Five Takeaways From The "How-To" Conference That's Accelerating The Circular Economy

Our first REMADE Circular Economy Tech Summit & Conference recently brought together the brightest minds in research, industry, and policy to make the Circular Economy a reality in the United States. Here are five key takeaways from our two-day event held March 20-21 at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C.:

• Nice ideas aren’t enough

• Carrots and (measuring) sticks are needed

• Decision-makers need the right tools for the job

• Remember: Trash is cash

• The robots are here—to improve recycling and remanufacturing

Click below for a deeper dive into each takeaway.

REMADE Announces New Technology License

Innovation will make it easier and more cost-effective to recover precious metals from used electronics

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — August 24, 2022 — The REMADE Institute, a 154-member public-private partnership established by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) with an initial investment of $140 million, today announced a new technology license involving a technological innovation capable of recovering precious metals from used electronics more easily and cost-effectively.

The innovation, developed with REMADE support, is part of a research and development project first funded by the Institute in 2020. The R&D project, “Low-Concentration Metal Recovery from Complex Streams Using Gas-Assisted Microflow Solvent Extraction (GAME),” is still in progress and is led by Wencai Zhang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, and Aaron Noble, Ph.D., an associate professor in the same department. Phinix, LLC, is the industry partner on the project. REMADE’s tech team oversees the project, ensuring it meets the Institute's and DOE's technological milestones.

“A new technology license is a great accomplishment, and we believe it will be incredibly valuable to U.S.-based electronics recycling companies.”

— Nabil Nasr - REMADE CEO

R&D Project Spotlight: Condition Assessment of Used Electronics for Remanufacturing

Electronics are an integral part of every industry sector from healthcare to aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, and more. There is tremendous value in developing ways to reuse printed circuit board assemblies (PCBs) in remanufactured products, resulting in reduced cost and environmental impact.

During remanufacturing, a previously used, worn, or non-functional product or part is returned to “like-new” or “better-than-new” condition from both a quality and performance perspective. One factor that limits remanufacturing is the inability to detect solder joint and interconnect failures in printed circuit boards (PCBs). Although these defects, which account for 13% of all electronics failures, can be easily and effectively repaired once they have been identified, detecting these types of failures on used electronics is costly because inspections are performed manually.

To reduce this barrier and increase the number of PCBs that can be remanufactured, the R&D project team evaluated several inspection methods to determine whether they successfully identified defects and could be cost-effectively implemented. The team is currently building an inspection system and decision support tool that will be validated at one of the team member’s remanufacturing facilities. 

Once implemented, this technology is expected to increase PCB remanufacturing by 25-35% and reduce embodied energy by 30%.

Project Participants: