Think Tank
Whether it be in electronic appliances, fuel cells, mobile phones or steel girders, rare metals are found everywhere. Because of their special properties they are vital for high-tech industries. Yet these metals are extremely difficult to recover, and are only found in very small and restricted quantities in the earth, hardly ever being recycled.
Electronic appliances contain very small quantities of many different rare metals. They give the equipment used important properties and functions. For instance, gallium is indispensable for mobile phones, while scandium is essential for fuel cells. A flat screen requires around one gram of indium, which gives the surface of the screen conductive properties and enables the liquid crystals in the appliance to be controlled. Because of their very specific properties, these metals can only be replaced with difficulty and as such, in the way they are used today, their supply could run out in 20 years.
Within its Think Tank, SENS International, together with centres of competence and partners, seeks ideas and structures for new recycling solutions to recover and process these rare metals:
- How can the development of recycling technologies for recovering rare metals be promoted?
How can rare metals from electrical and electronic appliances be recovered and chemically prepared for re-use?
What financial incentives are necessary so that the recycling industry will take on the recovery of these rare metals?
Are there any substitute materials?
What systemic and structural requirements have to be fulfilled so that the recycling of rare elements is technically and financially viable?
SENS International is just as much in contact with manufacturers, importers and recyclers of electrical equipment as with scientific and research establishments. It therefore provides the ideal conditions for an information and discussion platform.