Enhancing ecodesign and circularity of consumer electronics

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• material and product manufacturers apply relevant ecodesign, including design for circularity and design for recycling principles in developing and manufacturing products that contribute significantly to EU climate and through reduction of emissions and resource extraction to biodiversity goals, zero pollution, water resilience, circular economy, as well as open strategic autonomy;
• consumers benefit from more sustainable and circular products, i.e. durable, reliable, reusable, reparable, upgradable, recyclable products including increased recycled content.

Scope:

Electrical and electronic equipment continues to be one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU, with current annual growth rates of 2%. It is estimated that less than 40% of electronic waste is collected in the EU. [1] Value is lost when fully or partially functional products are discarded because they are not reparable, the battery cannot be replaced, the software is no longer supported, or materials incorporated in devices are not recovered. Increasing recovery of critical raw materials from waste electrical and electronic equipment is a strategic priority to mitigate supply risks. Today, CRM recovery rates are generally low, with increases requiring new recovery processes and interface optimisation with pre-processing to ensure appropriate material flows for efficient recovery are generated. [2]

Proposals should:

• develop, test and demonstrate new or improved ecodesign of consumer electronics, including design for durability, reusability, reparability, disassembly, separability, recyclability, uptake of recycled content. This may include design solutions for the reuse of components and for easier dismantling leading to increased reparability, remanufacturing or recycling with use of solutions and technologies such as active disassembly/debonding materials and adhesives, and design solutions targeting critical and strategic raw materials;
• assess and provide recommendations for mechanisms and incentives to address the trade-offs with costs and innovation limitations and to reward design for circularity and product durability – such as extended guarantees, “second” VAT reduction, or others –, and test and demonstrate new business models such as leasing and product-service-systems, to the extent that they reinforce positive design changes.

Proposed solutions need to be aligned with chemical safety principles (SSbD) and in compliance with relevant legislation such as RoHS. The environmental performance of the proposed solutions in comparison to existing products should be evaluated from a lifecycle perspective using product environmental footprint methodology wherever applicable. Participation of partners from (associated) countries with actual electronics production is encouraged. Participation of SMEs is encouraged. Consumer benefits are at the centre of this topic, and it is vital that the consumer perspective is duly reflected in all activities. The topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and involvement of SSH experts in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related activities. This topic supports the implementation of the European Green Deal, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and its working plan, in particular with a view to the reparability of small household appliances, the WEEE Directive, contribute to waste prevention, higher circularity and uptake of recyclate, and Europe’s efforts to develop a single market for sustainable products. null Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

[1] https: //ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/bookmark/f4c7be39-efa9-4beb-88e0-4c5fdd37de7b?lang=en

[2] https: //www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092134492030241X

Submissions open on 20 April 2027.

Part of call HORIZON-CL6-2027-01

Type of action: HORIZON Innovation Actions

Programme period: 2021 - 2027

Priorities: DigitalAgenda, AI, SSH

"> General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide .

3. Other Eligible Conditions

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual .

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the F