ELEGANCE has advanced sustainable substrates and inks for printed electronics, combining high device performance with environmental responsibility. Biodegradable and recyclable substrates such as PET, polyimide, and PLA were tested for transparency, mechanical stability, and thermal tolerance to enable low- and high-performance devices. Inks were formulated using non-toxic solvents like water, optimized for viscosity and jetting behavior. Metal oxide inks enabled low-temperature processing and reproducible thin films for memristors and optoelectronic memristors avoiding critical raw materials usage. Two-dimensional materials—graphene, MoS2, etc., —were produced via liquid-phase exfoliation, yielding stable inks for screen and inkjet printing. Graphene inks achieved high conductivity and allowed the demonstration of transparent conductive electrodes without noble metals usage, while MoS2 inks showed light absorption for various optoelectronic devices implementation. Activities were also initiated to defining printing specifications, refining the manufacturing processes, and making the first working devices for the neuromorphic engine achieving printing features below 10μm in resolution. These innovations enabled scalable, low-temperature fabrication of memristors, transparent electrodes, and phototransistors, proving that high-performance printed electronics can be achieved without compromising sustainability and paving the way for eco-friendly future applications.
Side by side with experimental efforts on optimizing sustainable materials and manufacturing processes, a complete eco-design process was initiated. The main activities were focused on the definition and execution of the first phases of the Safe Sustainability by Design (SSbD) Framework, the creation of the eco-design structure for ELEGANCE technologies, and the setting up of the scoring and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methodologies that will be used in later stages of the project. The initial methodologies, information systems, and partnerships have been put in place successfully, thus making it possible for the next reporting period to be efficiently utilized for the deliverables and in-depth assessments to come.
