Sharp recently announced that it is preparing to implement a technology for the recycling of indium, which it has been developing in the past year. The new technology is able to recycle 95% of indium from LCD panels. Sharp plans to install recycling equipment in its factory for small-sized LCD panels, which are used in mobile phones and other devices, in Mie Prefecture, Japan, in the coming year. In the future the company also wants to use the recycling equipment in its facility in Kameyama, which manufactures LCD panels for televisions. By recycling the metal Sharp hopes to cut production costs.

 

Indium is a rare and expensive metal which is used in LCD production for transparent electrodes which control the brightness of the LCD screen. The price of indium has increased ten-fold during the past three years, while currently 40% of indium is lost as waste in the production process.