Sub task 2.1.4: Develop processes that enables and encourages data centre ICT equipment to be repurposed
that is reused somewhere else in the digital stack or be directed to the growing number of entities that are looking a refurbishment for circularity, such as ITRenew (itrenew.com) and Techbuyer (Techbuyer.com).
Role of partners:
- DTI will Design guideline for ensuring that a faulty battery or BMS (for multi-cell Lion) realistically be replaced on repair
- SPHEREA will uniform the repair methods; include in the process the need to dismount good components for re-use; build a European common database of used electronic components; make electronic systems more easily repairable and propose a group of certified repairers
- UCL will study the technical, environmental, and economic aspects to switch from a B2C ownership model of the smartphone and other mobile devices to a service model offered by the Internet Service Provider (ISP). We have the explicit target to favor longer lifetime with a professional maintenance of the device, while preventing rebound effects resorting to LCA taking into account production, use-phase, maintenance, repair and end-of-life of the devices. This task falls in the context of digital sufficiency with the use case on the redefinition of an Internet access infrastructure compatible with planetary boundaries.
- VITESCO will work on how to implement the methodology with the use case UC – 2.
- RISE and EcoDC will focus attention on the large volumes of electronics that sit in European data centres, where there is an opportunity to repurpose hardware for a class of digital services with the view to measure the environmental impact to the data centre. RISE has links to several European second life of data centre ICT and the aim is to measure the ICT environmental impact via the collection of data for the implementation of LCA tools. This will link with UC-7 where the intention is to use LCA to inform a strategy (based on environmental and financial thresholds) using collected data for ICT refreshment via decommissioning to reuse (repurposing), refurbishment or recycling of the e-waste coming from data centre refresh cycles. RISE will concentrate efforts on servers and network equipment, SVS on storage and EcoDC on deployment and execution constraints being an operating data centre.
- SVS will assist RISE and ECODC with their knowledge of designing and engineering data server rack models. SVS will advise on data server rack fabrication and will also evaluate new data and insights for benchmarking performance of ICT equipment.
- PREMO will work on the design guidelines to how to reuse magnetic components aligned with tier one suppliers, OEM and scraping company strategy
- Nerosubianco:> will contribute, thanks to its participation to EU initiatives on the reuse of electronic components, to the set-up of a common European database of used electronic components (usability, completeness, data management) + assess WP2 related Use Cases (observe application of technologies, check how the initial problems have been solved, evaluate its replicability).
- FHG-IZM: Alignment with WP3 (6R metrics).
- ST GNB 2 & ST-I will brainstorm and develop packaging expertise with system design and repair/reuse partners. The goal is to identify current pain points and opportunities for component board removal, component retest and component second hand assembly rate and efficiency improvement.
- IFAG will support research into the recycling of materials and the evaluation of raw materials, as well as research to determine the raw materials used and their cycles in the manufacture of wafers, packages and components.