Annual Report 2025 - Report - Page 36
From Linear to Circular
Chemistry’s Pathway
to Sustainability
As part of the Chemistry Scientific Programme, researchers explored how science
can be both part of the problem and the solution for environmental challenges. From
lithium-ion batteries and recyclable membranes to innovative lab practices, Nobel
Laureates and Young Scientists alike brought forward ideas of how research can tackle
climate change, energy overconsumption, and plastic waste.
The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings are all about showcasing science at its best, but at its worst, science is a
massive contributor to climate change, air pollution, and
energy overconsumption, said Foteini Trigka, a PhD student at the University of Groningen. Trigka was one of
the Young Scientists delivering a short talk themed on
sustainability at the Lindau Meeting.
Throughout the week there were regular reminders
that chemistry can potentially get us out of this mess.
One of the most popular examples is lithium-ion batteries. While these batteries already power today’s portable electronics, they can also accelerate our journey to
becoming a fossil fuel-free world. But there are hurdles
to cross before this can happen. There are serious issues
with the batteries facing recyclability, end-of-life, and
also the mining of lithium and cobalt.
“My real goal is to work with folks to make lithium
batteries as sustainable as lead acid batteries, over 90% of
which are recyclable,” said Sir M. Stanley Whittingham,
who had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in
2019 for the development of these batteries. He was one
of the panelists at a discussion entitled “From Linear to
Circular: Chemistry’s Pathway to Sustainability”.
34 | Talking Chemistry That Matters
Another giant and problematic contributor is plastics,
and laboratories – especially life sciences and chemistry – are a big part of this. Steven Chu, Nobel Laureate in
Physics 1997, who went on to serve as the United States of
America’s Secretary of Energy, noted that recycling plastic
is extremely tricky and energy intensive. Michael Lerch,
Lindau Alumnus 2017, also contributed to the debate. He
had co-created a lab guidebook including a comprehensive section detailing how plastic waste can be managed.
The reader also addresses the carbon footprint of computational research, an aspect that is much less talked about.
Also on the panel was Sajal Arwish, a Young Scientist
from the University of Münster, who offered a reality
check with her point that, for many graduate students,
academic and funding pressures limit their bandwidth to
think about sustainability. “Perhaps it’s not reasonable to
put the onus completely on them,” she remarked.
Yet, it is students and postdoctoral researchers who are
taking the lead in initiatives such as “Green Lab”, where
laboratories undertake measures to induce a culture shift
in everyday practices. “But we need both bottom-up and
top-down approaches,” stressed Lerch. “You have to take
a scientific approach, document what you are doing, and
