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SOPHIA Presented in Brussels at Recycling Europe's High-Level Event on E-Waste Circularity
On Wednesday 27 May 2026, SOPHIA was presented in Brussels at "Securing Europe's clean transition through e-waste circularity", a high-level event organised by Recycling Europe that gathered industry leaders, policymakers, recyclers and NGOs. The day's central message sat very close to what SOPHIA is building: end-of-life PV panels are among Europe's fastest-growing e-waste streams, and unlocking their full value is essential to Europe's clean transition, resource security and industrial competitiveness. Discussions across the value chain highlighted the role of stronger markets, smarter rules, better product design, more effective Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems and closer alignment between product and waste legislation in scaling circularity. SOPHIA's contribution showcased how the project is working to keep PV materials and their value in the loop through AI-based state-of-health assessment, robot-assisted repair, innovative recycling, Digital Product Passports and a dedicated marketplace for secondary raw materials. The event provided a valuable platform to bring SOPHIA's work to a broad audience of decision-makers and to reinforce that e-waste circularity is a strategic resource issue for Europe's industrial future.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement N°101182162.
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