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Closing the loop in electrical manufacturing Embracing circularity creates challenges and opportunities
ince life began some 1 billion years ago, an intricate web of cycles and relationships has developed. Sunlight is the only input, and nothing is wasted. For the electrical industry, adopting a more circular approach to manufacturing can advance sustainability and offer unique economic opportunities, say Fernando Nuño and Bruno De Wachter, members of the advisory board for electrical manufacturing trade show, CWIEME Berlin.
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Global economic development and population growth have created a critical need to adopt a more sustainable and ‘natural’ approach to consumption. Creating a circular economy offers a solution by minimising waste and maximising resource value throughout product lifecycles.
Defining circularity Standards for the circular economy in energy-related products were produced by the European Committee for Standardisation and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CEN-CENELEC). The series EN 4555X encompasses durability, the ability to remanufacture, repair and reuse components or the entire product and upgrade. It also considers recyclability, recoverability, the use of recycled materials and only deploying critical raw materials where they are really needed.
20 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • MAY 2025
The standards revolve around three top level European Commission aims: extending product lifetime; the ability to re-use components or recycle materials from products at end-of-life and the use of re-used components and/or recycled materials in products.
What goes around The primary benefits of implementing circularity in the electric manufacturing sector are largely environmental. Circularity helps combat resource depletion by reducing the reliance on extracting finite materials. Additionally, manufacturing secondary materials typically has a significantly lower environmental impact compared to producing materials from virgin resources, contributing to a more sustainable and efficient production process. According to Draghi and von der Leyen, implementing a circular economy at a local level generates jobs through repair, reuse and recycling services, thereby contributing to a country’s economic growth. For instance, in the UK, between 2014 and 2019, nearly 90,000 new jobs were created in the circular economy sector, bringing total employment in this area to over half a million. Furthermore, projections suggest that with ambitious policies focussed on reuse, repair and remanufacturing, over 450,000 additional jobs could be created across the UK by 2035.
A circular economy can also be seen as a
geo-political tool. Metals are traded commodities, so relying on imports comes with its own risks. Reducing this reliance fosters regional or national material sovereignty.
Certain metals, such as steel, copper and aluminium, are crucial to regulatory ambitions like the green energy transition. Focussing on circularity can improve accessibility to them on a regional or continental level, offering the option to trade with other regions in times of surplus. The objective to close the loop at national and regional levels also nurtures technological innovation focussed on material recovery at end-of-life.
Should we reduce
product lifespan? In theory, a circular economy mindset would favour making product lifespan as long as possible. However, in domains where technology is progressing and improving the products’ energy efficiency and recyclability of the materials used in manufacturing is high, a long lifespan hampers the uptake of this new technology. In some cases, such as for motors and transformers, it might be more efficient to recall products before end of life and replace them with more efficient units.
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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