Imagine turning old battery scrap, mining leftovers, and salty underground water into high-quality ingredients for new batteries. Instead of digging new holes in the ground abroad, this process cleans up industrial waste to get the precious metals we need. It's like urban mining on a massive scale to keep battery production local.
European battery manufacturers rely heavily on imported critical raw materials, creating supply chain vulnerability and high costs.
Four industrial-scale processes (GRANODE, RECO, RETAILCO, and GEOLI) to extract battery-grade metals from waste and brines.
If you are a battery producer dealing with high import costs for raw materials — this project developed processes to create battery-grade Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Lithium, and graphite. This allows you to integrate these materials directly into NMC811 cathodes and anodes.
If you are a mining company dealing with piles of mine tailings and industrial sludges — this project developed the RETAILCO and GEOLI technologies to extract value from these waste streams. This turns a liability into a source of battery-grade materials.
If you are a recycler dealing with black mass from Li-ion batteries — this project developed the RECO process to recover high-purity metals. This increases the market value of your recycled output to meet industrial battery standards.
Based on available project data, specific pricing is not provided, but the project aims to create cost-efficient processes for material production.
The technologies are being scaled up to an industrially relevant environment, specifically targeting TRL 6/7.
Based on available project data, the project includes plans for exploitation and business development, though specific licensing terms are not listed.
The project uses a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach, including environmental (LCA) and socio-economic (LCC, s-LCA) assessments to ensure compliance and social acceptance.
The project period runs from 2026-05-01 to 2029-10-31, suggesting readiness by late 2029.
The consortium is heavily weighted toward industrial application, with 7 industry partners and 7 research organizations, resulting in a 39% industry ratio. With 18 partners across 7 countries, the group covers the entire battery value chain, ensuring that the 4 developed technologies are validated by actual end-users in the battery sector.
Contact IDENER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AIE in Spain
Contact us to connect with the M-BAT consortium for pilot opportunities.
