The Cluster Hub “Production of raw materials for batteries from European resources” held its 3rd edition of its annual cluster workshop on Thursday 12 December. The workshop was organised as a side-event of the European Raw Materials Week 2024 in Brussels, Belgium.
The Cluster Hub is a knowledge exchange ecosystem, where partners involved in different European projects (private companies, support organisations, experts, universities and research institutes) identify and discusses common topics related to materials for batteries, as well as synergies that can foster innovations in this field. This platform aims also at driving innovations for the supply of raw materials for battery applications from primary resources available in Europe.
CICERO is one of the projects that participates in the initiative.
The workshop was attended by the European Commission relevant services and by representatives from academia, RTOs the private sector. The KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Materials and Metals – SIM2 – also participated in the workshop. The event started with an overview of the latest adopted legislation in the sector – The Critical Raw Materials Act and the Net-Zero Industry Act, and was following by a presentation on the available R&D funding opportunities at European level.
The two technical discussions, that followed, presented concrete project results on the sustainable sourcing practices for battery materials from primary sources and on advanced recycling solutions for battery material recovery and reuse.
As foreseen in the EU policy framework, in the available EU funding and as revealed by the projects activities, the Critical Raw Materials Acts remains a major tool for securing the sufficient supply of primary raw materials, needed for the Green and Digital transition of the European economy. It currently largely depends on the EU Member States to ensure the timely implementation of the CRMA.
