Sustainability screening in the context of advanced material development for printed electronics

Flexible, ultra-light and wafer-thin – the future of electronics is printed! The cornerstones for this development are conductive inks and adhesives that connect components and sensors with each other, integrating them into a printed environment. A decisive role hereby is played by advanced materials, such as functional inks, and their interaction in final devices for application in various use-cases. For this purpose, various particle structures in the nanometre range are created that enable the required conductivity, while keeping material input of the conductive substance as low as possible. Due to the excellent properties, the versatile functionalities, the possible high production volumes and the associated reduced production costs a wide range of applications is facilitated through printed electronics and mass markets become accessible. Therefore, associated environmental impacts as well as the security of the supply chain are expected to gain further relevance in the future. Yet, as most of the processes are in a development stage, prospective assessments before the start of production are essential, if development of printed electronics shall be aligned with sustainability goals. In order to address environmental consequences of future implementations of advanced materials for printed electronics at an early stage, this contribution is considering and evaluating the sustainable effects in a comprehensive assessment even before the physical start of product and material development. To this end, a procedure was developed, in which underlying methodology enables development engineers to identify hotspots at an early stage and to address and mitigate them early on. This way, challenges of tomorrow’s circular economy are already being addressed today and critical sustainability pitfalls can be avoided.