Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTSThe demand for raw materials for batteries – especially for electromobility – has risen sharply in recent years. The vast majority of electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries, which contain metals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese and lithium. Worldwide, these battery metals mainly come from Australia, Chile, China, South Africa and the Congo. However, volatile markets and challenges in the supply chains pose a risk for the procurement of critical battery metals. The EU project "METALLICO" aims to help ensure the security of supply of domestic raw materials.
The project consortium brings together representatives from the entire value chain – including mining and production – to test new production processes for battery materials using raw materials from primary and secondary sources. The development of modern, cost-efficient processes with domestic raw materials will not only secure supply chains in Europe, but also pursue a zero-waste approach. Five new processes will be used to reduce production waste in the manufacture of battery materials and fully recycle unavoidable residual materials.
As part of the "METALLICO" project, various case studies are being examined in terms of how critical metals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel can be produced and recovered sustainably and how residual materials can be recycled into new products in the battery, cement, paint and ceramics industries. This is an important step towards establishing a circular economy, as the products must meet the requirements of the markets in order to be fed back into the value chain. To this end, defined recycling processes are being scaled up to industrial scale at various industrial sites.
In the "METALLICO" project, Fraunhofer IKTS is working on the validation of a pilot plant for lithium extraction and geopolymer production. In cooperation with the Institute of Technical Chemistry at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, the patented COOL process is being used to extract lithium from lithium ores such as spodumene: after leaching with supercritical CO2, this is up to 95 percent. A subsequent electrodialysis and crystallization step allows battery-grade lithium carbonate to be selectively extracted.
The lithium-free residue produced in the filtration stage is also recycled. This is the key step towards establishing a circular economy based on the zero-waste principle. It will be used to produce CO2-free geopolymers that could replace cement in the future and thus reduce CO2 emissions in the cement industry. The process is being scaled up and tested to a technology readiness level of 7 in Spain with the participation of G.E.O.S. Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, IDENER and CETAQUA.
