construction sector to identify the technological advancements and innovations required for a transition to a circular economy. Lisbeth holds an MSc in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Environmental Technology. Over the years, she has published more than 180 peer-reviewed articles in ISI-indexed journals, reflecting her significant contributions to sustainable materials research and circular economy initiatives.

Reinhardt Smit is the Co-founder and COO of Closing the Loop, a leader in circular solutions for electronic devices. He manages the company’s supply chain activities across Africa, ensuring that discarded devices are responsibly handled, rather than becoming waste. With a strong focus on local collaboration and scalable impact, Reinhardt brings practical insights into how circularity can drive both sustainability and economic growth.

Mr Woodward is the founding Director of Quest Associates, which has a long history of delivering specialist facilitation and deliberative discussions, particularly related to the sustainable development agenda. He covers interventions on a huge range of subjects and has wide experience of helping to bridge differing perspectives on challenging issues and has a special interest and expertise in facilitating dialogues and conferences related to the sustainable development agenda. This includes responses to the challenge of climate change; moving to a circular economy, eco-innovation to implementation, quality of life, and governance issues. He moderated the Circular Materials Conference in 2018 and 2021

Lorenzo De Vita got his BSc degree in 2016 and MSc in 2018 in Chemistry at University of Pavia, focusing on the synthesis of different noble metals nanoparticles (NPs). During PhD he expanded the work with the development of polymeric nanocomposites with inorganic NPs for antibacterial and photothermal applications. After earning the PhD in 2022 with a thesis titled Polymeric films with noble metals nanoparticles, he carried on as postdoc researcher exploring the colloidal stability of PEG-coated gold NPs as well as the application of silver NPs for SERS detection of contaminants. In 2024 he moved to the field of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) recycling as postdoc in Eliana Quartarone’s lab at University of Pavia, where he is currently working in the context of RENOVATE HE project on the separation via froth flotation of cathodic and anodic fractions of real black masses from end-of-life LIBs and on the direct recycling of both LFP cathodes and graphite.

Senior researcher at the Metallurgical Department of Swerim, Luleå, where he is responsible for research and development of sustainable recycling processes related to modern steelmaking and aluminium production.