Markus Lenz

Dr. Markus Lenz is a Team Leader and Lecturer at the School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). He leads the Applied Circular Economy group, focusing on biotechnological recovery of metals from industrial waste. His academic roles include module head for multiple courses in plant sciences, environmental microbiology, and waste management.

Education: PhD in Environmental Technology from Wageningen University (2008), specializing in biological selenium removal. Diplom-Biologe (MSc equivalent) from RWTH Aachen (2004), with research on metal and cyanide fate in sediments.

Research interests center on hydrometallurgical processes, bioremediation, and circular economy strategies for resource recovery. Key projects include scandium recovery from bauxite residues and lead recycling from perovskite solar cells. His work bridges environmental engineering and sustainable materials science, addressing critical raw material supply chains.

Recent articles highlight advancements in antimony mobilization mechanisms, lifecycle assessments of scandium recovery, and solvent-free PbI₂ recycling. He actively reviews for top journals like Environmental Science & Technology and serves on national/international scientific review panels.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Applied Circular Economy group at FHNW, collaborating with partners in academia and industry to develop scalable waste-to-resource technologies.