10 MARKET NEWS Issue 2 2026 Power Electronics Europe Power Electronics Europe Outdated circuit board designs have a high failure rate, and OEMs must find ways to tackle this massive cost burden if they are to thrive, warns a sustainable technology expert. Conventional PCBA (printed circuit board assembly) processing has shockingly low yield rates that only technological innovation can overcome, warns Emma Armstrong, Sustainable Electronics Ambassador and Group Commercial Director at leading UK sustainable electronics provider In2tec. She says poor soldering, incorrect component placement, contamination, defective materials, and human error are all factors that drive low yield rates. “A higher-than-acceptable percentage of defective boards not only affects profitability but also disrupts production and customer satisfaction,” Emma says. “Virgin manufacture has a failure rate of anywhere between 1-3% and defective units need to be scrapped – a huge cost burden.” “Meanwhile, the resources required to make PCBAs are dwindling, and the supply chains they require are vulnerable to volatility. “Jettisoning limited and obsolete PCBAs is essential for forward-thinking manufacturers that want to maximise profit and meet their environmental responsibilities.” In2tec’s mission is to offer an alternative to dated hardware that is incredibly difficult to reuse, repair, and recycle. The company’s ReUSE® tech is a series of materials, processes, and design principles used to manufacture modular PCBAs that can be fully unzipped at end-of-life or easily repaired. “ReUSE® innovative plug-and-play design improves yield and, in turn, generates cost savings,” Emma adds. “The standardised process helps maintain quality, while optimised component placement and alignment reduce variability in production. As an added bonus, ReUSE® PCBAs can be tailormade to fit efficiently into smaller and more ergonomically designed products.” Since 2001, In2tec has worked to slash the harrowing environmental and societal impact of ewaste and provide innovative solutions to the growing problem of throwaway electronics. Discover more about In2tec’s technology at https://in2tec.com/reuse CIRCUIT FLAWED: Archaic PCBA design has a high failure rate – but there is a solution Molex, a global electronics leader and connectivity innovator, has announced an agreement to acquire Teramount, an Israel-based developer of detachable fibre-to-chip connectivity solutions optimised for high-volume Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) and other silicon photonics applications. Teramount’s TeraVERSE platform, based on its universal photonic coupler and wafer-level selfaligning optics, provides a pragmatic, fieldserviceable interface between optical fibre and silicon photonics chips and was recently announced as part of the Molex one-stop CPO solution at OFC 2026. TeraVERSE is an innovative, passively-aligned solution that enables faster data rates necessary to support AI adoption while consuming less energy to reduce power and cooling demands in hyperscale data centers. “Teramount’s TeraVERSE technology fills a crucial gap in the CPO stack, offering an advantaged and strategic complement to our optical solutions portfolio. With a practical, detachable fibre-to-chip interface we are afforded a foundational element to realise mainstream CPO adoption,” said Aldo Lopez, President, Datacom Solutions, Molex. “Combining Teramount’s IP and engineering talent with Molex’s innovative portfolio, manufacturing scale, supply-chain expertise and systems knowhow gives customers an integrated, high-volume path to deploy scalable CPO.” Teramount’s passive, detachable coupling approach supports large assembly tolerances and semiconductor-grade wafer-level processes. Compared with active alignment methods, passive alignment is materially more scalable as CPO moves toward volume production. Molex will combine Teramount’s IP and engineering expertise with its optical capability and global manufacturing scale to deliver industry-leading performance specifications and accelerate production of TeraVERSE. “Harnessing Molex’s global scale and systemlevel expertise with Teramount’s innovation expertise and detachable, wafer-level coupling technology creates a real pathway for scalable, high-density CPO,” said Hesham Taha, CEO and Co-Founder of Teramount. “Joining forces with Molex will enable us to accelerate delivery of a manufacturable, serviceable fibre-to-chip interface that meets the pressing needs of AI and hyperscale data centres.” The addition of TeraVERSE to Molex’s comprehensive optical interconnect portfolio provides customers with greater support across their CPO and silicon photonics architectures. As a leader in high-speed communications interconnects, Molex says it is uniquely positioned to deliver industryleading copper and optical solutions. Teramount will remain a design and engineering center in Jerusalem supported by Molex’s global optical capabilities. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. https://www.molex.com/ Molex Announces Agreement to Acquire Teramount to Accelerate Scalable Co-Packaged Optics Adoption
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