CHALLENGE

As renewables expand and oil & gas assets are decommissioned, handling leftover materials responsibly is becoming a key industrial challenge. Permanent magnets in turbines contain rare earth elements with limited recycling options in Europe. Fluorinated organic compounds pose environmental risks and are often mixed with other materials, making safe disposal difficult.

Large volumes of construction materials from offshore facilities could also be upcycled more effectively for onshore use — offering higher value alternatives to scrapping or remelting.

Addressing these challenges requires solutions that go beyond traditional waste handling: advanced recovery methods, new reuse and upcycling models, improved marketplaces for materials, and frameworks that align circular innovation with regulation and ESG requirements.

KEY QUESTION

How can we reduce waste, recover value, and build circularity into the core of future energy operations — not as an afterthought, but as a systemic design principle?