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Bernd has been the Managing Director of the Austrian Society for Systems Engineering and Automation in Vienna since 1997. He also runs companies in Austria and Romania specialising in electronics recycling and re-use of IT equipment. As an international consultant for the International Finance Corporation, he has set up WEEE solutions in Southeast Europe, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Bernd teaches “Resource Efficiency” and “End-of-Life Management” at Vienna University of Technology and has founded several successful spin-off companies. Bernd holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Management, and a PhD from Vienna University of Technology.

Q1: Bernd, your previous involvement in the CROCODILE project brings experience gained in other EU-funded projects on recycling EoL EV batteries. The SOLMATE project aims to reduce the payback time of the CROCODILE recycling process. If successful, how do you believe this will impact the current EV batteries market?

R: Europe is very much dependant on imports of essential battery materials. Economical and environmental efficient recycling processes of these critical raw materials will decrease this dependancy as we can supply secondary raw materials in a purity and with properties comparable to virgin materials. In addition, industrial plants using these recycling processes will close the loop for End-of-Life batteries as well as create sustainable jobs. Therefore strategic projects like CROCODILE and SOLMATE are of great importance for the European industry – producers and recyclers – to become more circular and independent.

Q2: From your expertise in waste management and resource efficiency, how can projects such as SOLMATE contribute to the energy transition and promote sustainable practices in industry?

R: What I like a lot about the SOLMATE project is that it not only focuses on the recycling processes of EV batteries and PV panels, but also strives to prolong their use time before they become End-of-Life. By doing so, we can, on the one hand, use the products with the embedded critical materials longer and save a lot of energy and other resources for recycling and producing new products. On the other hand re-used products like second hand PV panels and batteries (e.g. for electricity storage in connection with home PV systems) are cheaper and open up the market of renewable energies to many more, maybe not so rich citizens in Europe.
Finally, remanufactured EV batteries are often used in large, so-called “battery farms“ by electricity companies and other industrial companies for grid shaving and electricity storage. This reduces the necessary investments in electricity grids that we all have to bear to make the energy transition possible.
All in all, SOLMATE has for me the potential to boost the renewable energy sector and I wish you success in commercializing your innovative SOLMATE processes and technologies.