Background:
Fast technological advances and the targets set for energy transition drive the increasing demand for Critical Raw Materials (CRMs). These trends cause fundamental dependencies on a secure raw material supply, and highlight the limitations and vulnerabilities of relying predominantly on primary raw material extraction. Given the projected growth in demand in the upcoming years, primary resources alone are unlikely to sustainably meet future raw material needs, increasing the importance of recovery of valuable materials from secondary sources to strengthen the supply chains. Consequently, circular concepts have gained increasing importance in order to close material loops, reduce dependence on primary resources and mitigate global supply risks.
In this context, developing smarter and more efficient methods and technologies for the detection and monitoring of secondary raw materials will be essential to improve material recovery and support their reliable reintegration into material supply chains.

Objectives:
In this session, we welcome contributions with focus on novel technologies and workflows such as:
- Sensor-based detection, identification and characterisation of CRMs, polymers, REEs, semiconductors and other valuable materials in complex and heterogeneous waste streams;
- Imaging, spectroscopic, and multimodal sensing approaches for continuous digitalisation and material identification;
- AI-based workflows and advanced data processing approaches for multisensor fusion, process optimisation, and automated decision-marking in secondary raw material recover/monitoring of stocks and flow;
- Chemical, physical, and density-based methods for material separation and recovery, including pre-treatment workflows designed to improve the separability and recovery of materials from complex streams;
- Applications targeting recovery of materials from complex waste streams such as: re-mining and secondary resources including mine waste and tailings, end-of-life vehicle (ELV), waste from electric and electronic equipment (WEEE).