AREZZO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Italy's Iren (IREE.MI) , opens new tab said on Friday it inaugurated a plant to recover critical raw materials from electronic waste with a new technology that produces three time less carbon dioxide emissions than traditional processes.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The Italian utility said the plant will use a mechanical disassembly process and specially designed hydrometallurgical treatment, capable of extracting non-noble metals to isolate and thus recover precious metals and critical raw materials.

This is one of the first low-impact plants in Europe to recover critical raw materials, Iren said in a statement.

BY THE NUMBERS

The new plant is able to process more than 300 tonnes of circuit boards a year. It can recover some 200 kg of valuable metals annually, including gold, palladium and silver, as well as 57 metric tons of copper a year, Iren said at an event near the Italian city of Arezzo, where the factory is located.

CONTEXT

Earlier this year, the European Union launched a strategy to make sure the bloc can access raw materials it needs for the green transition, partly by raising its recycling capacity.

Under its Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) the EU targets that by 2030 the bloc will mine 10% of its requirements for strategic minerals, process 40%, and meet 25% of demand from recycling.

EU efforts to avoid foreign dependency have intensified since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which highlighted the risks of being reliant on a single country for essential supplies.

KEY QUOTES

"Italy is a country with low raw materials... our greatest mine is waste," Italy's Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said at the event to inaugurate the plant.  

"We will recover from computers, cellular phones and other waste precious and rare raw materials that are critical for our industry," Chairman Luca Dal Fabbro said.  

Sign up here.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/short-take-italys-iren-opens-low-carbon-critical-material-recycling-plant-2024-12-20/