Excerpt from the Regulations Governing the Management and Operation of the Cluster of Excellence “Responsible Electronics in the Climate Change Era” (REC²) at the TUD Dresden University of Technology, dated January 21, 2026

Preamble

The Cluster of Excellence “Responsible Electronics in the Climate Change Era” (hereinafter referred to as REC² or the Cluster of Excellence) will bring about fundamental paradigm shifts in the conception, design, implementation, use, and life cycle of electronic devices. REC² lays the scientific foundations for the realization of responsible electronics at all relevant technological levels, incorporating ecological and social sustainability criteria. REC² positions the TUD Dresden University of Technology and its partners as a leading center for sustainable electronics during a critical phase of global climate change.

Goals and Tasks

According to the cluster proposal, REC²’s objectives are divided into six scientific and four structural objectives. Each scientific objective addresses a central implementation goal (referred to as a “Responsibility Aim Program,” hereafter abbreviated as RAP):

RAP 1 = REUSE: - Development of concepts and methods for reusing materials as functional building blocks of electronic devices. The goal is to establish cycles of assembly – disassembly – recovery – reassembly as the foundation for design-for-reuse concepts in future electronics. Functional materials that enable disassembly in a targeted manner will be identified, created, and combined, and a dynamic library of material-based reuse concepts—ranging from the molecular to the macroscopic level—will be established.

RAP 2 = ROT: Development and implementation of materials and electronic devices that decompose at the end of their life cycle. Novel materials are being developed that enable controlled (biological) degradability into components that are harmless to organisms and the environment. The goal is to develop and demonstrate short-lived electronic devices that re-enter natural cycles through decay or resorption.

RAP 3 = REPLACE: Replacing existing manufacturing, integration, and packaging processes with more responsible alternatives, exemplified by novel self-sufficient sensor platforms. The goal is to develop energy- and resource-efficient alternatives for substrates, packaging, and methods of device manufacturing and integration, particularly for self-sufficient sensor platforms for IoT and environmental monitoring applications.

RAP 4 = REDUCE: Reducing the energy and resource consumption of short- and long-range networked systems. The goal is to develop new plasmonic transmitters for long-range communication and innovative, bio-inspired spike-signaling transceivers for rapid information exchange over short distances. A key objective is to demonstrate battery-free, maintenance-free, on-device learning sensor and computing networks for sustainable communication and data processing.

RAP 5 = RECYCLE: Development of predictive Design-for-Recycling (D4R) principles for electronic devices. The goal is to develop predictive and proactive recycling approaches that are integrated into core elements of device design. The consumption, impacts, and outcomes of such processes are quantified, and the influence of companies and consumers is incorporated to develop design rules for electronics that take end-of-life considerations into account.

ORAP (Overall RAP) 6 = RESPECT: Providing theoretical, methodological, and normative foundations for the transition to responsible electronics, taking into account various disciplines, different stakeholder groups, and the principles of sustainability and environmental protection. The goal is to understand what specific scientific, economic, and societal changes are necessary to develop, implement, and evaluate materials, devices, and systems for responsible electronics, and to develop strategies for their implementation.

These six RAPs are accompanied by four structural objectives (hereinafter abbreviated as StA):

StA1: Bringing together the previously separate research communities in STEM and sustainability to address one of the central challenges of the climate change era—the realization of responsible electronics. The goal is to foster connections, collaborations, and interdisciplinary research between traditionally distinct scientific fields.

StA2: Creating new support structures for early-career researchers to promote diversity, inclusion, open communication, and knowledge transfer. REC² complements existing support structures at TUD and other participating institutions with innovative measures to create a dynamic, engaged, and healthy research environment.

StA3: Educating a new generation of researchers, students, and the general public on sustainability concepts. The goal is to bring about a transformative shift in the awareness of various communities and to establish sustainability as a central criterion in many disciplines.

StA4: Influencing society, industry, and policy in the electronics sector to embed sustainability concepts as a core element in the development, implementation, use, and disposal of electronic devices.

List of institutions participating in the Cluster of Excellence

List of institutional partners of the Cluster of Excellence