Global Climate News

Finnish company Tracegrow has developed a technology to produce agricultural fertilizer from battery waste. In 2021, Taaleri invested €1.5 million. The company's technology is scalable and aims for global expansion, aligning with EU circular economy goals.

The UK government, through the Department for Business and Trade, Environment Agency, and Office for Product Safety and Standards, has updated its producer responsibility regulations covering packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, and end-of-life vehicles. These regulations aim to minimize waste, promote reuse and recycling, and improve the environmental impact of product lifecycles. The updates include new guidance on extended producer responsibility for packaging and updated guidance for WEEE, batteries, and ELVs.

The UK government, through the Environment Agency, has updated its Waste Exports Control tool to reflect changes in the Basel Convention. Two new waste codes related to WEEE were added, and older codes were removed. The tool helps determine controls for exporting waste from England.

The UK Environment Agency has published guidance on when electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) becomes waste (WEEE). The guidance clarifies the conditions under which EEE can be reused without becoming WEEE, outlining specific scenarios such as returns, householder sales, and charity donations. It also details requirements for managing WEEE, including assessment for hazardous substances and compliance with environmental permits.

India's CSIR launched a National Mission on Sustainable Packaging Solutions, aiming to develop advanced packaging materials and improve recycling methods. Additionally, CSIR-NIIST developed Jaivam, an eco-friendly, high-speed composting technology, and CSIR-NGRI discovered a potential geothermal reservoir in Eastern Ladakh, promoting sustainable energy development. CSIR also collaborated with Airbus on green aviation fuel development and introduced an electric tiller for sustainable farming.

The Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) has implemented various initiatives focused on environmental sustainability, including an Environmental Management Symposium centered on the Environmental Quality Act (Amendment) 2024, a Perfect E-Waste Collection and Handling Campaign in Sarawak, and the proposal of an Environmental Insurance Scheme for Licensed Premises. The DOE also actively manages air, marine, and river water quality indices.

Canada-based PyroGenesis Inc. has announced a debt-to-equity conversion agreement with HPQ Silicon Inc. to resolve an outstanding liability of $4,941,440. The liability was converted into 17,968,873 units of HPQ at $0.275 per unit, each comprised of one common share and one warrant. This is related to their collaboration on the Fumed Silica Reactor (FSR) project, which aims to produce fumed silica in an eco-friendly way.

Switzerland-based ETH Zurich has made several breakthrough developments in climate and sustainability technologies in 2024. These include a new light-based CO2 capture solution, improved lithium metal batteries for EVs, a solar thermal trap for high-temperature industrial processes, efficient rare earth metal recovery from e-waste, and an iron-ore based hydrogen storage system. The university has also found that direct air carbon capture remains twice as expensive as previously estimated.

Researchers have developed a novel method to repurpose retired lithium-ion battery cathodes from electric vehicles as catalysts for the reverse water-gas shift reaction. The innovative 10NCM/Al2O3 catalyst demonstrates high performance in converting CO2 to CO using green hydrogen, while providing a sustainable solution for e-waste utilization. The catalyst shows stable long-term performance and comparable efficiency to conventional catalysts made from fine chemicals.

US-based MIT's SERC Scholars published a case study on the environmental and climate justice implications of the electronics hardware life cycle. The study examines the life cycle of electronics from mining to e-waste, highlighting issues like illegal deforestation and health risks to workers. It suggests life cycle assessment and circular economy as methods to analyze and address these issues.

Researchers reviewed recent technological advances in intelligent food packaging systems including sensors, automation and applications to reduce food waste and improve food safety.

Czech Republic-based researchers from Brno University of Technology and VSB – Technical University of Ostrava have developed an environmentally friendly method to produce MXene materials for energy storage applications. The team has demonstrated a new HF-free synthesis technique using molten salt at lower temperatures (400°C) and created recyclable 3D printed supercapacitors that can be repurposed for sodium-ion batteries, advancing both materials science and waste reduction in electronics.

The paper reviews life cycle assessment and sustainability analysis of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, examining their environmental impact, efficiency improvements, and challenges in commercialization.

Researchers have developed a new value-added upcycling approach using a binary eutectic salt system to transform spent low-nickel lithium-ion battery cathode materials into high-performance high-nickel cathodes, achieving 91% capacity retention after 100 cycles and demonstrating significant potential for sustainable battery recycling.

Researchers at National University of Singapore have developed graphene aerogels with SiC nanowires and carbon nanotubes for effective microwave radiation protection, featuring strain-tunable properties and environmental durability.

Researchers developed two novel porous organic polymers (POPs) based on tetralactam macrocycles for selective gold recovery from electronic waste, achieving high capture capabilities of 1.27 and 0.72 g per gram.

Researchers reviewed environmental problems of emerging toxic metals and treatment technologies, focusing on soil and sediment contamination from electronic waste and industrial sources.

Marie Perrin and Victor Mougel from ETH Zurich have won the 2024 Spark Award for developing an efficient method to recover rare earth elements from electronic waste. They have founded a startup called Reecover 18 months ago to commercialize the technology that enables efficient separation of rare earth elements with reduced energy and chemical usage.

Researchers developed a novel NO2 gas sensor using recycled silicon solar cells, achieving high sensitivity and rapid response times through metal-assisted etching process to create p-black-silicon based sensors.

China-based researchers at Anqing Normal University have developed a new composite membrane material (CMC-PmPD) for recovering gold from electronic waste. The membrane demonstrates high selective adsorption capacity for Au(III) at 421.1 mg/g, maintains 89.5% efficiency after five regeneration cycles, and can selectively recover more than 95% of gold from e-waste leachate.