CRITICAL. was founded in late September 2024 by Niels Wagemaker, co-founder of Circular Industries (established in November 2017). In December 2024, the full Intellectual Property (IP) and assets of Circular Industries was acquired, including the Urban Mining Factory Printed Circuit Boards (UMF/PCB) project, designed for the maximum and sustainable recovery of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) from Waste Printed Circuit Boards (WPCBs). In 2025, we expanded our focus on CRM recovery with the Urban Mining Factory / Solar Panels (UMF/SP) project, addressing a huge gap in Europe's processing capacity of End-of-Life Solar Panels.
