What are your responsibilities at Circular Materials?
Circular Materials operates at the intersection of industrial wastewater treatment and the recovery of critical raw materials, two areas that are becoming increasingly important for Europe’s industrial resilience.
My role focuses on connecting our technology with industrial needs across Europe and identifying where our processes can create the greatest impact. This includes exploring new markets and applications, developing strategic partnerships, supporting non-dilutive financing through grants, and engaging with policy frameworks that enable the deployment of circular raw materials infrastructure.
In practice, my work involves identifying scalable market opportunities, aligning policy frameworks with industrial deployment, and enabling growth through strategic partnerships and public funding.
I work closely with partners and customers to support the development of future Circular Materials Hubs, helping bring our technology from pilot scale to industrial deployment.
As part of the Leadership Team, I help shape the company’s growth strategy by aligning market opportunities, industrial partnerships and policy developments with our long-term deployment plans. I am also actively engaged in European discussions on circular raw materials and the role of industrial recycling in strengthening supply chains.
What is your educational background?
I hold a degree in Materials Science and Engineering, with studies in Padua and Berlin. After graduating, I worked for an engineering firm, focusing on the design and sizing of industrial plants.
I later moved to Norway, where I worked for a multinational Oil & Gas company, first as an offshore chemical engineer responsible for managing platform-wide chemical programs, and later in roles focused on business development and technology transfer.
In 2019 I returned to Italy and joined Circular Materials from the very beginning, becoming part of the original team that started building the company.
How have you developed your skills at CM?
Working at Circular Materials requires a broad and interdisciplinary perspective. Our technology sits at the crossroads of several industrial domains: from mining and refining to chemical synthesis, recycling technologies and industrial wastewater treatment.
A strong technical background has been essential to understand how our processes work and how they can integrate into existing industrial systems. Over time, this perspective has expanded beyond technology itself to focus on how materials and resources move across industrial value chains.
This broader view helps identify opportunities to recover resources that are currently lost in industrial processes and reintroduce them into the economy, creating both environmental and economic value.
How would you describe your relationship with the team?
Having been part of Circular Materials since its start, I have had the opportunity to grow together with the team and see the company evolve step by step.
In a deep-tech environment like ours, close collaboration between R&D, operations and commercial teams is essential. I often act as a bridge between the market and the technical teams, bringing industrial challenges and customer needs into discussions with engineers and process specialists.
I value open dialogue and intellectual curiosity within the team. Many of the most interesting ideas emerge from conversations about new applications of our technology or unexpected material flows, and I enjoy helping create those discussions.
What aspects of Circular Materials’ project do you appreciate the most?
What I find most rewarding is seeing a technology move from concept to industrial reality at industrial scale. Watching the Circular Materials Hub evolve from an idea on paper into a functioning advanced recycling facility, one of the first of its kind in Italy, has been an extraordinary journey.
The project has recently been recognised by the European Commission as a Strategic Project under the Critical Raw Materials Act, reflecting the growing importance of circular recovery for Europe’s industrial resilience.
More broadly, the mission of Circular Materials strongly resonates with my personal values. Today many valuable metals are still lost in industrial waste streams. Recovering these resources and bringing them back into the economy can reduce environmental impact while strengthening Europe’s industrial supply chains.
Contributing to this transformation, both in Italy and across Europe, is something I find deeply meaningful.
Riccardo Momoli
Director BD & Partnerships
