Belgian start-up Citronics unveiled the world's first circular micro-computer on Wednesday, made from old smartphones and designed to meet the needs of multiple sectors.
In Europe, around 200 million mobile phones are discarded annually, despite their components being difficult to recycle and still functional, according to the company based in Braine-le-Château.
"Citronics recognises these components are still powerful and have potential for a second life," said Jean-Brieuc Feron, the founder of the start-up.
The company collaborates with Dutch pioneer Fairphone and collects thousands of old smartphones. The process starts with extracting, dismantling, sorting elements, and testing motherboards, in partnership with social enterprise Village n°1.
Functional motherboards are then reprogrammed for a new life within an "embedded computer," which can take the form of a router, an industrial process monitoring system, or a home energy consumption optimiser.
Citronics prides itself on developing a global first. "In a world of infinite resources and cheap energy, this would make no sense," noted Feron. "But since Covid-19, the Suez Canal blockage, and piracy in the Red Sea, we have realised the need for economic resilience and independence from strategic components."
The device, named 'DevKit', is now in the industrialisation and large-scale commercialisation phase, with new applications pending. The start-up, already partnered with institutions like UCLouvain and Deutsche Telekom, is preparing a funding round to continue its development in 2025.
