Ritesh Kumar Singh principal research fellow

Research Ritesh Kumar Singh

Research team

SPARCE – Sustainable Product Assessment and Redesign for Circularity and Energy Efficiency. 01/01/2026 - 31/12/2026

Abstract

Electronic waste (e-waste) is rising at an alarming pace. In 2019, 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste were generated globally, with forecasts predicting this number will surpass 82 million tonnes by 2030. This trend is driven by shortened product lifespans, poor repairability, and limited options for upgrading components. Meanwhile, EU policy is rapidly evolving with regulations like ESPR (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation), the Digital Product Passport (DPP), and Right to Repair. However, many companies struggle to adapt due to a lack of modular design expertise, costly redesign cycles, and uncertainty around return on investment. The SPARCE project – Sustainable Product Assessment and Redesign for Circularity and Energy Efficiency – aims to address this gap by developing and validating an integrated methodology and digital toolset that empowers companies to continuously optimize energy performance and circularity in smart electronic products. It does so via two key services: SPARCE-SCAN, a scanning and scoring tool that evaluates products on energy use, upgrade potential, and compliance with circularity standards; and SPARCE-DESIGN, a decision-support toolkit that offers redesign strategies for improving modularity, repairability, and energy efficiency. SPARCE enables companies to meet evolving regulations while reducing e-waste, extending product lifespans, and exploring new value streams through modular upgrades and service models.

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  • Research Project

Sustainable and Energy Neutral Soil Sensing (SENSS). 01/09/2025 - 31/08/2026

Abstract

Agriculture 5.0 is expected to bring a paradigm shift in agricultural practices by leveraging advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data. By providing farmers with insights into various aspects of farming, such as soil health, water usage, and crop conditions, Agriculture 5.0 aims to enhance both productivity and sustainability. Long-standing issues in agriculture, such as over-fertilisation, soil degradation, and their subsequent climate impacts, are anticipated to be addressed through these next-generation technologies. However, bridging real-world farming conditions with digital systems remains a significant market gap. There is a lack of soil sensors capable of delivering real-time soil data in a seamless and user-friendly manner. Most state-of-the-art solutions are expensive, making them inaccessible to many farmers. Additionally, these solutions often provide data at low temporal and spatial resolution, limiting their usefulness for long-term monitoring and prediction. While some basic sensors are available, they are typically battery-powered, resulting in frequent maintenance requirements that are impractical for everyday farming operations. To address this gap, the Sustainable and Energy Neutral Soil Sensing (SENSS) proof-of-concept project proposes the development of a novel soil sensing device tailored for agricultural use. This device will be cost-effective, maintenance-free, and designed with a deploy-and-forget architecture to minimise the burden on farmers. It will feature integrated energy harvesting, low-power wireless connectivity, and onboard data processing, ensuring long-term, autonomous operation. By combining expertise from the Global Change Ecology Center of Excellence (GCEC) in environmental sciences and IDLab in low-power electronics and communications, SENSS aims to deliver a transformative solution for sustainable farming.

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  • Research Project

Sustainable and Energy Neutral Soil Sensing. 01/09/2024 - 31/08/2025

Abstract

Greenhouse gas emission is causing the Earth's climate to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Greenhouse gas traps the heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming, extreme weather conditions and environmental changes such as rising sea levels. Agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emission, with a contribution of around one-third of total emissions. Considering this, many recent sustainability regulations such as the Flemish Nitrogen Decree and EU Green Deal try to tackle the emission from agriculture. A major portion of agricultural emissions arise from the unscientific use of fertilizers which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As a result, farmers are urged to follow sustainable agriculture practices and reduce emission. However, implementing sustainable farming requires allowing farmers to determine the optimum measurement of both soil nutrient content and emission in real time. But there is a lack of cost-effective devices that can measure both soil nitrogen content and emission in real time and can assist farmers in deciding on optimum fertilizer application. Such a device should be of low cost and with limited maintenance requirements, putting no extra financial pressure on farmers. Moreover, they should be deploy-and-forget architecture so that no maintenance and management is required from the farmers. This POC proposal Sustainable and Energy Neutral Soil Sensing (SENSS) aims to fill this gap by innovating novel soil sensing devices that work seamlessly in agricultural environments. The device will incorporate novel energy harvesting and energy-aware techniques along with low-power wireless connectivity and onboard intelligence to achieve long-term operation and in-device data processing and inference. The project will further leverage the ecology and environmental knowledge of the Global Change Ecology Center of Excellence and the low-power electronic and communication knowledge of IDLab.

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Project website

Project type(s)

  • Research Project