Circularity.fm

Hosted by Patrick Hypscher

Business Management EntrepreneurshipInterviews guests

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Episodes

102

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

Circularity.fm is the podcast about understanding, building and managing circular business models. Most episode showcase one specific organisation that runs a circular business model or a business model in the circular economy. This can be a startup, an established SME or a business field of a corporate. Hence, interviews are both about founding and funding a circular business as well as transforming an existing linear business to a circular one, be it in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa or Australia. The podcast focuses on experiences made in this build-up and transformation phase.

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60 recent

June 16, 2026Episode 10319 min

Circular Sovereignty Forum

Can Europe secure the critical raw materials it needs without stepping back from global trade? Recorded at the Circular Sovereignty Forum at IFAT Munich, with Susanne Kadner of Circular Republic, João Merico of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Roland Gauß of EIT Raw Materials, on the link between circularity, geopolitics, and supply security. What you'll hear in this episode: • What companies actually want from EU regulation: predictability above all. First movers need to know the rules they invested in will not be reversed by the next reform. • Why recycling alone will not close the gap. Reuse, leasing, and product as a service have to scale alongside it, even when fast innovation cycles make reusing yesterday's components harder. • Why venture money is shifting toward Europe as US green subsidies are rolled back, and where Europe still loses ground on a level playing field. The episode also covers Europe's urban mines and the secondary raw materials in them, and the case for diversifying supply rather than concentrating it on single suppliers. This is the first episode in the Circularity.fm IFAT special, recorded at IFAT.

June 2, 2026Episode 10224 min

Startup Collaboration: How to Build Win-Win Partnerships

Why do startups and corporates need each other, and what makes the partnership work? Florian Fehr, Managing Director of NEEW Ventures, joins Patrick at IFAT and interviews three founders: Rajiv Singhal from Grensol, Stefan Delinde from Minimise, and Gary Lewis from Resourcify about their businesses and what makes a startup-corporate partnership work. What you'll hear in this episode: • Why startups and corporates operate at different speeds, and why that difference is the point of the collaboration • Three founders, three completely different business models built around partnering with corporates • What Florian calls the "secret sauce" of a partnership that works The episode also covers how NEEW Ventures operates as both venture builder and bridge maker for EEW. This is the final episode of the series Incineration in the Circular Economy, produced in sponsoring partnership with NEEW Ventures.

May 26, 2026Episode 10155 min

Sustainability Reporting: Turning ESG into Decisions

How does ESG reporting influence how a company is financed, run, and perceived? in this episode, Fabian Böhmer, Head of Sustainability at EEW, joins Patrick to discuss how ESG reporting can serve bankability, reputation, and internal decision-making. What you'll hear: • Why the business case matters in sustainability, and what happens when ecological, social, and economic dimensions are treated as one balanced system rather than competing priorities • What CSRD, ESRS, and the EU taxonomy actually require, and the difference between treating them as a reporting burden and using them as a strategic tool • How to make sustainability work land internally with different functions: the language that gets operations, finance, and the board on board The episode also covers how green bonds and ESG-linked credit conditions are reshaping the cost of capital, and why focus matters more than completeness when reporting to multiple stakeholders. This is the fifth episode of the series Incineration in the Circular Economy, sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

May 22, 2026Episode 10019 min

100th Episode: Key Lessons from Six Years of Circularity.fm

What are the learnings after 100+ conversations with circular economy experts? For our 100th Episode Special, Celinne de Paula from the Circularity.fm team takes over as host and interviews Patrick Hypscher on what six years of conversations with founders, investors, and professionals has taught him. What you'll hear in this episode: • The skills needed to make circular projects succeed • The overlooked levers within the circular economy • How the circular landscape has evolved since 2020 This special also covers what led Patrick to start the podcast, and what's next for Circularity.fm. Dear listeners, thanks for listening to the show!

May 19, 2026Episode 9928 min

Carbon Capture: How Waste-to-Energy Cuts CO2

How does carbon capture actually work, and what does it take to make it commercial? Jörn Jakob, Director Innovation at EEW, and Eike Diedecke, who oversees the carbon capture pilot at the Delfzijl site, share what they are learning from the pilot project. What you'll hear in this episode: • Where the CO2 in waste actually comes from, and the impact of different waste compositions • How the capture process works step by step • What needs to fall into place for carbon capture to scale The episode also covers why EEW chose the Netherlands as the first pilot site, and where the team is looking for partners on capture technology and CO2 utilisation. This is the fourth episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

May 12, 2026Episode 9829 min

Waste as a Resource: How Data and AI Cut Recycling Costs

What is the value of knowing what's in your waste stream? Wasteer founder Benedict von Spankeren talks about how data and AI improve profitability and prevent dangerous accidents for waste management companies. What you'll hear in this episode: • The economic gap between recycling and waste-to-energy margins, and what this means for market entry and finding customers. • How dynamic pricing changes the business: moving away from flat fees and charging suppliers based on the actual energy value of their waste. • The difficulty of passing on carbon taxes, and why plants now need proof of exactly which supplier delivered what. The episode also discusses the challenge of getting experienced crane operators to actually use new technology on the floor. This is the third episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

May 5, 2026Episode 9734 min

Waste Incineration: Its Role in Circular Economy

What role does waste incineration play in the circular economy and in the transition away from fossil fuels? Sebastian Siewers, Head of Energy at EEW, talks about the contribution of waste-to-energy plants to the circular economy, and the energy system. What you'll hear in this episode: • The business model behind waste to energy: where the revenue comes from, what drives costs, and why CO2 is becoming a major factor. • What grid flexibility means, why it has become more important than total energy supply, and how negative pricing hours in Germany have more than doubled since 2023. • Why heat and steam are local infrastructure products and how German municipalities are starting to plan around them. This is the second episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

April 28, 2026Episode 9637 min

Waste Incineration: How Waste-to-Energy Really Works

Do you know how a waste-to-energy plant actually turn household waste into electricity, heat, and steam? Philipp Böhm, Managing Director of NEEW Ventures walks through the full process at a plant in Premnitz, from the truck pulling up at the gate to energy entering the grid. What you'll hear in this episode: • How waste companies make money: they don't buy their fuel. They charge producers to take it off their hands. • Why no one knows what's actually in the waste once it hits the bunker, and why that's a real operational problem. • What comes out the other end: enough electricity for 40,000 homes, heat for a nearby city, and steam for surrounding industry, from a single plant. This is the first episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.

April 21, 2026Episode 9537 min

Business Interruption Insurance: When Circularity Pays Off

How do circular practices enable better risk management and what's that means for insurance premiums? Nadin-Shirin Zimmermann from Nexarus breaks down the business logic of insurance products and where circularity changes the equation. Before founding Nexarus, she spent years as a corporate underwriter at Allianz and XL Capital. What you'll hear in this episode: • How business interruption insurance actually works and what drives the premium. • Why climate liability is a growing risk and how circular design reduces exposure. • What 10 years of research show about ESG-driven companies outperforming their peers. Listen now to understand why staying linear may be the largest uninsurable risk a company faces. This is the last episode in the series Enabling Circularity Through Insurance.

April 14, 2026Episode 9425 min

Insurance Claims: How Tryg Made Repair the Default Choice

Can an insurance company make repair the default choice across the entire supply chain? Søren Frederiksen from Tryg explains how a repair-first claims policy was built and scaled across Denmark, starting from a market where nine out of ten damaged car bumpers were replaced instead of repaired. What you'll hear in this episode: * Why repair in insurance claims is rarely more expensive than replacement, and often reduces cost, CO2 emissions, and improves customer satisfaction at the same time. * How cross-country benchmarking data created the proof of concept that got workshops and suppliers on board. * What it took to change an industry default: financial incentives per repaired item, access to training, and continuous follow-up. You’ll also learn why making repair financially attractive for suppliers, not just environmentally preferable, is what moves adoption in practice. This is the second episode in the series Enabling Circularity Through Insurance. The series looks at the concrete levers insurance companies hold, from risk assessment and advisory services to product design and claims policies, and how these can enable circularity.