The resulting depletion of critical natural resources is further exacerbated by difficulties with recycling: e-waste contains numerous densely packed chemical compounds that are not only challenging to separate but are also often hazardous. These multi-faceted challenges are increasingly recognised in society – including within the electronics industry and research community – and urgently demand a fundamental change in our approach to electronics. REC² will provide the science essential for the realisation of responsible electronics that integrate environmental and social sustainability criteria across all technology levels. By creating a novel library of materials that can be disassembled on demand, REC² will enable the reuse of electronic components.

Moreover, controllably biodegradable materials and devices for short-lived electronics, such as smart labels, will rot at their end-of-life and prevent e-waste entirely. REC² will address the growing demand for ubiquitous sensing and communication by demonstrating innovative, self-sufficient systems. These should ultimately replace current design and manufacturing approaches in favour of resource-saving, energy-efficient concepts to reduce environmental impact. REC² will finally identify device designs that would enable to recycle electronic components in an ecologically and economically sensible manner. To realise this highly ambitious vision, we will bring together an interdisciplinary team of natural scientists, engineers, social and environmental scientists, economists, as well as resource management and recycling experts. Our unique approach to technological innovation will respect the importance of sustainability, resource and energy management in a circular economy, laying the foundation for responsible electronics.

Together with its partners, TUD Dresden University of Technology offers a perfect match of expertise – as exemplified by an outstanding list of principal investigators – and an ideal environment for the success of the innovative and ambitious REC² approach. REC² will place the TUD at the forefront of sustainable electronics at a decisive time in the climate change era and significantly strengthen the growing microelectronics research and technology hub in Saxony.

Involved Institutions:

• Chemnitz University of Technology (CUT)
• Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTW)
• Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP)
• Hamburg University of Technology
• Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR)
• Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW)
• Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF)
• Nanoelectronic Materials Laboratory (NaMLab)
• Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Technische Universität Berlin
• Technische Universität Darmstadt
• TU Bergakademie Freiberg – University of Resources