This blog explores the economic potential of reusing storage media, backed by market analysis from 2020 to 2028. It highlights how circular economy practices in data storage can reduce costs, alleviate supply constraints, and create new business opportunities while also promoting environmental sustainability. The exponential growth of digital data has led to an unprecedented demand for storage solutions. Traditional manufacturing struggles to keep pace, prompting a shift towards circular economy practices, particularly the reuse of storage media like hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). This approach not only addresses environmental concerns but also offers significant economic advantages. Market Dynamics and Economic Potential A recent comprehensive study titled "Data Explosion, Circular Solution: How Refurbished Drives Can Bridge the Storage Supply Gap" provides an in-depth market analysis from 2020 to 2028. The findings underscore the viability of reusing storage media, highlighting key metrics that influence device suitability and bolster confidence in the secondary market. The global storage market is evaluated using three primary metrics: Bytes Shipped: Reflects the total digital storage capacity installed worldwide, indicating technological advancements and the escalating demand for data storage across various sectors. Revenue Generated: Provides an economic perspective, showcasing the profitability and market value [...]

Authors: Smith & Associates Smith recently interviewed representatives from large hyperscalers, OEMs, and other key players in the electronics industry under the Circular Drive Initiative (CDI) and Open Compute Project (OCP) umbrella. Through these interviews, we gained a deeper understanding of carbon avoidance and carbon accounting as it pertains to companies that utilize electronic devices in their workflow processes and the changes that should be made for a more sustainable industry. The interviews highlighted key topics, including discussions on amortization, reuse, and insets as areas of concern and consideration. Amortization and Carbon Responsibility Amortization is a specific method derived from accounting that enables an organization to spread costs—typically of longer-term assets—over a period of time. For the purposes of our industry’s needs, amortization will be applied when discussing the longevity of an electronic device and its embodied carbon from the first user to the second user and to any subsequent users thereafter. During the interviews, a central question was raised: Who is responsible for embodied carbon? Coming to a unanimous decision on carbon reporting standards is a multifaceted goal that would require the marriage of reporting standards, best practices, and clear accountability of carbon emissions. Currently, the accounting methods [...]

As global demand for data storage reaches unprecedented levels, manufacturers are struggling to keep pace. But the environmental cost of continuously producing new hardware is unsustainable. That’s where circular practices—like refurbishment and reuse—come into play, offering a powerful solution to both meet demand and reduce environmental impact.Research published in the European Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EJECE 2024) explores this issue, focusing on the circularity gap in IT hardware. The findings, led by Interact, Cedar, and the Circular Drive Initiative (CDI), are eye-opening. The Circular Economy Potential A year-long study involving over 117,000 storage devices—both HDDs and SSDs—was conducted to assess how many drives could be securely erased and refurbished for reuse. The results revealed that 87% of these drives were suitable for a second life after successful data sanitization. The Untapped Opportunity In 2020, a staggering 628 million SSDs and HDDs were manufactured, many of which are reaching the end of their first life in 2024. While about 62 to 64 million of these drives will be reused, over 480 million drives that are perfectly viable for reuse will likely be destroyed or disposed of instead. This represents an enormous missed opportunity, both environmentally and economically. Key [...]

In today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape, e-waste and embodied carbon remain significant concerns. With the growth of the Internet of Things and the precipitous demand for all things artificial intelligence (AI), data storage requirements are expected to surge — amplifying safety and efficiency challenges around device management. The Circular Drive Initiative (CDI) embraces circularity principles to curb e-waste in data storage hardware. It draws inspiration from strategies that aim to minimize waste by maximizing the lifespan of products and materials. Specifically, it advocates for sustainable hardware mechanisms using system-based approaches that take into account the entire product lifecycle. As data storage enters a new phase, CDI is uniting storage industry leaders in a push to minimize environmental impact, tackle resource security issues, and promote secure reuse. By encouraging companies to adopt long-term strategies, CDI is at the forefront of the drive towards sustainable data storage. The Story The Circular Drive Initiative operates as a consortium uniting global leaders in digital storage, data centers, sustainability, and blockchain. The CDI’s core mission revolves around fostering sustainability in storage practices, combating e-waste by championing, enabling, and advocating for the secure reuse of storage hardware. CDI was convened in November 2022 under the leadership [...]

Author: Jonmichael Hands, Circular Drive Initiative In the dynamic world of data security, standards for media sanitization play a critical role in safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized recovery. The recent release of the IEEE 2883-2022 standard provides a fresh perspective on media sanitization, tailored to keep pace with modern storage technologies. This article compares the established NIST SP 800-88r1 and the newly minted IEEE 2883-2022, highlighting their global reach, support for contemporary devices, documentation, and compliance criteria.  Global Reach IEEE is an international body, and its standards are widely accepted and used globally. NIST is a Government Authority and non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST standards do often have implications for policy and regulatory compliance Support for modern devices NIST SP 800-88r1 was written in 2014 and published in 2015. The first NVMe SSDs were released in 2014, but NVMe is now the most popular storage interface for SSDs, making up hundreds of millions of devices per year. IEEE 2883-2022 was published in June 2022 and includes the latest media sanitization requirements from modern versions of storage interfaces. IEEE 2883-2022 contains the exact storage interface commands that define a clear and a purge by interface (NVM, SATA, [...]

Summary Chia co-authored a new whitepaper on the impact of data sanitization on the circular economy, suggesting a practical solution to data security and storage reuse. Read the whitepaper here. Background Shortly after the Chia mainnet launch, hard drives worldwide were sold out, prices increased, and lead times increased. Because of the dramatic increase in demand, a few IT asset disposition (ITAD) providers wanted to know more about Chia and how drives are used for farming. When meeting with these ITADs, we learned the actual scale of how many drives were shredded per year for their customers. We pleaded to free these drives up for Chia farming, but it wasn’t up to them – it was up to their customers. In the hyperscale and enterprise space, any leak of customer data is catastrophic. The idea for Circular Drive Initiative was born – to activate collaborative work between hyperscalers, drive vendors, and ITADs, dedicated to driving secure storage reuse. Chia joined OCP to start discussing sustainability with the industry leaders in technology. The CDI workgroup decided sanitization and reuse was the first and most important topic to tackle. Addressing the issue, not the symptoms I discovered through my storage network that a new specification on media sanitization [...]