REFORM project to develop printed green electronics

To help reduce the dependency on scarce metals and unsustainable materials in building conductive circuits in electronic devices, the EU funded project, REFORM, aims to develop metal-free electronic components from bio-derived adhesives, organic conductive inks, flexible substrates, and recyclable materials.

Although electronic devices contain limited amounts of critical materials, they are produced on a vast scale, resulting in cumulative and substantial environmental impact, particularly if components are embedded in ways that make recycling extremely difficult or uneconomic.

The REFORM project will employ eco-design principles to produce green printable electronics that meet the demands of multiple industries and sectors. Specifically, the project will develop three prototypes: a green smart logistics tag, a green embedded wireless sensor, and a micro supercapacitor.

REFORM, a EU funded project, aims at developing green electronic components from bio-based and recyclable materials.

Effective printed electronics recycling

To achieve this goal, the project brings together world-leading academics, non-profit research organizations, and innovative businesses from across eight different European countries. AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, is among the participates in the project.

AIMPLAS will contribute its experience in the recyclability of the materials and products developed in the project. The technology center will develop a pathway to achieve effective sorting of printed electronics as well as an innovative method for the recovery of metals that contain these products.

After the sorting and metal recovery, AIMPLAS will test which recycling method is better for the printed electronics recycling, including chemical and mechanical recycling tests.

REFORM is a 42-month project and has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101070255.