Now, a Danish development project aims to prevent electronic waste from being destroyed, in order to ensure that valuable components and raw materials are recycled and reused.
Electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world, withglobal volume increasing by 82% between 2010 and 2022.At the same time, Europe is heavily dependent on imports of critical raw materials and electronic components. A Danish industrial consortium now plans to recycle printed circuit boards and electronic components, thereby keeping critical raw materials in circulation, which will benefit both decarbonization and European security of supply.
“When we discard electronic devices, we are also discarding materials and components that Europe desperately needs. At the same time, printed circuit boards and electronic components account for the largest part of the carbon footprint of electronic products. Therefore, there are several good reasons to increase the circularity of printed circuit boards, and that is precisely what we aim to do in CIRCUIT,” explains project manager Aisha Rafique from the Danish Technological Institute.
Three paths to circular electronics
The CIRCUIT project works on three parallel tracks: component reuse, responsible design, and the recovery of critical raw materials. Many printed circuit boards are coated with epoxy-based materials, making them difficult to disassemble without destroying valuable parts. The CIRCUIT project will develop methods for careful disassembly and quality control so that functional components can be reused.
“If we can extract the components carefully and efficiently, new business opportunities will open up for reused, quality-assured electronic components,” says Casper Roensbech of El Recycling, the lead applicant for the project. The CIRCUIT project also focuses on developing new design principles that reduce the climate footprint of future PCB production. “If we can design PCBs with a smaller carbon footprint without compromising quality or functionality, we can significantly reduce the overall carbon footprint of the product,” says Peter Chr. Petersen of LINAK.
For DEIF, CIRCUIT opens new avenues for collaboration.
“For DEIF, CIRCUIT is especially valuable because the project brings together the entire PCB value chain, from design and production to end-of-life management. This allows us to explore solutions that can be integrated into DEIF’s existing development and design processes,” says Gitte Jespersen, Senior Director of R&D at DEIF A/S. Finally, the project will focus on recovering critical raw materials that would otherwise be lost. In this regard, Nordic Salt Cycle has developed a molten salt technology capable of recovering valuable materials, such as tantalum and rare earth elements, at lower temperatures than conventional melting processes.
“Europe is almost entirely dependent on imports of critical minerals, but much of that value is already in our waste. We unlock that potential by providing the low-cost refining technology that Europe currently lacks,” says James Amphlett, technical director of Nordic Salt Cycle.
With the aim of strengthening the security of European supply.
The global market for minerals critical to the energy transition has doubled in five years, according to the Draghi report, and demand is expected to increase four to six times by 2040. At the same time, export restrictions from raw material suppliers like China have increased fivefold since 2009. During the 2020-2023 chip crisis, hundreds of industries suffered production shutdowns due to the collapse in component supply. By recovering critical raw materials, the project contributes to the strategic security of supply pursued by the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.
“The global chip shortage severely impacted the entire sector. Our solutions can help ensure that Danish companies have access to the components they need, even when supply chains are under pressure,” says Thomas Krahn Jessen of HJHansen Recycling Group.
CIRCUIT DATA
CIRCUIT (2026-2028) will develop methods to reuse electronic components from printed circuit boards (PCBs) at the end of their useful life and recycle critical raw materials from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). PCBs and electronic components account for the largest share of the carbon footprint of electronic products, partly due to the energy consumption involved in extracting and processing raw materials. Apple estimates that the amount of gold and copper contained in one ton of used phones is equivalent to having to extract 2,000 tons of ore from a mine.
CIRCUIT is supported by the Environmental Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (MUDP) of the Danish Environment Agency, under the Ministry of the Environment, and has a total budget of 9.2 million Danish kroner. CIRCUIT is a collaboration between El Recycling (lead applicant), the Danish Institute of Technology (project manager and knowledge partner), HJHansen Recycling Group, NCAB Group, DEIF, LINAK, and Nordic Salt Cycle.
The Danish Institute of Technology (DTI) is an independent, non-profit research and technology organization (RTO). Since 1906, DTI has been creating technology for a better and more resilient future. Our most important task is to address societal challenges by developing the solutions of the future, together with and for the benefit of businesses. DTI delivers 41,500 advanced technology solutions annually in response to the specific needs and challenges of our more than 10,500 customers. The Institute's work in this area is carried out by approximately 1,100 specialists who, in close collaboration with nearly 700 research and development partners, help both small and large companies remain competitive and innovative. We offer a robust technology infrastructure based on specialized, industry-specific professional expertise and top-tier equipment. We focus particularly on competitiveness, the green transition, resilience, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. DTI is accredited as a research and training organization (RTO) by the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science.
