KEY POINTS
- EU launches €8.9m recycling project.
- Nine critical minerals will be targeted.
- Project runs until November 2029.
The European Union has launched a major recycling initiative called CIRCUIT4EU aimed at recovering critical and strategic raw materials from discarded electronic products as it seeks to reduce dependence on imported minerals.
The project, known as CIRCUIT4EU, is being funded through Horizon Europe, the EU’s main research and innovation programme. It brings together 21 partners from nine countries to develop and test new technologies for recovering valuable materials from electronic waste.
The initiative will run for three and a half years until November 2029 and has a total budget of €8.9 million.
CIRCUIT4EU will target nine of the EU’s 34 designated critical raw materials, including copper, cobalt, nickel, antimony, tantalum, boron and rare earth elements.
These materials are increasingly important to industries such as electronics, renewable energy, electric mobility and digital technologies. However, the EU remains heavily dependent on imports to meet demand.
The project aims to turn discarded electronic products into a secondary source of these materials, helping to strengthen supply security while reducing waste.
The recycling technologies will be tested on four groups of everyday products: laptops, Wi-Fi boxes, e-scooters and dishwashers.
Many of these products contain valuable metals and other materials that can be recovered but are currently lost when equipment is discarded.
CIRCUIT4EU will explore ways to improve the collection, dismantling and processing of these products so that more materials can be recovered and returned to the manufacturing cycle. The project supports the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, which sets a target for recycling to supply 25% of the bloc’s annual consumption of critical raw materials by 2030.
The target reflects growing concern over Europe’s reliance on external suppliers for materials that are essential to strategic industries.
Large quantities of these resources remain trapped in waste electrical and electronic equipment, creating an opportunity for Europe to develop a more circular supply chain.
Ten technologies to be developed and tested
Over the course of the project, researchers and industry partners will advance 10 technologies towards Technology Readiness Level 7, indicating that they are expected to reach a stage suitable for demonstration in an operational environment.
The technologies include robotic disassembly, desoldering, hydrometallurgical recycling, digital product passports and artificial intelligence-based quality inspection.
The combination of automation, advanced processing and digital tracking is expected to improve the efficiency and commercial viability of recovering materials from electronic waste.
Beyond developing recycling technologies, CIRCUIT4EU aims to change how critical raw materials move through the European economy.
The project seeks to create a system where refurbishers and recyclers have real-time information about available material flows and can identify and order valuable components when required.
Such a system could help reduce reliance on newly mined materials while extending the useful life of products and components.
The consortium is coordinated by ENSAM, also known as Arts et Métiers, in France. Its 21 partners come from France, the UK, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Nigeria and Colombia.
The group includes companies, technology developers, research and academic institutions, producer responsibility organisations, standardisation bodies and specialised small and medium-sized enterprises.
The WEEE Forum is responsible for communication, dissemination and stakeholder engagement activities within the project.
CIRCUIT4EU coordinator Nicholas Perry of ENSAM ParisTech said large quantities of critical raw materials are already contained in electronic products owned by European consumers.
He said the initiative would seek to demonstrate that recovering these materials at scale is technically achievable and could provide the foundation for a more circular electronics industry.
The project comes as governments and industries increasingly focus on securing supplies of critical minerals needed for the energy transition, digitalisation and advanced manufacturing.
