Imagine Europe wanting to build its own electric cars but having to buy all the 'secret ingredient' for the batteries from halfway across the world. This project is like building a local kitchen that can cook up high-quality lithium from rocks, salty water, and even old battery scraps. It's about making sure we have the ingredients right here at home to keep the factories running.
Europe depends 100% on lithium imports, creating a critical vulnerability for the electric vehicle transition. There is a lack of domestic capacity to refine raw ores and brines into battery-grade chemicals.
A prototype system producing 1 kg of battery-grade Li-chemicals and a business model for a full European Li supply chain.
If you are a mining company dealing with raw spodumene or geothermal brines — this project developed 14 groundbreaking technologies that lower CAPEX and OPEX. This allows you to refine raw materials into battery-grade chemicals locally within Europe.
If you are a manufacturer dealing with off-specification cathode waste — this project developed a recovery process to reclaim Li, Co, and Ni. This turns expensive waste into usable raw materials for new battery cells.
If you are a chemical distributor dealing with a 100% import dependency for lithium — this project developed a refining chain to produce LiOH∙H2O and Li2CO3. This secures a domestic supply of battery-grade chemicals.
The project investigates 14 technologies specifically selected for their potential to operate at low CAPEX and OPEX. A business model will be established based on the final cost of Li produced.
The project aims to demonstrate a prototype system at TRL5 capable of producing approximately 1 kg of battery-grade Li-chemicals.
Based on available project data, the technologies are led by 8 R&D centers, but specific licensing terms are not provided in the summary.
The project runs from October 2022 to September 2026, with a 2.5-year initial R&D phase to move technologies from TRL 2 to 4 before upscaling.
It targets existing European resources including pegmatites mines, geothermal brines, and cathode production waste to create a domestic supply chain.
The consortium is heavily industry-weighted with 56% industrial partners (9 companies), including 3 SMEs and a world leader in Li production. This strong commercial presence, combined with 8 R&D centers and 3 universities across 10 countries, suggests the project is designed for rapid commercial translation rather than pure academic research.
Contact FUNDACION TECNALIA RESEARCH & INNOVATION in Spain
Contact us to explore licensing opportunities for the 14 Li-recovery technologies.
