Objective
Prospective global supply and demand for gallium, indium and other key metals show an increasing discrepancy, amongst others due to the explosive growth of green technologies such as photovoltaics (PV) and solid-state lighting (SSL). While their primary production is highly controlled by a few countries, recycling systems to reclaim these materials from discarded products are not yet in place. This makes Europe susceptible for the provision of materials that are crucial for meeting policies on energy saving and renewability, as well as challenges the further development of the concerned industrial sectors.
Hence there is a strong need to establish recycling systems for PV, SSL and other electronic waste and capitalise on these as yet unexploited and growing deposits of key materials. The bottlenecks are in the disconnection and sorting of the parts with the targeted materials from the waste and in the release, concentration and purification of the reclaimed metals. More in particular, the concerned materials tend to be used as compounds (gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, indium tin oxide) rather than in their elemental form and to be applied as thin layers on substrates in overall very low amounts.
Objectives of the proposed project are (1) technological solutions that relieve current bottlenecks in the recycling of gallium, indium and rare-earth elements, and (2) demonstration of their application potential by means of a pilot implementation in an industrial setting. The project is to result in separation methods for electronic assemblies that reduce manual work (>80% automation) as well as in subsequent recovery methods that yield recycled materials of commercial-grade quality (>99-99.99%, depending on the element), apt to fit an industrial context and being environmentally compliant. To this end, (thermal) disconnection methods, part recognition methods and hydrometallurgical refining processes will be developed. Impact assessments will also be included.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- social sciences sociology industrial relations automation
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry post-transition metals
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy solar energy photovoltaic
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-NMP-2012-SME-6
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
CP-TP - Collaborative Project targeted to a special group (such as SMEs)
Coordinator
2595 DA Den Haag
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.