Project description
Creating an environmentally sustainable electronics industry for Europe
The proliferation of electronics and electronic devices has resulted in a significant increase in electronic waste (e-waste), which has quickly gained prominence in the view of EU policymakers. This issue is critical, and the European Green Deal explicitly identifies it as a goal and a target for implementing actions towards a circular economy. Due to the intricate nature of the electronics value chain, achieving this goal is challenging. To address the issue, the EU-funded EECONE project, in collaboration with 54 entities across the value chain, aims to deploy various methodologies and actions to facilitate related progress. These efforts are primarily focused on enhancing the design of electronics to improve reliability, repairability, reusability, refurbishability, and recyclability, thus reducing e-waste and contributing to a more sustainable approach.
Objective
Many different environmental impacts arise from electronics, and the handling of electronic waste (e-waste) is rising quickly to the top of the agenda. E-waste is a significant issue for Europe:
Improving its management is an explicit goal of the Green Deal objectives and the Circular Economy Action Plan (3.1. Electronics and ICT). However, due to the requirement to involve the whole value chain, from raw material suppliers to consumers, the complex material background and supply chain, as well as the multitude of competing interests, achieving circularity in the electronics industry is challenging.
The main aim of the EECONE project is to reduce e-waste on a European scale.
To this end, 54 entities (47 partners, 2 associated partners and 5 affiliated entities) from 16 European countries covering different sectors of activity have joined forces to propose practical ways of reducing the volume of e-waste in the EU. Crucially, the entities that make up EECONE represent all parts of the value chain. EECONE’s approach is interdisciplinary, covering the social, economic, technological, and policy aspects.
The environmental impact arising from e-waste can thus be reduced by working in three principal areas:
a) Increase service lifetime of electronic products by application of ecodesign guidelines for increasing their reliability and their repair rate, thereby reducing the volume of e-waste. Reduction and replacement of materials to decrease the impact of e-waste.
b) Improved circularity by reusing, recycling, and waste valorising materials/elements from electronic products.
EECONE’s vision is to develop and embed the constraints linked to managing the end-of-life of electronic products from the very beginning – in the development or process design. EECONE is paving the way as a first step toward a zero-waste electronic industry. The “6R concept will fully guide EECONE” (Reduce, Reliability, Repair, Reuse, Refurbish, Recycle).
To deploy its ambitious vision, the EECONE project defines four main objectives:
a) Define green. Create clear, simple, open tools to define and design ECS for circularity. Generate, for the first time, a clear framework aiding producers to evaluate their choices and pathways to ecodesign, to foster European leadership in the green transition.
b) Make green ECS (Electronic Components Systems): Provide innovative techniques for reducing, repairing, reusing, refurbishing, recycling to decrease e-waste and boost circularity in a new generation of electronics.
c) Showcase green solutions: Demonstrate innovation potential, usability, and versatility of the green solution along the value chain.
d) Building consciousness: Create an ecosystem empowering the 6R ECS generation.
EECONE is a major opportunity to create a European ECOsystem for greeN Electronics and to position Europe as a role model for low environmental impact electronics.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
85579 Neubiberg
Germany
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Participants (51)
34445 ISTANBUL
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8700 Leoben
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70839 Gerlingen-Schillerhoehe
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
1103 Budapest
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
4705-820 Braga
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75015 PARIS 15
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1348 Louvain La Neuve
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2630 Taastrup
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78140 Velizy Villacoublay
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38000 Grenoble
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
80686 Munchen
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38031 Grenoble Cedex 1
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
38058 Grenoble
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
75794 Paris
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176 71 ATHINA
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12048 Sommariva Del Bosco Cn
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
150 00 PRAHA 5
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9500 Villach
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92120 MONTROUGE
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
38000 Grenoble
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02 668 WARSZAWA
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00195 Roma
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81101 Yavne
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9200 AALBORG SV
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
34794 Alemdag Cekmekoy, Istanbul
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29590 Malaga
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501 15 Boras
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8010 Graz
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3001 Leuven
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1006 Riga
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
81100 Castres
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2629 JD Delft
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
39011 Santander
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
182 00 Praha 8
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76400 Tourville Les Ifs
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
31100 TOULOUSE
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46100 Mantova
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
46117 Liberec
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38190 Bernin
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06123 Perugia
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06068 Panicale Pg
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
39011 Santander
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
92190 Meudon
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38000 Grenoble
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
44300 NANTES
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
28006 Madrid
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791 77 Falun
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38070 SAINT QUENTIN FALLAVIER
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
164 93 Kista
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20864 Agrate Brianza
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94469 Deggendorf
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Partners (2)
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
4054 Basel
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
2000 Neuchatel
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