Plastic. Climate. Future.

This week, Germany’s plastics industry takes its innovation story to Berlin — and our series with Plastics Europe Deutschland looks at what it will take to turn industrial strength into action.
Ahead of this week’s innovation press conference, we sit down with Christine Bunte from Plastics Europe Deutschland to discuss what Germany’s plastics industry can contribute to the country’s high-tech ambitions — and what needs to happen to turn that potential into action.
Germany has strong industrial capabilities, material expertise and an active innovation landscape. But having the right ingredients is not enough. The challenge now is to move faster and get into the “do stage.”
We discuss:
Why plastics and material competence are essential to Germany’s High-Tech Agenda — from e-mobility and renewable energy to electronics and robotics
What industry needs from policymakers — including competitive energy, infrastructure, less bureaucracy and stronger incentives for transformation
What progress could realistically look like three years from now — and why transforming industrial competitiveness will take time
This week, many of these ideas will take center stage at the innovation press conference in Berlin, bringing together voices from industry, startups and academia to discuss the future competitiveness of Germany’s plastics industry.
The capabilities are there. The innovation is there. Now the question is how to turn Germany’s industrial strength into action.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Our series with Plastics Europe Deutschland continues with a perspective from someone who has been observing the chemical and plastics industries from a front-row seat for more than three decades.
Michael Reubold is a polymer chemist by training — but instead of working directly in the plastics industry, he has spent more than 30 years observing, reporting on and engaging with it as Editor-in-Chief of CHEManager.
That gives him a unique perspective on how the industry has changed, the challenges it faces today, and where it could go next.
𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀:
How the plastics industry — and the way we talk about it — has changed over the past three decades
Why today’s combination of climate, waste, energy and competitiveness challenges makes this transformation different
How innovation ecosystems connecting startups, academia and established industry can help Germany and Europe reinvent the sector
Why circularity, material sovereignty and the right policy environment are becoming increasingly important for Europe’s industrial future
Despite the scale of the challenges, Michael remains optimistic. The knowledge, infrastructure and innovative capacity are there. The task now is to connect these strengths and create the conditions for the industry to reinvent itself.
Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Flame retardants rarely get much attention. Yet they play an important role in enabling the plastics used across electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, buildings and many other high-tech applications.
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Adrian Beard from Clariant to explore the science behind flame retardants and the challenge of combining fire safety, material performance and sustainability.
We discuss:
How flame retardants help make polymers suitable for demanding high-tech applications
Why electrification, batteries and renewable energy technologies are creating new material safety challenges
Why developing a new flame retardant can take five to ten years from the initial idea to commercial scale
How fire safety and circularity can be reconciled, and why durability and recyclability sometimes create difficult trade-offs
How sustainability and regulation are changing the way new chemistries are developed
Why even more sustainable solutions still need a viable business case and market acceptance
It’s a fascinating reminder that some of the technologies enabling innovation are almost invisible in the final product. We may never see the chemistry, but without it, many of the materials and technologies we rely on would not perform as safely as they do.
Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Our series with Plastics Europe Germany takes on another key question for the future of plastics: What happens when conventional recycling isn't enough?

In this episode, we sit down with Marcel Beermann, CEO of ARCUS GreencyclingTechnologies, to explore the role chemical recycling can play in tackling mixed and difficult-to-recycle plastic waste — and what it takes to turn these waste streams back into valuable resources.

We discuss:
Why mechanical and chemical recycling can complement each other, rather than compete
How mixed plastic waste can be converted into pyrolysis oil and used again as feedstock for new plastics
What it takes to scale chemical recycling from technology to industrial reality
Why regulation and market demand will be critical to creating a viable circular economy
How making better use of our own plastic waste can strengthen Europe’s resource resilience and industrial competitiveness
One thing becomes clear: Europe already has a significant resource in its plastic waste. The question is how we make better use of it.

Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

The energy transition isn’t only about generating renewable energy. It’s also about how we transport and distribute that energy — and the materials that make this infrastructure possible.
In this episode, we sit down with Dr.Matthias Pursch from Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics to explore the often invisible role advanced materials play in the infrastructure around us.
We discuss:
How material innovation is enabling high-voltage and HVDC cableshigh-voltage power cables, including HVDC systems, to transport electricity over long distances
Why these technologies are increasingly important as we connect renewable energy generation to the grid
How advanced materials are helping improve district heating infrastructure
The role of recycled and bio-based feedstocksThe role of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials and bio-circular feedstocks, and the challenge of combining circularity with demanding technical performance
Why collaboration across the value chain is essential to bring new solutions into real-world infrastructure
Many of these materials remain almost invisible in our everyday lives — yet they play an essential role in making our energy systems more efficient, durable and ready for the future.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!