Minespider joins EU RETURN Project with Digital Product Passports for Circular Raw Materials from E-Waste

Berlin, Germany, 1st October, 2025 – Minespider, a leader in supply chain traceability, today announced its central role in the launch of RETURN (Recovering Electronics Parts and Materials for Maximum Resource Efficiency). Co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe program and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), this initiative is pioneering a digitally-enabled, sustainable system to recover critical raw materials (CRMs) from complex electronic waste (e-waste).

Digital Product Passports: Turning Waste into a Trusted Resource

The RETURN project tackles the crucial challenge of e-waste, one of the world's fastest-growing waste streams, where conventional recycling fails due to a severe lack of data. Minespider’s technology is the key to solving this data gap and enabling true circularity.

The integrated, scalable process combines breakthrough chemical recovery with advanced digital infrastructure. Key innovations led by or utilizing Minespider’s expertise include:

• Digital Product Passports (DPPs): Implementation of Digital Product Passports to track recovered materials (like CRMs) throughout their entire lifecycle, ensuring a trusted record of origin, purity, and history.
• Dynamic Digital Marketplace (DDM): Creation of a Dynamic Digital Marketplace - leveraging the DPP data to securely and efficiently facilitate the trade of recovered materials and components between recyclers and manufacturers.
• Automated Sorting Systems: Use of advanced automated sorting systems to significantly improve efficiency and material purity before recovery begins.
• Eco-Friendly Chemical Recovery: Adoption of a low-impact chemical process (developed by consortium partners) designed to replace traditional, energy-intensive smelting.

Minespider Commentary and Vision

"The RETURN project is the perfect demonstration of how our blockchain technology moves beyond mere transparency to become a true enabler of the circular economy," stated Nathan Williams, Founder & CEO of Minespider. "We are transforming e-waste from an environmental liability into a verifiable circular resource. By providing recovered materials with a Digital Product Passport, we build the trust required for B2B trade and directly support the strategic goals of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act."

"Our role ensures the digital framework is built for immediate industry adoption. The ability to guarantee a material’s second life through trusted data is what will ultimately create secure, sustainable, and transparent supply chains across Europe."

Project Details and Consortium

The RETURN project, running from 2025 to 2028 under the Horizon Europe program, aims to establish a resourceful, sustainable model for material recovery from electronic waste (e-waste). This initiative focuses on combining breakthrough chemical methods with advanced digital technologies to create a demonstrable, cost-effective system for getting valuable parts back into the supply chain.

The RETURN consortium is a partnership of leading European companies and research institutions, including: DEScycle (United Kingdom), Minespider (Germany), GAP Group (United Kingdom), Cycleco (France), MoreThanDigital (Switzerland), Iconiq Innovation Ltd (United Kingdom), PX Group (Switzerland), OSAI Automation Systems (Italy), Jean Monnet University (France).

RETURN (Grant Agreement No. 101181128) is co-funded by the European Union and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or SERI. Neither can be held responsible for them.