A Technology Award for DEScycle

At IFAT Munich 2026, DEScycle has won the “Knorr-Bremse AG Circular Technology Award”, Europe’s largest award for circular technology innovation, in collaboration with CIRCULAR REPUBLIC (an implementation platform for the circular economy).

Selected from 50+ companies alongside some of the most advanced industrial technology startups in Europe, DEScycle was recognized in the Critical Raw Material Recovery category for its ionometallurgy platform recovering metals from waste. “This recognition reinforces what is becoming increasingly clear across industry and capital markets. Critical raw material supply is now a strategic infrastructure challenge. Electrification, AI, defence, and the energy transition are accelerating demand for copper, gold, silver and critical metals, while existing smelting infrastructure remains centralized, capital-intensive, slow to scale, and geopolitically concentrated,” the UK-based company commented. As emphasized by DEScycle, the firm is a deep tech company that aims to transform the metals industry. “We create innovative metal recovery & recycling methods using eco-friendly Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES),” the technology is explained. “These non-toxic, non-water-based salts allow for low-temperature, low-energy operations; resulting in low-carbon, low-impact metals.” DEScycle’s goal would be to end the reliance upon high-energy pollutive smelters, toxic chemicals and strong acids in the metals industry.

descycle.com
circular-republic.org

(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 2/2026, Page 10)