DANISH WEEE MARKET A study of markets, actors and technologies in treatment of WEEE in Denmark Environmental project No. 1643, 2015 Title: Editing: Danish WEEE Market Stig Yding Sørensen Kasper Damgaard Johansen Benita Kidmose Rytz Bjørn Malmgren-Hansen Christian Holst Fischer Claus Borggård Published by: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency Strandgade 29 1401 Copenhagen K Denmark www.mst.dk/english Year: ISBN no. 2015 978-87-93283-63-3 Disclaimer: When the occasion arises, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency will publish reports and papers concerning research and development projects within the environmental sector, financed by study grants provided by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. It should be noted that such publications do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. However, publication does indicate that, in the opinion of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the content represents an important contribution to the debate surrounding Danish environmental policy. DANISH WEEE MARKET 3 Contents Summary and conclusions ......................................................................................... 6 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 11 2. Analysis of resource potential in electronic waste ............................................. 16 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Method .................................................................................................................................. 16 2.3 Number of WEEE products on the Danish market ............................................................. 17 2.3.1 Estimation of amount of product types in category 3 and 4 on the Danish market ..................................................................................................................... 18 2.4 Material composition in WEEE products ........................................................................... 22 2.4.1 Literature survey ................................................................................................... 22 2.4.2 Data basis .............................................................................................................. 23 2.5 Weighted material distribution of WEEE products on the Danish market....................... 24 2.6 Economic material distribution in WEEE products ........................................................... 26 2.6.1 Material sales prices .............................................................................................. 26 2.6.2 Value of critical and non-critical resources in WEEE products .......................... 26 2.6.3 Value distribution of critical resources ................................................................ 27 2.7 Economic value of materials in products from category 3 and 4 on the Danish market .................................................................................................................................. 28 2.8 Materials lost during mechanical treatment and sorting ................................................... 30 2.9 Estimation of collected amounts and amounts available for Danish recycling companies ............................................................................................................................ 36 2.10 Importance of price fluctuations ......................................................................................... 38 2.11 Future trends of importance to recycling ........................................................................... 39 3. Danish players.................................................................................................. 40 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 40 3.2 Danish EEE producers ......................................................................................................... 40 3.3 Danish WEEE management companies ............................................................................. 45 3.4 Danish WEEE technology suppliers ................................................................................... 47 3.5 Danish knowledge institutions on automation technologies ............................................. 48 4. Danish technology WEEE treatment strongholds .............................................. 50 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 50 4.2 Danish technology suppliers ............................................................................................... 50 4.3 Danish knowledge institutions on WEEE technologies ...................................................... 57 5. E-waste technologies ........................................................................................ 59 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 59 5.2 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 59 5.2.1 Patent analyses ...................................................................................................... 59 5.2.2 Bibliometric analysis .............................................................................................. 61 5.3 General technology trends ................................................................................................... 62 5.4 The patent landscape ........................................................................................................... 62 5.5 Development in technological activity ................................................................................ 64 5.6 Specific e-waste technologies .............................................................................................. 68 4 DANISH WEEE MARKET 5.6.1 Visual recognition ................................................................................................. 68 5.6.2 Technologies to extract gold ................................................................................. 70 5.6.3 Technologies to extract lithium ............................................................................ 70 5.6.4 Technologies to extract tantalum .......................................................................... 71 5.6.5 Examples of new interesting technologies for sorting, separation and treatment ............................................................................................................... 72 5.7 Business opportunities ........................................................................................................ 76 6. International players ........................................................................................ 77 6.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 77 6.2 Structure of the European WEEE market ........................................................................... 77 6.3 Growth forecast of the European market ........................................................................... 79 6.4 Drivers and restraints in the WEEE market ........................................................................ 81 6.5 The global WEEE companies .............................................................................................. 82 6.5.1 WEEE technology providers ................................................................................. 82 6.5.2 WEEE companies .................................................................................................. 87 6.6 Global patenting activities ................................................................................................... 90 6.7 Danish patents ..................................................................................................................... 93 References .............................................................................................................. 95 Appendix 1: Marketed products DPA................................................................. 97 Appendix 2: Product types in categories 3, 4, 7 and 9 (Directive, 2012) .............. 98 Appendix 3: Material distribution in WEEE products ........................................ 99 Appendix 4: Composition of notebook and value of materials ........................... 101 Appendix 5: Value of materials in category 3 and 4 .......................................... 102 Appendix 6: Loss by mechanical recycling of materials .................................... 103 Appendix 7: Value of residual material amount (loss materials) ...................... 106 Appendix 8: Distribution of economic value in notebooks and LCD TVs ........... 108 Appendix 9: Distribution of economic value on materials in WEEE from category 3 and 4 in Denmark .......................................................... 110 DANISH WEEE MARKET 5 Summary and conclusions This report concerns the recycling of waste from electrical and electronic equipment. Electrical and electronic equipment is a very heterogeneous group of products ranging from large household appliances to small mobile devices.