Case Study
Sustronics
The EU requires also the electronics industry to achieve the ambitious goals of the EU Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan, and Industrial Strategy for the reduction of energy and material consumption, and utilization of circular value chains.
Sustronics project is targeting to improve the capabilities of the European electronics industry to meet these goals and develop new business opportunities from sustainable and greener electronics combined with an increase in productivity and new functionalities. The current electronic industry poses significant environmental impacts, such as increasing amounts of e-waste, great demand for critical raw materials, and high energy consumption during manufacturing. The electronics industry can specifically decrease its environmental burden by shifting from fossil-based materials to bio-based materials, decreasing the use of metals, utilizing additive manufacturing processes, and developing miniaturized and integrated components, but also in broader scope by utilizing efficient circular economy business models that enable reuse, recycle and repair of critical materials and components.
Sustronics main goal is to support the renewal of the European electronics industry towards a circular economy, eco-design, bio-based materials, and material- and energy-efficient manufacturing processes. Thereby, Sustronics will re-design electronics products into circular, compostable, and reusable products, and demonstrate that there are business opportunities in sustainable electronics.
Quantification of environmental impact, the definition of business models, involvement of external stakeholders, and means to guarantee compatibility with policies and standards will guide the project implementation. The pilots will focus on healthcare, diagnostics, and industrial sectors, including topics such as medical and personal health devices, single-use and wearable diagnostics, sustainable lighting solutions, and embedded electronics for automotive.
PIEP will develop new products based on Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) technology that can be used to replace traditional hardware as well as part of the wiring in smaller products. Therefore, new levels of dematerialization, miniaturization, and modularity are reached. Simultaneously, it will also replace current fossil-based polymeric casings with more sustainable alternatives.
