RECLAIM · Reclamation of Gallium, Indium and Rare-Earth Elements from Photovoltaics, Solid-State Lighting and Electronics Waste

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.