“enim” represents much more than just a name. In fact, “enim,” read backward, becomes “mine,” directly reflecting our mission to retrieve precious raw materials hidden within our obsolete electronic devices, the urban mine, and reintroduce them into the market. This anacyclic, i.e., word that can be read both forwards and backwards, embodies our unwavering commitment to the concept of circularity, which is the very essence of our company.
An urban mine represents a revolutionary advancement in our approach to resources. It’s an innovative approach where valuable materials are retrieved from waste generated in urban areas. Unlike traditional mining, which involves extracting natural resources directly from pristine sites, urban mines alleviate our environment by recycling and revalorizing various metals and minerals from diverse sources such as electronic waste, construction waste, and much more.
This method, at the core of the circular economy principle, transforms waste into valuable resources, creating a sustainable lifecycle for materials and reducing the overall environmental impact. With their waste transformed into treasures, communities play an essential role in providing resources, actively contributing to environmental sustainability and boosting local economic development.
Each year, more than 80 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of precious metals end up in the urban mine, with only a fraction of this deposit currently being revalorized. Enim aims to harness this untapped potential with dedicated partners, thus contributing to a future where electronic resources are mined responsibly and sustainably for the betterment of our planet.
The term “electronic waste”, also known as “e-waste”, encompasses a variety of electrically powered or battery-operated devices that have become obsolete or unusable. These devices include, among others, computers, mobile phones, tablets, televisions, and electronic appliances, as well as electronic toys.
E-waste from urban mines can contain up to 100 times more gold per ton than ore from primary extraction. This abundance can be attributed to the diverse precious components present in electronic devices, notably gold, used for its electrical conductivity. It is interesting to note that up to 7% of the world’s gold reserves are estimated to be present in these urban mines.
By recycling e-waste, significant amounts of gold, as well as other precious metals, can be extracted, thereby reducing the demand for primary extraction and minimizing the significant environmental footprint associated with this practice.
It is crucial to address e-waste management due to the increasing scale of this global issue. Currently, out of the 61.3 million tons of e-waste generated worldwide each year, only 17.4% is recycled, leaving the rest to end up in landfills or incinerated. With the forecasted increase to approximately 120 million tons by 2050, this quantity would be enough to fill nearly 103,000 indoor tennis courts each year. Faced with this alarming growth, it is imperative to develop effective solutions to ensure that these highly valuable resources are neither burned nor buried. To remedy this problem, initiatives such as economic incentives, stricter legislative restrictions, and increased awareness within communities are essential.
These measures can play a significant role in increasing the percentage of recycled e-waste, thereby reducing the environmental impact and contributing to creating a more sustainable future where prosperity and equity harmonize with the protection of our planet’s biodiversity.
Critical and strategic minerals are essential natural resources in the global energy transition. They are characterized by their scarcity, economic importance, and significant contribution to technological innovations. Copper, for example, is a major electrical conductor used in cables, electric motors, and energy distribution systems. Copper, along with other critical and strategic minerals, is also present in electronic waste, offering an additional potential source for these precious resources. The growing demand for energy, especially in renewable energy sectors, has led to a 50% increase in the demand for these minerals since 2010.
Furthermore, to achieve global carbon neutrality goals by 2050, these minerals are projected to be utilized at six times the current consumption rate, creating increased scarcity for these resources. It is also important to note that the primary extraction of these minerals is concentrated in only a few countries, while urban mines worldwide offer untapped potential to extract them everywhere, directly from community-fed urban mines.
Pyrometallurgy, the most commonly used method for recovering metals and materials from recycled sources, involves using very high temperatures to melt e-waste, thus separating metals from other components. While this method can handle a wide range of materials, it has the drawback of producing gas emissions and generating toxic ash in the atmosphere. On the other hand, hydrometallurgy uses aqueous solutions to selectively dissolve precious metals from e-waste. This method is more precise and environmentally friendly, generating significantly fewer atmospheric pollutants.
Moreover, hydrometallurgical processes often allow more efficient recovery of precious metals, reducing material losses. enim’s closed-loop solution is compact and can be easily installed in various environments, including urban areas. enim’s patented technology enables the efficient recovery of lead and tin, two metals found in significant quantities in e-waste, further distinguishing it from pyrometallurgical activities in smelters, which do not revalorize these potentially harmful metals if they are too concentrated in the air.
enim stands out with an innovative, transparent, and cost-effective approach to metal revalorization. Our patented hydrometallurgical solution opens new market opportunities by offering our partners access to a new market segment. It is characterized by its exceptional efficiency, combining competitive operational costs with remarkably high metal recovery rates and fast processing speed, transforming printed circuits into metals in just 24 hours. enim’s innovation goes beyond speed. Our closed-loop solution ensures “verified origin” for our materials, ensuring that metals are ethically acquired and traceable back to their original source. Moreover, it respects the environment with a reduced carbon footprint of over 70% compared to traditional revalorization methods, far surpassing primary extraction practices in terms of environmental impact. It is, in fact, 97% greener than primary extraction.
Furthermore, our solution distinguishes itself by its ability to extract over 95% of all metals present in e-waste without resorting to toxic substances such as cyanide or mercury, commonly used in other recovery processes. This level of performance significantly surpasses the recovery rates typically achieved by other hydrometallurgical solutions and compares favorably with foundry recovery rates. By building long-term strategic partnerships, we offer a transformation of the current revalorization model, combining efficiency, environmental safety, and ethics to create a cleaner, more sustainable, and prosperous electronic future for all. With enim, you can actively participate in building a world where sustainable and profitable metal revaluation is a reality.
In 2025, enim plans to launch its first commercial plant and rapidly deploy its modular solution worldwide through strategic partnerships in the subsequent years. By 2030, enim aims to have a global ESG impact by revolutionizing sustainable revalorization methods for e-waste.
enim is fully committed to international efforts for more responsible e-waste management by offering an innovative and environmentally respectful solution for its treatment. Our solution directly contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the areas of decent work and economic growth (#8), sustainable cities and communities (#11), responsible consumption and production (#12), and climate action (#13).
In the current geopolitical context, where international laws and standards are tightening around responsible electronic waste management, enim positions itself as a leader. We acknowledge the persistent challenges, especially in some developing countries where these wastes are often collected informally, endangering the health of individuals involved, including children living in extreme poverty. To address this environmental and social scourge, international and national regulations are emerging. These cover areas such as cross-border transportation, methods of toxic material disposal, traceability, extended producer responsibility, and biodiversity preservation.
These improvements reflect a growing global awareness of the environmental and societal impact of e-waste management. ESG (environmental, social, governance) principles are embedded in enim’s DNA, placing us at the forefront of the strictest regulations in this field. We are committed to respecting and surpassing these standards, thus contributing to shaping a future where electronic waste management is ethical, sustainable, and compliant with existing international and national laws.
You have the power to shape a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future! Every action counts in reducing the environmental footprint of e-waste. Start by growing the urban mine by disposing of your devices responsibly. Support responsible recycling and revalorization by taking your obsolete devices to one of the official collection points near you. Challenge yourself to reduce your own consumption by choosing sustainable devices and extending their lifespan as much as possible. Moreover, when purchasing new devices, opt for products with a low carbon footprint.
Commit to circularity by encouraging circular economy practices and demanding environmentally friendly solutions from your suppliers. Each of your choices can shape a greener and more sustainable future for our planet!
We are on the verge of a revolutionary transformation in the world of electronics, a transformation that demands your expertise and commitment. By collaborating with enim, you can become a trailblazer by becoming one of our strategic partners. Our socially widely accepted closed-loop modular solution can be installed near collection and recycling points, enabling a seamless transformation of e-waste into precious metals in just 24 hours. This initiative offers you the opportunity to optimize e-waste yields while positioning yourself as a leader in sustainable development in a crucial emerging market for our planet’s future: that of green metals with a low environmental footprint. Join us in this mission for a cleaner, more sustainable, and prosperous electronic future for all!
