Rethinking IoT
Every year, millions of electronic devices are discarded, contributing to a growing environmental problem. Producing billions of IoT devices consumes vast amounts of energy and requires rare and difficult-to-recycle materials, adding to the environmental burden. Today’s estimates suggest tens of billions of IoT devices are in operation. Predictions for the 6G era indicate this number could grow to hundreds of billions or even one trillion. Without a fundamental shift in how these devices are designed and powered, this exponential growth will only accelerate the problem.
The SUPERIOT project, which I coordinate and which is funded by the EU Smart Networks & Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU), takes a unique and holistic approach to sustainability by addressing the broader environmental impact, not just energy efficiency. While most initiatives focus on energy efficiency and low-power solutions, SUPERIOT recognises these as crucial foundations and builds on them to pursue a truly green IoT. The project adheres to comprehensive principles of “sustainable by design,” “sustainable by implementation,” “sustainable usage,” and “sustainable disposal.” Considering sustainability in a wide-sense results in a flexible, adaptable and energy-efficient IoT concept that combines optical and radio technologies. By reducing reliance on disposable batteries and extending device lifespans, these solutions aim to make IoT more sustainable. The goal is to rethink IoT from the start. We want to help ensure that future generations of smart technology can scale without worsening environmental impact.
Challenging the Legacy of Wasteful IoT
The Internet of Things has enabled groundbreaking connectivity and automation. It has improved efficiency in industries from healthcare to smart cities. Over time, IoT technology has made strides toward lower power consumption and optimised network performance. But many devices still rely on disposable batteries and resource-intensive manufacturing.
The challenge is not just in how IoT devices operate but also in the energy and materials required to produce them. The overall costs of manufacturing billions of devices (including energy for manufacturing and producing materials/components) could be very high, and in some cases, the energy involved in producing some IoT devices could eventually be higher than the energy saved by using these devices during their lifetimes.
A homeowner installing an IoT system to optimise heating may assume they are reducing energy consumption. But the energy used to manufacture and deploy the system could, in the worst case, well outweigh the savings on their electricity bill. This raises a critical question: how do we ensure IoT truly delivers sustainability rather than just shifting the burden elsewhere?
From Light-Powered Calculators to Truly Sustainable IoT
Solar-powered calculators, introduced in the late 1970s, were one of the first widely used devices to demonstrate that ambient light could serve as a reliable energy source. They were a simple but effective proof of concept—a glimpse into a future where electronics could operate without traditional batteries. But calculators had a single, low-power function: performing arithmetic. They didn’t need to process data, communicate with other devices, or adapt to changing conditions.
This is where SUPERIOT takes the idea much further. It’s developing IoT nodes that harvest energy from ambient light and integrate hybrid optical-radio communication, provide precise positioning, and perform sensing, actuation, and data processing. Unlike a calculator sitting on a desk, these systems must function reliably in dynamic environments, coordinating multiple tasks while staying energy efficient. The importance of such batteryless, energy-autonomous systems has been recently recognised by major industry players. In February 2025, the Ambient IoT Alliance was established, with founding members including heavyweight chip designers and manufacturers such as Intel, Qualcomm, and Infineon, as well as global brands like PepsiCo, highlighting a broader industry shift toward zero-energy IoT systems.
Logistics, Healthcare, and Beyond
What sets the SUPERIOT project apart is its commitment to proven sustainable technologies tailored to the project’s specific needs. Printed electronics, a key enabler of this approach, provides lightweight, recyclable, and sustainable components that reduce material waste while ensuring high performance.
Printed electronics enable the design of small form factor, batteryless IoT devices that can be seamlessly integrated into a variety of environments. Within SUPERIOT, the consortium has developed printed photovoltaic cells and printed supercapacitors specifically designed to meet the project’s sustainability and performance requirements.
These innovations bring us closer to a new vision of IoT, where sticker-like, ultra-low-cost IoT nodes—potentially as cheap as one cent per device—can be attached to virtually any object, instantly connecting it to the internet.
While printed electronics are not yet as mature as silicon-based technologies, their long-term potential is immense. By making massive sensing and actuation affordable and environmentally sustainable, SUPERIOT wants to open the door to new use cases that would otherwise be impossible at scale.
In SUPERIOT’s demonstrators, both the photovoltaic cells that harvest energy from ambient light and the supercapacitors that store that energy are printed. These are no longer futuristic concepts; they are already part of SUPERIOT’s demonstrators, proving their feasibility in real-world applications.
Whether in logistics, where small IoT nodes track and monitor shipments without the need for disposable batteries, or in healthcare, where patient monitors adapt to their surroundings without frequent maintenance. These technologies are expanding what’s possible for sustainable IoT, offering a practical alternative to battery-dependent systems.
A key feature of the SUPERIOT project is its dual-mode operation. It combines light (optical) and radio (RF) for connectivity, energy harvesting, and positioning. This unique approach adds flexibility, adaptability, and resilience—all essential for modern IoT networks.
By harvesting energy from multiple sources, these nodes stay reliable even in changing environments. Switching between optical and RF communication ensures uninterrupted data exchange, even in tough conditions. Sustainability is at SUPERIOT’s core, but resilience matters too. These devices are built to work efficiently and adapt to real-world demands.
Smarter, Greener, SUPERIOT
The scale of IoT’s energy challenge is enormous. Imagine if billions of devices were each relying on a disposable battery. The environmental cost would be staggering.
While IoT has brought efficiency and automation, many systems still depend on materials and power sources that don’t align with long-term sustainability objectives. Instead of small, incremental improvements, we need a fundamental shift in how IoT is designed and powered.
In SUPERIOT, we’re rethinking IoT from the ground up. The project focuses on energy harvesting, material efficiency, and scalable design, ensuring that sustainability is built into the system from the start. From designing network architecture to testing battery-free IoT nodes, every aspect is designed to meet real-world demands without creating new environmental burdens.
Once these innovations move into real-world demonstrators, their potential will become clear. Industrial processes could use fewer resources. Healthcare could become smarter and more accessible. Cities could adopt infrastructures that respond intelligently without placing excessive demands on the planet’s resources. Our visions, which are supported by the development of the project, foresee the development of fully printed sticker-like (and batteryless) IoT devices and low-cost massive sensing and actuation with low environmental impact/footprint.
We rarely stop to think about what powers the technology around us. Maybe we should. Billions of IoT devices, each needing energy to function, are becoming part of everyday life. If they keep relying on disposable batteries and resource-intensive materials, we’ll be trading convenience for an environmental headache.
At SUPERIOT, we don’t claim to have all the answers, but we’re moving in the right direction. By rethinking how IoT is powered, we’re working to offer smarter, more sustainable alternatives. The real question is, when will we all start expecting them?
About the author
Professor, SUPERIOT project coordinator