US technology conglomerate Cisco has teamed up with e-waste recycling firm DEScycle to trial its metals recovery platform.

The tie-up will see Cisco deploy the company’s modular metals recovery platform to process electronic scrap boards derived from Cisco hardware at DEScycle’s demonstration plant in Wilton, UK.

According to the companies, the trial will evaluate the performance of the demonstration unit in order to generate recovery data and techno-economic analysis. As part of the trial, hardware provided by Cisco will be disassembled, and e-scrap boards will be collected for DEScycle processing. Subsequently, the plant will process the material in controlled batches and target high recovery rates of critical and precious metals for reuse.

The companies claim that the primary goal of the trial is to demonstrate consistent recovery performance at demonstration scale and to provide Cisco with transparent recovery and process data. In addition, the trial will evaluate how the platform can be integrated into reverse supply chains, with traceability data made available throughout the process.

“This trial is an important step in demonstrating how distributed, modular metals processing can integrate into existing electronics value chains,” said Fred White, co-founder and CCO of DEScycle. “Our objective is clear: to demonstrate that we can provide a robust, economically competitive, and environmentally conscious recovery route, underpinned by transparent performance data and traceability. More broadly, this collaboration supports the development of capital-efficient metals recovery capacity aligned with circular economy principles.”

Mary de Wysocki, SVP & chief sustainability officer at Cisco, added: “Cisco has a longstanding commitment to a more sustainable supply chain and to exploring practical and innovative approaches to end-of-life services that reduce waste and deliver business value to customers. Exploring this technology supports our strategy.”

Cisco has previously invested in the company, having participated in DEScycle’s 2024 Series A funding round, which raised approximately £10.2 million ($13.8m). The company, based out of London, utilizes deep eutectic solvents (DES) to replace traditional, high-energy, and polluting smelters in order to recover and recycle metals from e-waste. The company claims to achieve between 95 and 99 percent recovery rates for precious metals.

Several tech companies have invested in or partnered with e-waste recycling firms over recent years. Most notably, Amazon, which in 2024 opened a data center component recycling firm in Ireland.