Timo Repo is interviewed. [Photo/Jinyun App]

Tianjin has strong potential to become an important center for green industries and the circular economy, according to Timo Repo, an academician of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters and professor of chemistry at the University of Helsinki.

Repo made the remarks while attending the 2026 Green and Low-Carbon Expo and 2026 International Engineering Construction Expo, which opened in Tianjin on Sept 16. He shared insights into greener approaches to metal recycling at the events.

On his first visit to Tianjin, Repo was impressed by the city's strong industrial foundation and growing efforts to promote resource recovery and recycling. He will visit the Tianjin Ziya Economic and Technological Development Zone to explore cooperation with local companies on recovering valuable metals from electronic waste and used catalysts through greener and more efficient chemical technologies.

Repo said the China-SCO Green Industry Cooperation Platform in Tianjin provides a valuable opportunity to connect companies, universities and research institutions from different countries.

From a chemist's perspective, he noted that the future of the circular economy goes beyond simply collecting and recycling waste. Advanced separation, chemical recycling, and catalytic technologies can turn waste into high-value resources, materials, and even energy.

He said closer links among Tianjin's industrial base, scientific research, technological innovation, and international cooperation could help move circular economy technologies from laboratories to large-scale applications, while creating new opportunities for green cooperation between China, Finland, and other countries.