1:00–2:00 PM EST

Pre-recorded webcast

Registration is required by all meeting participants.

Program Objective and Description

The Recycling at the Point of Disposal (RPOD) DO will evaluate the technical feasibility to recover (separate and coextract) multiple low volume fraction critical elements present in end-of-life electronic hardware (e-waste). Separation is defined as the extraction of various elements sequentially, and coextraction is defined as the extraction of a specified list of elements simultaneously from a feedstock containing a mixture of elements with other constituents. Contemporary approaches such as pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy for recovering critical elements from e-waste are best suited to recover a large volume fraction component from the feedstock and are ill-suited to recover multiple low volume fraction elements typically found in e-waste. While it is theoretically possible to exploit a combination of physical, chemical, and functional properties at a smaller scale for fractional recovery of critical elements and enable the development of technology for distributed recycling at the point of disposal, such approaches are limited by insufficient knowledge on chemistries that can work together. 

RPOD aims to develop novel extraction chemistries and explore practical limits of yield, extraction efficiency, and purity to recover a selective list of critical elements from commercial and DoD e-waste, and demonstrate the technology in a benchtop hardware prototype. If successful, DARPA envisions that this technology could lead to novel innovations in recycling and manufacturing workflows to minimize the impact of supply chain disruptions to critical elements essential for high performance DoD hardware.

Event Participation

Registration

There is no registration fee for the webcast. The registration deadline is Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 4:00 PM or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first. Advance registration is required in order to receive access to the webcast and is mandatory for every individual intending to view the webcast either alone or as part of a group.

Registrants in excess of the maximum capacity limitation (350 individuals) may be added to a waitlist. Individuals who are unable to register because the deadline has occurred may request to be added to the waitlist. If slots become available due to cancellations, the slots may be filled on a first come, first served basis from the waitlist.

Eligibility

This event is only open to registered potential proposers, i.e., the event is closed to the general public and media. For this particular program, registration is open to potential proposers who are U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and foreign nationals.

All registrants who are not U.S. Citizens must complete and submit either a DARPA Form 60 (U.S. Permanent Resident and Foreign National Visit Request – e.g., industry or academia) or an Official Visit Request (foreign government personnel, only) through the Embassy based in Washington, DC, no later than 4:00 PM on February 1, 2022. Form 60 submission instructions will be provided in the registration confirmation email. Contact your Embassy staff for assistance in submitting the Official Visit Request.

Agenda

Click to view the draft agenda.

Proposer Profile for Limited Distribution

Information session registrants interested in discovering collaboration opportunities for this announcement may submit a one-page profile. The proposer’s profile should include their contact information (name, organization, email, telephone number, mailing address, and, if applicable, organization website), a brief description of their technical competencies, and, if applicable, their desired expertise from other teams/organizations. All profiles must be emailed to RPOD@darpa.mil no later than 4:00 PM on February 1, 2022. Following this deadline, the consolidated Proposer Profile will be sent via email to Information Session registrants who submitted a valid profile for distribution. Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the participants. Neither DARPA nor DoD endorse the information and organizations contained in the consolidated Proposer Profile document, nor does DARPA or DoD exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the Proposer Profile.