Advanced recovery of critical raw materials from Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

Expected Outcome:Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:improved collection, sorting and recycling technologies that enhance significantly the recovery rates of strategic and critical raw materials from waste from electrical and electronic equipment, reducing the dependence on imported secondary and primary materials, and mitigating the climate and environmental impacts associated with their extraction, including biodiversity loss, by reducing the need for primary raw material extraction and minimising waste;strengthened waste market creation through the development of economically viable and environmentally sound recovery and recycling practices and technologies, with a particular emphasis on secondary strategic raw materials of lower costs and sufficiently high quality and/or purity, promoting a circular economy for electrical and electronic equipment. Scope:As Europe seeks to reduce its dependence on imported critical raw materials and mitigate climate and environmental impacts from extraction, there is a pressing need for innovative and economically viable recycling processes. With the rapid increase in electronic waste, improving recycling technologies is essential to support the EU's transition to a circular economy. The topic addresses an urgent need to enhance the recovery and recycling of critical raw materials (CRMs) from Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) due to the increasing global demand for these materials, which are essential for various high-tech and green technologies.Proposals should:develop new and/or improve existing scalable processes and technologies (including AI, where relevant, and exploring innovative recovery and recycling methods – possibly bio-based, bio-inspired, or other breakthrough technologies) to efficiently collect, sort, recover and recycle strategic and critical raw materials including single components from electrical and electronic equipment waste, such as rare