Former data centre entrepreneurs join fight against e-waste

Author: Isha Jain

Network 2 Supplies (n2s), an IT lifecycle management and recycling provider, has announced Simon Taylor has been appointed as Chairman.

Additionally, Nick Razey has been appointed Chairman of n2s’s Cambridge-based sister company, Bioscope Technologies which, following n2s’ pioneering work over several years, was launched two years ago to further develop and industrialise patented bioleaching bio-refining processes for the sustainable recovery of precious metals from IT equipment.

Taylor and Razey are significant investors in both companies and have a proven track-record in successfully launching and scaling businesses in the data centre and telecom industries. They founded Next Generation Data in 2008, which grew to become Europe’s largest data centre and was sold to a major data centre group for $800M in 2020. In the 1990s, they were co-founders of Interoute, a pan-European network infrastructure provider, which was sold to a telecoms multinational for $2.3bn in 2018.

Simon Taylor comments, “n2s’ zero-waste approach to addressing the tech sector’s exponential e-waste challenges offers a truly world-class circular recycling solution to large consumers of business IT equipment. The significant market potential for the business is underlined by the tripling of sales turnover in the last three years and a growing blue chip client list.

“There are also major untapped opportunities for Bioscope Technologies in the sustainable recovery of precious metals and rare earths contained on IT device printed circuit boards (PCBs). Currently, many of their valuable components are being lost to the UK due to the routine exportation of PCBs for recycling, often involving unsustainable practices such as use of acids and smelting. We are in discussion with the Government to explore how Bioscope and n2s can play a key role in tackling this urgent issue by enabling critical raw materials – many of which are in finite supply – to remain onshore for sustainable re-introduction into the supply chain.”

An investment partner is in place to further support the scaling of UK operations and a planned roll out of Bioscope’s game-changing biotechnologies. Market penetration will be accelerated through partnership agreements in Europe and North America, allowing major recycling organisations, data centre operators, cloud providers and telecom companies to leverage Bioscope’s patented industrial bioleaching processes and plant.