ALU4CED - New Concept for Circular Electronic Design Based on Aluminium

This paper introduces and presents first results of the joint Polish German research project ALU4CED - aluminium based multifunctional housing for circular electronic devices. ALU4CED has the overarching goal of contributing to the circular economy in the field short living information and communication technology (ICT). It aims to substitute plastic housing by using aluminium which can be recycled which creates a lower carbon footprint over time. This is not a new idea and aluminium housing have been used for a range of products from large remote radio heads in mobile access networks to small devices such as smartphones. However, the novelty of the project lies in the integration of antenna and sensor structures on the outer surface of aluminium housing and creating thermal interface on the inner surface. This paper explains the eco-design concept and novel manufacturing technology that allows to create such multifunctional, resource saving, and easy to recycle aluminium housing.