Ulrik Gernow gave industry insights to EU-led rare raw materials debate

“Ideally, we would decrease our usage of these critical materials, but they are instrumental parts of the digitalisation and decarbonisation of Europe. Therefore, we must ensure a sustainable production and use of them. As frontrunners on sustainability, we want to secure a more robust and sustainable supply chain of raw materials,” says Ulrik Gernow, Group Executive Vice President and CMO.

He was invited to provide insights from Grundfos at a EU-led seminar on this topic, because Grundfos, among other things through the engagement of Badrinath Veluri from our Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering (AME) function, has positioned us as frontrunners in this area.

The seminar was held under the banners of the European Raw Material Alliance, a collaboration launched by the European Commission dedicated to securing a sustainable supply of raw materials in Europe.

During his speech, Ulrik Gernow touched upon the concrete actions, companies such as Grundfos can take to enable a sustainable supply and use of these critical raw materials, highlighting some of the initiatives set in motion. These include a mapping of our supply chain, sourcing from sustainable suppliers, designing for circularity and collaborating with other industry stakeholders to put the topic high on the agenda.

“We know that we are looking into a future, where the need for these materials will only increase. Therefore, it is important that we all play our part in ensuring a sustainable supply chain ensuring availability, avoiding putting a heavy toll on climate. Therefore, we really look forward to continuing our engagement across the industrial, political and societal spheres,” says Ulrik Gernow.