Panel discussion

Tassilo Witte has been working for Airbus on the development of recycling technologies for carbon composite materials since 2012. With the first recycled cabin sidewall presented in 2015 and the first prepreg-reuse process implemented into serial production in 2017, the challenges of sustainability in such a challenging industry are well known. Currently, TW is in the final weeks of his doctoral thesis on direct reuse processes for uncured prepregs - thereby bringing practical as well as academic discussions to the table.

Mrs. Weißhaupt works in the function of a scientific officer and her major task is to develop a strategy for dismantling and recycling of wind turbines, including turbine blades. A general scope of her particular section at the German Environment Agency lies in plastic recycling, including new recycling strategies for fiber reinforced plastics.

Ben Drogt has a background in Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. He graduated on the topic of thermoplastic composites in 1986. He started his career at DSM, Netherlands, and held different R&D and Business leadership positions. In 2010 he started BiinC, a consultantany in the field of composites, innovation and sustainability. As from March 2021, he fulfills the position of managing director of the European Composites Industry Association.

Magdalena Svanström is a Professor of Sustainability Studies in the Environmental Systems Analysis division. Her research focuses on the development and application of methodology for environmental and sustainability assessment for products and processes, mostly life cycle assessment, and often with the purpose of providing guidance in early stages of development. Major fields of application include wastewater and sludge management, wood-based products and batteries. She is also conducting research within the field of education for sustainable development, e.g., on competences and assessment.

Mr. Denoo has spent the past 28 years in various roles in the engineering plastics and composites business ranging from Research Manager to CEO. He is currently focused on developing the future strategy for Mitsubishi Chemical’s Advanced Materials business (MCAM) which has recently acquired both an integrated carbon fiber recycling company (CFK Valley Stade Recycling GmbH and Co. KG™ and carboNXT® GmbH) and an engineering plastics recycling company (Minger Kunststofftechnik AG). MCAM is developing circular economy solutions that are aligned with Mitsubishi Chemical’s “KAITEKI” philosophy.

Josef Wagner has been working in automotive development for the last 17 years.
Starting his career as a design engineer in CFRP development at RÜCKER AG in 2004, he was involved in various CFRP projects in pre and series development for several OEMs in the automotive industry. He is currently in charge of a group of lightweight and technology specialists at EDAG in Munich. The EDAG Lightweight Department successfully finished several R&D Projects like MAI Hiras & Handle, MAI HybCar and FiberEUse, as well as major development projects for series cars for customers like BMW and McLaren Automotive Ltd. during the last years.

Barbara Güttler has a background in biotechnology from the University of Applied Sciences (TFH) in Berlin (Germany) and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo (ON, Canada). During her PhD studies she worked in the Ontario Biocar Initiative, a partnership between the automotive industry and the public sector, and researched biocomposites for automotive applications. In 2014, Dr. Güttler started working at the now called Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe in Kaiserslautern (Germany) in the program area of material science. As manager of the group Material Cycles she is doing research in the fields of recycling and biocomposites with an emphasis on carbon fibers and natural fibers.

Bastian Brenken did his Bachelors and Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at Technical University Braunschweig with studies abroad in Sweden and USA. In 2014, he started a PhD at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, on the topic of 3D printing with composites. After his graduation in 2017, he started to work a Technical Director for CFK Valley e. V. Since November 2020, he acts as Managing Director of CU Nord and has also the role as sustainability and recycling expert within Composites United.