The Canadian government will provide millions of dollars to help a Montreal-based startup develop a pilot facility using a hydrometallurgical process to recover metals from circuit boards.
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) will invest 3 million Canadian dollars (about $2.2 million) into a company called enim, which offers metals extraction technology with a small footprint. According to the company’s website, enim can recover metals such as palladium, gold, silver, copper, platinum, aluminum, zinc, tin and lead.
According to SDTC, the technology recovers 95% of metals from low- to medium-grade PCBs with 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than alternative processes.
“This investment from SDTC in our pilot plant project is an important measure of recognition towards our eco-friendly minerals’ revalorization,” Simon Racicot-Daignault, president of enim, said in a press release. “It’s also a strong signal that the recovery of strategic and critical minerals can go hand in hand with sustainable development.”
Quebec-based engineering firm Seneca helped create enim in 2022, according to Seneca’s website.
The award was one of 17 given to cleantech companies in Canada. All told, SDTC is providing 68.2 million Canadian dollars ($50 million) during this funding round.
