CEDaCI
The CEDaCI project aims to facilitate the integration of a circular economy for the data center industry, and more specifically for critical raw materials in North-Western Europe.
The Data Centre industry is concentrated in North-West Europe (NWE), particularly in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and also the United Kingdom. Data Centre equipment is renewed every 1 to 5 years, contributing in part to the production of 11.8 Mt/year of electronic waste (WEEE, a rapidly growing waste stream in the EU). Electronic waste contains Critical Raw Materials, which are both technically and economically significant but vulnerable to market fluctuations. At the end of their lifecycle, this electronic waste is typically exported or sent to storage sites.
The CEDaCI project aims to facilitate the integration of a circular economy within the Data Centre industry, specifically focusing on critical raw materials in North-West Europe. It also seeks to increase their reuse, extend their lifespan by reusing equipment, reduce the use of virgin materials, minimise waste and the environmental impact of equipment, and develop a viable and secure economy for the supply chain sector of these critical raw materials.
Only 10% of critical raw materials are recycled and recovered. This rate is expected to increase to between 19% and 24% within 5 to 10 years by the end of the project.
Duration: 2018-2021
Total budget: 3 190 000€
CEDACI
Project partners
Our contribution
All stakeholders (manufacturers, operators, recyclers, etc.) will be brought together through a co-creation platform (knowledge sharing) and three pilot programmes to deliver: eight products, processes, and technologies developed and tested under real-world conditions; a decision-making tool for all Data Centre sub-sectors to optimise circular economy business models; and recycling and recovery strategies for WEEE and Critical Raw Materials. These will contribute to: a long-term strategy including project delivery and maintenance plans over 10 years; tailored technical support (training sessions) for 50 companies in the sector; advice and guidelines for policymakers; and a demonstrator to explain the context, processes, and benefits of the circular economy, ensuring the project's sustainability in the long term.
We are specifically responsible for the recycling challenge in collaboration with Team² and Terra Nova Development (TND), primarily through conducting Life Cycle Analyses of existing systems and scenarios.
We are therefore establishing data inventories for recycling and reuse processes. These inventories will support the development of a decision-making tool for the circular economy in Data Centres.
The situation analysis report presents the state of the art in circular economy practices within the Data Centre industry. For the first time, the report provides characterisation results of Data Centres, including the composition of network equipment (particularly servers and switches). Based on these findings, a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is conducted, highlighting environmental performance to provide recommendations for eco-design.
Click here to download the situation analysis report.