Our Ambition
Developing novel and credible solutions for a responsible electronics value chain
Making sustainable PCBs a reality
The project DESIRE4EU envisions a future where electronic printed circuit boards (PCBs) are not only efficient and high-performing but also fully sustainable. In a world increasingly concerned with ecological challenges, DESIRE4EU aims to prove the concept of a radically new sustainable approach to producing, using, and recycling electronic PCB, combining technical performance, with economic, and ecological efficiency throughout their life cycle.
Our Ambition – a world first in PCB innovation
DESIRE4EU is set to revolutionize the electronics ecosystem by designing fully circular reliable bio-based electronic boards without affecting their performance. This ambitious shift promises to reduce the waste and pollution associated with electronics strongly.
Thanks to a holistic approach, we’ll develop novel and credible solutions for a responsible electronics value chain.
Relying on the interdisciplinary skills of our consortium partners, we aim to develop an alternative, innovative, and low-cost technology of bio-based substrates, increasing CM recycling using low-energy and low-pollution innovative bioleaching processes (TRL 1-4).
Our vision is to make the European sustainable electronics goal achievable in everyday life, being able to provide the market by 2030 with environmentally friendly, industrially credible bio-based rigid PCBs with their innovative design and recycling process.
David Cuartielles, ARDUINO
Our Objectives
Four main objectives will drive our research and actions to achieve our goal.
1. Choosing the structure and composition of the laminate to reduce harmful E-waste potential: bio-polymer, reinforcement mapping, FR, and innovative design from a linear model to a circular one.
2. Recycling critical metals and substrates by a non-toxic bioleaching process and controlled biodegradation with lower energy consumption and pollution.
3. Implementing a dynamically updated methodology for the Life Cycle Assessment of the bio-sourced boards, thanks to direct access to on-site measurements.
4. Fabricating and disseminating a lab-scale Proof-Of-Concept of an eco-friendly micro-controller-based embedded system board with a batch of 2,000 pieces.
Discover more:
EU electronics & sustainability context
Challenging the State of The Art
Transdisciplinarity within DESIRE4EU
DESIRE4EU Impacts