The SERVET project will develop a new circular value chain to recover essential and strategic raw materials from complex waste streams.
The GAIKER Technology Centre, a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), is participating in the SERVET project (Research on new circular economy processes at the service of strategic sovereignty), which aims to design a new circular, efficient, sustainable and technologically advanced value chain for the selective recovery of critical and strategic raw materials from complex waste streams.
The project will investigate the recovery of different post-consumer and industrial waste streams, including photovoltaic and hybrid panels, printed circuit boards (PCBs), fractions containing industrial metals and other complex solid waste. Based on these streams, solutions will be developed to recover critical raw materials, such as copper, silicon, tantalum and niobium, as well as other high-value metals, such as silver and tin.
The increasing demand for essential raw materials in strategic sectors, such as renewable energy, digitalisation, the automotive sector and the electronics industry poses significant challenges for European industry. Dependence on external resources and the need to secure supply chains make it essential to foster more circular models that enable high-value materials contained in waste to be recovered. SERVET has emerged in this context: a project funded by the CDTI and supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, as part of the ‘Missions 2025’ call for proposals.
The project is led by Tradebe Environmental Services, through its recycling facilities for ELVs and other metals, and involves eight other companies: LENZ, Técnicas Reunidas, Atlantic Copper, Abora, Lurederra, INM, Eurecat and Cenim. SERVET takes a systemic and interdisciplinary approach that combines advanced technologies for the pre-treatment, conditioning and automated separation of materials with innovative extraction and purification processes that are highly selective, efficient and sustainable. It also incorporates on-line analysis and monitoring techniques based on advanced optical technologies, such as RGB computer vision, hyperspectral imaging (HSI), LIBS, NIR and Raman spectroscopy, integrated with artificial intelligence algorithms.
The strategy for this project is rounded off with the reintroduction of recovered materials into new industrial applications with high added value, thereby promoting a comprehensive circular model. Potential applications include the manufacture of new solar panels and functional conductive inks, contributing to more efficient resource management, reduced dependence on imported raw materials and the minimisation of environmental impact.
GAIKER’s work
As a specialist in the development of technologies for the automated identification and separation of materials, GAIKER will collaborate on research into new, advanced strategies for the identification, classification and selective separation of complex waste.
The Technology Centre will develop and apply advanced characterisation and identification technologies based on computer vision (RGB imaging), hyperspectral imaging (HSI), LIBS spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, integrated with artificial intelligence algorithms and smart classification systems. These solutions will enable the detection, characterisation, automated separation and pre-concentration of materials of interest for their subsequent recovery to be optimised.
GAIKER will also investigate selective pre-treatment processes, advanced analytical techniques for the on-line monitoring and characterisation of materials, as well as physical, chemical and thermomechanical methods to produce solar-grade silicon for metal recovery. Finally, it will assess the performance, scalability and technical feasibility of recovering critical raw materials and their subsequent use in new industrial applications.
Project funded by the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) and supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities as part of the ‘Missions 2025’ call for proposals.
