Structural Adhesives and the University of Leicester Team Up to Innovate Debondable Adhesives for a Greener Future!

Building on a successful MPhil project, Structural Adhesives and the University of Leicester have embarked on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership to further their research into debondable adhesives. Epoxy adhesives are widely used by manufacturers to assemble and strength various devices. They are essential for bonding metals, inorganic and organic components in most devices. However, they also pose a significant barrier to disassembly and recycling, making the process labour-intensive. The partnership will enable the commercialisation of reversible adhesive products, simplifying the disassembly and recycling of electronics, batteries and renewable products. These debondable adhesives will aid in the recovery of essential materials like tungsten, lithium and cobalt.

The development of new materials that enhance product repairability and recyclability aligns closely with Structural Adhesives’ values and supports several UN Sustainable Development Goals. Notably it impacts the production of clean, affordable energy (SDG7), industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG9), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), and responsible consumptions and production (SDG12).

This KTP is funded by UKIR through Innovate UK. KTPs or Knowledge Transfer Partnerships http://ktp.innovateuk.org is Europe’s leading programme helping businesses to improve competitiveness by enabling companies to work with higher education or research and technology organisations to obtain knowledge, technology or skills which they consider to be of strategic importance. The UK-wide programme is overseen by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, and supported by 16 other public sector funding organisations.