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Battery-grade materials recovery from primary and secondary sources through innovative technologies

Project description

Solutions for sustainable production of key battery-grade materials

In recent years, there have been growing efforts across the EU to achieve green transition goals and support further action, but as renewable and sustainable energy solutions become more prominent, the need for sustainable battery solutions is increasing. Unfortunately, both current and many newer battery solutions depend on imported critical raw materials that are often expensive and environmentally damaging. The EU-funded M-BAT project will develop and demonstrate sustainable, innovative and cost-efficient processes for producing battery-grade materials, specifically cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel. To do this, the project will adopt a safe and sustainable-by-design framework for developing, scaling up, and validating these solutions for industrial applications.

Objective

The M-BAT project aims to enhance the European Union's strategic autonomy in the battery value chain by reducing its dependency on imported critical raw materials. The project will demonstrate four innovative, sustainable, and cost-efficient processes (GRANODE, RECO, RETAILCO, and GEOLI) for the production of battery-grade materials—specifically Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Lithium, and graphite. These technologies will be scaled up to an industrially relevant environment (TRL 6/7) by processing diverse European primary and secondary resources, including mine tailings (from CLC), industrial sludges (from KGHM), black mass from Li-ion batteries (from ENERIS), and geothermal brines (from COR). The final battery-grade products will be validated by end-users in the battery sector through their integration into NMC811 cathodes and anodes, ensuring market alignment.
Another core pillar of M-BAT is the integration of a digitally-enabled Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework, which combines mathematical modelling with comprehensive safety, environmental (LCA), and socio-economic (LCC, s-LCA) assessments to guide the innovation process. The project is supported by a strategic consortium covering the entire value chain and includes robust plans for exploitation, business development, and replication across Europe, alongside targeted activities to foster social acceptance and stakeholder engagement.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2025-02

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Coordinator

IDENER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AIE
Net EU contribution
€ 1 449 500,00
Address
GONZALO JIMÉNEZ DE QUESADA, NUM 2, FLOOR 11, TORRE SEVILLA
41092 SEVILLA
Spain
Region
Sur Andalucía Sevilla
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (17)