Circular Economy

Paris – September 23, 2026 -- A 200-gram smartphone requires more than 266 kilograms of raw material extraction, part of an annual global total exceeding 319 million tons of upstream materials pulled from the earth to manufacture smartphones alone, according to data cited by refurbished-tech marketplace Back Market.

The company estimates that figure equals the material weight of more than 900 Empire State Buildings extracted every year, driven in large part by a typical 2- to 2.5-year device upgrade cycle. Back Market is now calling for a legally mandated 10-year device standard covering durability, repairability and long-term software support, arguing that extending a smartphone's productive life to a decade instead of 2.5 years could avoid roughly 757 kilograms of raw material extraction per device.

Billerica – September 15, 2026 -- E Ink Corporation has made an early-stage investment in NewCopper, a privately held U.S. startup developing conductive copper ink, to accelerate a lower-cost alternative to silver ink used in printed electronics and display materials.

E Ink structures investment through a post-money SAFE agreement

The deal gives E Ink's R&D team the opportunity to evaluate NewCopper's copper ink as a conductive material for future displays and electrode applications, given its compatibility with E Ink's existing roll-to-roll coating capabilities. E Ink will also apply its display manufacturing expertise to support NewCopper's production scale-up and commercialization.