Sustainability in electronics is no longer a future topic—it has become a concrete development task. With the research project Cellutronik, Würth Elektronik Circuit Board Technology, together with the University of Stuttgart and the Hahn-Schickard Society, is taking it a step further: toward bio-based substrate materials and digitized manufacturing processes for next-generation printed circuit boards.
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and officially started in November 2025.
At the core of Cellutronik is an unusual approach: bacterial cellulose as a substrate material for printed circuit boards. This material is produced in the laboratory using microorganisms and then processed into stable, board-like structures.
The idea behind it is clear: to replace petroleum-based materials in electronics in the long term and thereby significantly reduce environmental impact across the entire product lifecycle.
Turning a material concept into a real technological option requires more than basic research.
The focus is not only on the “if,” but above all on the “how”: How can a new material be integrated into existing production processes?
A key component of the project is the use of modern printing technologies. Conductive structures are applied directly to the cellulose surfaces using inkjet printing. Copper and silver inks form precise conductive traces exactly where they are needed.
The result:
An additional advantage: both substrates and conductive traces are solderable and therefore fundamentally compatible with existing assembly processes.
Cellutronik follows a clear principle: research should not end in the lab.
Instead, industrial applicability is at the center from the very beginning. This is exactly where the value of the collaboration emerges—new technologies are developed in a way that makes them transferable to real manufacturing environments in the long term.
This approach reflects the development philosophy of Würth Elektronik Circuit Board Technology: innovation driven by real customer requirements and industrial processes.
At the end of the project, a demonstrator is planned that will showcase the production of multilayer printed circuit boards based on cellulose and digital printing processes.
It is intended to demonstrate that:
In the long term, Cellutronik pursues an ambitious goal: enabling electronic solutions that generate significantly less environmental impact at the end of their lifecycle.
Cellutronik demonstrates how strongly material innovation and manufacturing technology can influence each other. What still sounds like research today could become an important building block for more sustainable electronics of tomorrow.
