01
Slow
Identifying potential precious-metal content still relies largely on visual, “eyeball” assessment — it takes time and results vary between assessors.
Seeing the value
hidden in e-waste.
Neo Element is developing AI-powered technology that analyses images of e-waste to estimate valuable material content — so recovery decisions can be made faster and on better data.
Concept stage · Technology under development
02The hidden value in e-waste
Inside the waste is a resource.
Discarded electronics are one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world. They are also dense with materials that industry works hard to mine elsewhere.
62 Mt
of e-waste generated globally in 2022, with generation expected to keep rising.
The question is not whether value is present — it is knowing what is there, and how much.
03Material intelligence
The materials hidden within the waste.
AuGold
AgSilver
CuCopper
NiNickel
PdPalladium
Indicative of the materials commonly present in electronic waste streams — the content Neo Element aims to help estimate.
04The problem
Value is lost where material cannot be read.
02
Risky
Intuition-driven and labour-intensive approaches create transaction risk for buyers and sellers, as well as environmental risk downstream.
03
Uneconomical
Inefficient e-waste handling leaves recoverable value in the stream and creates significant economic loss across the chain.
05The Neo Element approach
Turn images into material intelligence.
We are developing technology designed to identify valuable materials in e-waste faster, at scale and more consistently — combining image recognition with the data that surrounds each stream.
01
Capture
Images and characteristics of an e-waste stream are collected.
02
Ingest
Inputs are organised, cleaned and prepared for analysis.
03
Analyze
AI image-recognition models read visual information alongside relevant material data.
04
Estimate
The system aims to estimate valuable material content in the stream.
05
Insight
Potential outputs: material types, estimated value, recycling risks and reporting.
06The opportunity
A growing stream, an unmet need for better information.
0 Mt
E-waste generated globally in 2022
and expected to keep growing
0
Valuable metals commonly present in e-waste
gold, silver, copper, nickel and palladium
Volumes are rising, recovery rates remain low, and valuable materials stay trapped inside discarded electronics. Neo Element is positioning around the layer that is missing: reliable, fast material assessment.
Better material information changes the decision.
Faster decisions
Potentially accelerate how quickly an e-waste stream can be assessed.
Reduced transaction risk
Better information can support more informed transactions between parties.
Optimized recycling
Material intelligence can help direct streams to the right recovery process.
Better resource recovery
Help surface valuable materials that might otherwise remain hidden.
Our ambition — development targets
30× faster
target speed of precious-metal identification versus current visual assessment.
10× precision
target improvement in precision versus traditional “eyeball” methods.
These are development targets that guide our work, not measured results. Neo Element is at concept stage and has not validated these figures.
07About / Vision
Building the intelligence layer for a more efficient circular materials economy.
HiddenSeenUnderstoodValuedRecovered
08Partner with us
Partner With Us
Neo Element is exploring pilot projects, industry collaboration and opportunities to develop the technology alongside organisations working in e-waste recovery and precious-material processing.
Interested in exploring what this could look like in your operation?