While the battery sector has been experiencing increasing demand for raw materials for several years, it is at the same time vulnerable to risks in the procurement of these materials. As batteries are of great importance for the energy and mobility transition and drive the shift towards sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies in the battery sector, the availability of (critical) battery metals must be ensured. Various strategies are being pursued here, with the utilization of residual materials through recovery and recycling of materials playing a central role.
"Within METALLICO, we will optimize and further develop five innovative processes for recovering and producing lithium, cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel from primary and secondary raw material sources," says María González-Moya Jiménez of coordinator IDENER. "These will then be demonstrated at an industrially relevant scale in four case studies and evaluated in terms of sustainability."
In addition, the project is developing a digital (open source) platform in which, on the one hand, primary and secondary battery metal sources are identified and characterized. On the other hand, digital twins of innovative plants for the recovery and production of metals will make it possible to simulate the efficiency as well as the economic, environmental and social impacts in the recovery of the respective metal.
The results produced in METALLICO will allow industrial companies to invest in new mining and metal recovery facilities. González-Moya Jiménez: "The new processes will enable industry to develop significant quantities of new, currently unused or under-utilized resources in the EU. This will help reduce dependence on volatile raw material markets and ensure the availability of metals in the battery sector, but also in other industrial sectors."
COMPAMED-tradefair.com; Source: DECHEMA Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e.V.