“Electronics plays a key role in improving the sustainability of many applications. However, that is not enough. Electronics itself must also become greener,” says Constanze Hufenbecher, Member of the Management Board and Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Infineon. “Infineon is pleased to take the lead in the EECONE research project to advance the circular economy together with partners along the value chain. Sustainability from design to use to recycling only succeeds as a joint task.”
EECONE is based on the 6R concept (Reduce, Reliability, Repair, Reuse, Refurbish, Recycle); electronics should use less material and work reliably for longer, while at the same time being easier to repair, reuse, refurbish and recycle. A total of ten application examples from a wide range of industries will be used to work out what green electronics can look like. The applications come from the automotive, consumer electronics, healthcare, information and communications technology, aviation and agriculture sectors. The aim is, for example, to reduce the amount of material used by using thinner or smaller circuit boards or to improve sustainability by using easily separable materials. Not only printed circuit boards, but also semiconductors are to become replaceable and devices thus repairable. The necessary technologies can also make it possible to reuse and recycle components. Technologies are also to be developed that generate and store energy in IoT devices themselves, for example. New eco-materials are to improve the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. Artificial intelligence will be used to extend the life of electronics. Finally, tools for more sustainable electronics design, including comprehensive impact assessment for electronics use, will be developed. In addition, EECONE also includes the use, dissemination and standardization as well as the training of professionals in the handling of e-waste.
The EECONE research project is designed for a period of three years. It aims to lay crucial foundations for the sustainable development, production and use of electronics in Europe. The launch event will take place in Toulouse on September 20 and 21, 2023.
The 49 partners of the EECONE research project:
- 4Mod Technology (FR)
- Acorde Technologies Sag (ES)
- Agencia Estatal Consejo superior de Investigaciones cientificas (ES)
- Aniah SAS (FR)
- Arcelik A.S. (TR)
- Atea Sverige AG (SE)
- AT&S – Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik (AT)
- Centre national de la Recherche scientifique (FR)
- Charokopeio Panepstimio (EL)
- Commissariat a l’Energie atomique et aux Energies alternatives (FR)
- Dassault Systemes (FR)
- Design and Reuse (FR)
- EcoDC AG (SE)
- Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. (DE)
- Get electronique (FR)
- Infineon Technologies AG (DE)
- Institut mikroelektronickych Aplikaci SRO (CZ)
- Institut polytechnique de Grenoble (FR)
- Interactive fully electric Vehicles SRL (IT)
- Interuniversitair Microelectronica Centrum (BE)
- Leonardo – Societa per Azioni (IT)
- Luna Geber Engineering SRL (IT)
- Melsen Tech A/S (DK)
- Nerosubianco SRL (IT)
- Orbotech Ltd. (IL)
- Ozyegin Universitesi (TR)
- Premo, S.L. (ES)
- Research Institutes of Sweden AB (SE)
- Robert Bosch GmbH (DE)
- Siec Badawcza Lukasiewecz -. Instytut Mikroelektronik i Fotoniki (PL)
- Silicon Austria Labs GmbH (AT)
- Smartsol SIA (LV)
- Soitec SA (FR)
- STMicroelectronics SAS (FR)
- Synano BV (NL)
- Technicka Univerzita v Liberci (CZ)
- Technische Hochschule Deggendorf (DE)
- Tecnologias Servicios telematicos y Sistemas SA (ES)
- Teknologisk Institut (DK)
- Tetradis (FR)
- Thales dis France SAS (FR)
- Università degli Studi di Perugia (IT)
- Université catholique de Louvain (BE)
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
- Ustav teorie informace a Automatzizace AV CR VVI (CZ)
- Vitesco Technologies France (FR)
- Weeecycling (FR)
- Associated Partners
- Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique SA -. Recherche et Developpement (CH)
- Swiss Vault Systems GmbH (CH)
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG is a leading global supplier of semiconductor solutions for power systems and the Internet of Things (IoT). With its products and solutions, Infineon is driving decarbonization and digitalization. The company has around 56,200 employees worldwide and generated sales of around 14.2 billion euros in the 2022 fiscal year (ending September).
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Further links
👉 www.infineon.com
Photo: Visual Components
