Recycling of silicon wafer waste material
Upcycling End-of-Life Silicon Waste into Valuable Silicon Carbide Products for Space application
The semiconductor industry generates up to 75% silicon waste during wafer and chip production, representing a highly pure but underutilized resource. Europe depends heavily on imports for silicon and silicon carbide, exposing critical industries including aerospace, microelectronics, and renewable energy-to supply chain risks. Conventional recycling methods are energy-intensive, costly, and inefficient, and rarely preserve the high purity and functional properties of silicon. There is a growing need for sustainable, high-value reuse of silicon waste, particularly for advanced laser-based additive manufacturing applications in space systems. The project aims to convert silicon wafer waste into high-quality silicon powder suitable for laser-based additive manufacturing, enabling applications in space technology such as optical components, lightweight heat exchangers, and high-performance electronics.
This project is funded by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO). It is currently at Take off-phase 1. For further clarification and detailed information regarding the project, kindly contact:
