The cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni) demand is expected to be about 20 times higher in 2040 than in 2020. Given that Europe plays only a minor role in the global Ni/Co supply chains, which are concentrated in the DRC, Indonesia and China, we face a serious problem in securing a reliable, affordable and sustainable supply of battery-grade Ni/Co, vital for Europe’s aims to be climate-neutral by 2050. In view of a “domestic and foreign sourcing” procurement model, ENICON exploits the potential of (low-grade) Ni/Co resources within Europe – i.e. sulphidic Ni/Co ores and derived Ni/Co-bearing pyrite and silicate tailings, and limonitic/saprolitic laterite Ni(/Co) ores – while improving and developing the Ni/Co-refining capacity that can process imported ores, concentrates and intermediates. ENICON comprises both major improvements to existing Ni/Co metallurgical unit operations in Europe as well as the development of a new HCl-based route for both Ni/Co sulphide concentrates and laterites. ENICON’s HCl-route dispenses with the old-school hydro-approach of continuously precipitating and redissolving metals that requires lots of chemicals and creates problematic waste streams. The HCl-based route can be extended to the downstream processing of FeNi (Class-II Ni) obtained from laterites; (2) Mixed (Ni/Co) Sulphide/Hydroxide Precipitate (MSP/MHP) from the bioleaching of Co-rich pyrite tailings; and Ni/Co-containing silicate tailings. ENICON targets a “forensic geometallurgy” protocol, making it possible to identify and mitigate the mineralogical and textural reasons for processing losses along existing and new flowsheets. To make the transition to (near) zero-waste processing and to further reduce CO2-footprints, ENICON develops enhanced mineral-matrix valorisation processes. The outputs from ENICON’s group of European Ni/Co mining, processing and refining companies will all be benchmarked in terms of positive environmental and techno-economic impacts against current methods.

The HEPHAESTUS project is built around one key, overarching objective: To develop a set of scalable and tuneable unit operations, to be built as integrated processing plant, featuring the capacity to treat multiple process wastes deriving from primary mineral and metallurgical (primary and secondary) streams. The unit operations are: - Clean-Tech electric furnace, to transform the EAF and AOD dust into metal alloy to be immediately remelted, process supported with streams of fines by-products from the mineral primary extractions (construction, aggregates and dimensional stone) - EZINEX process, to extract the zinc present in the dust of the furnace - Fibre drawing, for mineral wool manufacturing out of the process slag in molten state - Catalytic conversion of CO2 gas into methanol or formic acid - Ammonia-ammonium carbonate (AAC) and methanesulfonic acid (MSA) based hydrometallurgical processes, to produce a recyclable Fe-rich residue and to recover metals (e.g.e.g., ZnS) from EAF dust The project is targeting primarily small-scale applications (order of magnitude 10 k tons waste dust per year), to cope with the typically fragmented European process size. Such scale is matching the waste volumes and differentiation and granting positive environmental AND economic sustainability through the valorisation of different streams of by-products at low operational and capital expenditure, ensuring vast replicability and short ROI Project will be demonstrated in two pilot applications, in Greece and Italy, with the purpose of creating awareness on the business potential and to generate the conditions for a long-term exploitation, leading to meaningful reduction of wastes for the extractive and steel industries.

On 16 March 2023 the EC published the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) proposal that sets “benchmarks along the strategic raw materials value chain and for the diversification of the EU supplies”. By targeting the domestic refining of three “strategic” battery-related CRMs, i.e., Ni, Co and Mn, the CICERO project addresses the second CRMA benchmark: i.e., > 40% domestic processing/refining. To tackle the twin problems of (1) Europe’s dependence on a few third countries (i.e., DRC, Indonesia, China) for the supply of Ni, Co and Mn for our NMC Li-ion battery production, and (2) the fact that these metals are currently produced at a huge cost in terms of environment, health and safety, CICERO puts in place a sustainable, cost-effective refining model for Ni, Co and Mn, and the downstream conversion into “made-in-Europe” NMC cathodes. The CICERO project is the first ever to develop a circular hydrometallurgical Ni, Co & Mn processing/refining scheme that uses methanesulphonic acid (MSA) – a commercial, green, REACH-compliant & affordable acid – rather than H2SO4. CICERO recovers, refines and converts Ni, Co and Mn from domestically available secondary raw materials: (a) post-mining raw materials (sulphide & laterite tailings) and (b) Ni/Co/Mn-bearing intermediates incl. MSP, FeNi, Ni-matte and Mn-anode sludge. To achieve this, CICERO develops a suite of novel metallurgical unit processes for advanced MSA leaching and solution purification, the conversion to battery-grade MSA salts, and the synthesis of NMC cathodes in MSA media, with sound reagent regeneration & iron recovery in line with the Twelve Principles of Circular Hydrometallurgy. This research is supported by advanced thermodynamic & kinetic modelling for solid-liquid & liquid-liquid equilibria relevant for Ni/Co/Mn processing/refining in MSA media. CICERO introduces a new paradigm for metallurgical processing/refining and increases society’s acceptance of, and trust in, sustainable CRM production in Europe.

The European Union has underexploited potential to produce critical raw materials (CRM) and special metals, as stated in the Study on the EUs list of Critical Raw Materials (2020). Concretely, the battery sector is considered as a key strategic sector for the EU due to the increased use of batteries in different important sectors such as electric mobility. Thus, METALLICO proposal presents a new opportunity for the European Union. It is composed by an strategic consortium along the value chain, including mining and industrial sites with primary and secondary sources of critical and battery metals (Li, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni); experienced partners to pilot novel processes for producing battery-grade materials based on previous projects and activities; industrial and SME end-users in the battery, cement, paint, and ceramic sectors; and partners to demonstrate the social-license-to-operate (including the support of government bodies), sustainability and commercial chances that the solution represents. Worldwide, these battery metals are predominantly in Chile, Australia, South Africa, China, and The Democratic Republic of Congo, representing a high risk for the EU in terms of supply shortage. For example, in the case of Li, the EU import reliance is 87% for lithium concentrates and 100% for refined compounds as there is no domestic refining . METALLICO includes 4 cases studies in the EU to recover: battery-grade Li2CO3 from a primary spodumene/lepidolite/petalite deposit; Co concentrates and battery-grade CoSO4 from a mine secondary resource (CLC); and Cu, Co, Mn, and Ni concentrates from metallurgical slag from a Pb refining company (KHGM) and secondary mine tailings (THARSIS). Upscaling of sustainable and innovative upstream and downstream processes will demonstrate the techno-economic recovery and production of these critical and important metals for the EU.