Imagine if we could make the essential ingredients for computer chips from common rocks and old factory waste instead of importing them from far away. This project finds new ways to extract high-purity silicon from abundant minerals and recycled scrap. It also swaps out dirty fuels for plant-based carbon to make the process much cleaner.
Europe faces a critical shortage of high-quality quartz and lacks domestic processing capacity for semiconductor materials. Current production methods also have a high carbon footprint and heavy reliance on imports.
A pre-industrial scale production route for Si and SiC using alternative minerals and recycled scrap, featuring hydrogen plasma refining and biocarbon reductants.
If you are a wafer producer dealing with import dependencies for raw materials — this project developed new feedstock routes that could enable the manufacturing of 533 million silicon wafers and 5.4 million SiC wafers. This secures 32% of Europe's demand domestically.
If you are a silicon producer dealing with high CO2 taxes and fossil fuel reliance — this project developed biocarbon reductants and CO2 mineralisation that reduce emissions by over 300 kt CO2 by 2050.
If you are a recycler dealing with low-value quartz crucible scrap — this project developed hydrogen plasma refining to turn secondary silicon into a product with a €43 million market value.
Based on available project data, the hydrogen plasma refining process will deliver approximately 30 kt of >5N silicon, which has a market value of about €43 million.
The project ensures that innovations are demonstrated at a pre-industrial scale and validated by end users to ensure they are ready for market adoption.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not mentioned, but the project involves a full value chain consortium of 18 partners to ensure market adoption.
The project aims to reduce emissions by over 300 kt CO2 by the year 2050, aligning with EU Green Deal and CBAM objectives.
It integrates by providing domestic sources of high-purity silica from aplite, olivine, and scrap, reducing the need for imported high-quality quartz.
The consortium is highly commercially oriented, consisting of 18 partners across 9 countries with an 83% industry ratio (15 industrial partners, including 4 SMEs). This structure, led by SINTEF AS, indicates a strong focus on technology transfer and market readiness rather than pure academic research, as it includes the entire value chain from raw material producers to semiconductor manufacturers.
Contact SINTEF AS for technical inquiries regarding silicon plasma refining.
Contact us to connect with the ReSiLient consortium for pre-industrial pilot opportunities.
