Partners
Rock Tech Guben GmbH
Rock Tech is a cleantech company developing lithium projects in Germany and Canada. Rock Tech’s flagship project is the Guben Converter in Germany. With the full construction, environmental and operational permit in place, Rock Tech is on track to build and operate Germany’s first spodumene concentrate to battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) conversion plant. The Guben Converter will produce 24,000 tonnes of battery-grade LHM per year, meeting the rising demand in the European electric vehicle (EV) market for high-quality lithium chemicals. The Guben Converter will also be equipped with the capability to process lithium intermediate products like lithium sulfate. The Guben Converter is expected to operate for at least 25 years. By focusing on sustainable processing of lithium, guaranteed supply-chain transparency and traceability, and cost-competitive just-in-time LHM supply, the Guben Converter aims to support the transition to cleaner energy and the increasing demand for electric vehicles in Europe and beyond.
Advanced Minerals and Recycling Industrial Solutions – AdMiRIS
AdMiRIS is an engineering and consulting company, specialized in the fields of energy, raw-materials sector, industrial and infrastructure market. The mission, objectives and strategies of AdMiRIS team is focused on the commercialization of fundamental and applied research activities, development of innovative solutions targeting in sustainable raw materials extraction, processing and utilization, energy saving strategies and industrial processes optimization, providing services such as feasibility studies (quantifying innovation), business plan development, sourcing analysis (primary-secondary applications matchmarking), market and competition analysis. The company provides also life cycle assessment (LCA), cutting-edge services in environmental footprint, eco design, sustainable supply chains and environmental communication by using LCA-commercial software. AdMiRIS employs high experienced engineers, most of them holding M.Sc. or Ph.D. degrees, who have industry-recognized credentials in the fields described and have participated in more than 30 National or EU Research projects in the last decade.
National Technical University of Athens – NTUA
National Technical University of Athens, NTUA, is the oldest and most prestigious technical educational institution in Greece. Over the last 30 years NTUA is actively participating in many national and international research and development projects. NTUA is a Core Partner in EIT Raw Materials. Today NTUA has more than 7000 students, employs 700 persons as academic and research staff and more than 2500 researchers. Currently NTUA is coordinating or participating in more than 65 European projects and the last decade has received more than 400 Μ€ funds from EC.
The Laboratory of Metallurgy (LabMet) has gained considerable expertise and international reputation in the last 30 years in research and development in various fields, like extractive metallurgy, rehabilitation of sites polluted from mining and metallurgical activities, thermodynamic studies of metallurgical systems, mathematical modelling, simulation of metallurgical and environmental protection processes, synthesis of added value materials from mining and metallurgical wastes, networking in the areas of mining, ornamental stones and processing. In the last 10 years alone, LabMet has been involved in more than 40 National and European research projects, attracting in total more than 15 Μ€ in funding and producing more the 300 scientific publications in international journals and international scientific conferences. LabMet currently employs 6 members of academic staff, 5 senior engineers holding Ph. D. degrees and over 15 postgraduate students. The approved research funding of LabMet for the last 3 years was around 6 Μ€.
Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek NV (VITO)
VITO NV (EIT RawMaterials associate partner, Western CLC) is a leading European independent research and consultancy centre in the areas of cleantech and sustainable development, elaborating solutions for the societal challenges of tomorrow: climate change, food security, a sustainable energy supply, the ageing population and scarcity of resources. The VITO’s Coating and Shaping Technologies (CAST) team is the developer of the Li ion sieve material and is committed to further development and upscale to the requirements of the LHM proposed flowsheet for its industrial implementation. VITO develops materials and technologies for separation, recovery and conversion with a specific focus on loop closure, recovery of valuable materials and upcycling of mineral residues. VITO has innovative equipment (up to TRL 8) for shaping ceramic powders into a variety of (porous) architectures. The development of new materials concepts is supported by state-of-the-art analysis tools, allowing a complete view on chemical, structural and architectural properties of the materials. Also, from an application point of view, different setups are available to test the sorption performance, either in static or dynamic column configurations. This combined expertise for material design, shaping and characterization makes a strong ground for the optimisation of the integrated process for lithium extraction and concentration process. This optimization is based on a full characterisation of the adsorption materials (on a chemical, structural and morphological level), and on experimental development and validation of the continuous Li recovery processes. The research team involved in this project has a proven track record both in national and European projects and is strongly involved in industrial research projects.