Sustainable electronics

Sustainable electronics made in Germany: The Green ICT Competence Center

RealIZM blog series »Green ICT« – Part 3 In 2022, the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD) set up the »Green ICT @ FMD« competence center as a central point of contact for companies, SMEs and start-ups concerning »sustainable electronics«. Fraunhofer…

Fraunhofer IZM study shows trend reversal in the demand for electricity in Germany’s ICT sector by 2033

RealIZM blog series »Green ICT« – Part 2 There are currently signs of a trend reversal in the demand for electricity in ICT. According to calculations carried out by Fraunhofer IZM, the annual demand for electricity in ICT is rising…

Expert knowledge, just a click away: training videos on green electronics

RealIZM blog series “Green ICT” – Part 1 How do you present the complex topic of the environmental impact of electronics to a broad audience without compromising in terms of scientific credibility? How did researchers at Fraunhofer IZM come to…

A question of design: How form and functions support moderate and sustainable smartphone use

RealIZM-Blog-Series “Integrative Circular Economy” – Part 3 Smartphones are both a curse and a blessing. A blessing because they offer us security and enable us to contact our loved ones anytime and anywhere, quickly retrieve information and news, reach any…

MODEST CUBE: A vision of sustainable smartphone product design

RealIZM-Blog-Series “Integrative Circular Economy” – Part 2″ Most high-end smartphones have one thing in common – they all look very similar. Take any device from a leading manufacturer, and you will see  a powerful camera, a large display, and generally…

What makes modular smartphones sustainable for different user groups?

RealIZM-Blog-Series “Integrative Circular Economy” – Part 1 The average working life of a smartphone among the over-16s in Germany lasts only around 7 to 12 months. Users opt for newer models as a result of the fast innovation cycles, driven…

ICT: How can digital technologies become greener?

At the beginning of March, the ministry invited the project partners to the online conference “Green ICT 2023 – Sustainable Information and Communication Technologies”. In the run-up to this conference, RealIZM spoke with Dr. phil. Lutz Stobbe, head of the…

RealIZM: Our top-5 posts by female scientists at Fraunhofer IZM

Even today, women remain underrepresented in science and in research-driven industry. At Fraunhofer IZM, women account for 29.3 % of all employees, with a greater proportion of women in non-scientific (50 %) than in science jobs (23.8 %).* To counter…

Start-a-Factory at 5: A Modular Hardware Development and Production Lab

The borough of Wedding, situated in the north of Berlin, gets the hearts of electronics enthusiasts, startup entrepreneurs, and the R&D teams of SMEs racing. Since the end of 2017, Start-A-Factory (SAF) at Fraunhofer IZM has been offering a unique…

Sustainable mobile devices for the environment: Long live smartphones and tablets!

Mobility matters for people and their devices, but increasingly, so does sustainability. But smartphones, tablets, and the like generate considerable carbon emissions when they are produced and when they are used. In addition, valuable raw materials are used to make…