News & Events

The first International Circular Hydrometallurgy Symposium (ICHS 2024), organised by SOLVOMET – KU Leuven’s Research and Innovation Centre for Circular Hydrometallurgy, will take place in Mechelen, Belgium, between 9-11 September.

Members of the Cluster Hub “Production of raw materials for batteries from European resources”, namely ENICON, EXCEED, AVANTIS, LITHOS and CICERO will organise one session. More information about the programme will be available soon.

Pre-registration available

The Raw Materials Summit is a call-to-action – a platform – for industry leaders, educators and innovative new talent to share their vision for a sustainable raw materials future. The aim is to raise awareness of the critical role of raw materials, exchange knowledge and break down the barriers that delay sustainable value chains.

The event will take place this year at The Egg Brussels, Rue Bara 175, 1070 Bruxelles, Belgium, between 14 and 16 May.

The transition to clean energy means changing how we identify, source, use and re-use raw materials. We are all dependent on a sustainable raw materials supply and need to play an active role in the creation and maintenance of a responsible raw materials sector.

Join Europe’s metals industry on Thursday 18 April, for the launch of a quantifiable, six-part recipe for Europe to deliver Critical Raw Materials Act resilience by 2030. The event is hosted by Eurometaux.

High-level speakers will be debating where, how, and when the next European Commission and Parliament need to act with real ambition for getting Europe back in the global race for clean tech supply chains.

In a turbulent world of subsidies and geopolitics, Europe has to create a best-in-class “industrial kitchen”, so its strategic industries can not only survive, but also thrive – and prospects show potential to ensure European resilience.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Marek Balt, MEP
• Hildegard Bentele, MEP
• Kerstin Jorna, Director General, DG Grow
• Judith Kirton Darling, General Secretary, IndustriALL
• Sara Matthieu, MEP
• Evangelos Mytilineos, CEO Mytilineos
• Julia Poliscanova, Senior Clean Vehicles Director, Transport & Environment
• Peter Tom Jones, KU Leuven

The event will take place at the Autoworld, from 13:30 to 17:00 followed by a cocktail, with a possibility to attend remotely.

In-person places are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

More information

RAWMINA and CRM-geothermal projects, both funded under the Horizon Europe programme and members of the Cluster Hub “Production of raw materials for batteries”, are organising a joint webinar on 12 March 2024, from 10:00 to 11:30 CET.

This collaborative effort embodies the spirit of innovation and cooperation driving European initiatives towards sustainable resource management. Both projects are at the forefront of developing cutting-edge technologies aimed at revolutionising critical raw materials (CRM) extraction methodologies. Utilising advanced techniques such as adsorption and other innovative separation methods, RAWMINA and CRM-geothermal are redefining possibilities in critical raw materials recovery from mine waste and geothermal fluids.

The webinar serves as a platform to delve into the intersecting realms of RAWMINA and CRM-geothermal, facilitating an exchange of insights and discoveries.

Key objectives:

• Sharing Research Insights: Presenting initial research findings and milestones achieved by both projects, offering valuable insights into the evolving landscape of CRM extraction technologies.
• Engaging with the Public: Fostering dialogue and knowledge exchange with stakeholders, academia, industry experts, and the public to cultivate a collective understanding of the challenges and opportunities in CRM extraction.
• Exploring Collaborative Opportunities: Discovering synergies and forging pathways for collaboration with other initiatives like the Cluster Hub and the Raw Materials Helix

Register here

On 19 February 2024, the  EXCEED Horizon Europe funded research project organises the 1^st Capacity Building Seminar.

The seminar will be held online. Three lectures will be given by Prof. Lev Filippov (University of Lorraine), Prof. Valerie Cappuyns. (KU Leuven), Toni Eerola Senior Specialist, (Geologist, Geological Survey of Finland), who are experts in their fields.

The target group of the seminar involves mainly graduate and post graduate students and early stage researchers, however all students and researchers in topics related to EXCEED’s objectives are welcome!

Registration is open by 15/02/2024. Registered participants will receive an email with the workshop’s Zoom link.

Register here

The detailed program is the following:

The Cluster Hub “Production of raw materials for batteries from European resources” is a knowledge exchange ecosystem, where partners involved in different European projects (private companies, support organisations, experts, universities and research institutes) can identify and discuss common topics related to their projects, and to the production of materials for batteries, as well as synergies that can foster innovations in this field.

The initiative to establish a permanent clustering hub appeared first in November 2022, during the 7th edition of the Raw Materials Week, when eight EU-funded projects gathered together for the workshop with the same name: “Production of raw materials for batteries from European sources”. Encouraged by a first successful event, and echoed by the stakeholders’ vivid interest for collaboration, the European Commission welcomed with enthusiasm the proposal to establish a permanent Clustering Hub.

This year’s annual meeting will allow all representatives – counting today no less than 12 projects, to share the preliminary results of their work, address the remaining challenges that all EU initiatives face, and interact with external stakeholders actively interested in the issues and opportunities raised by these projects.

The Cluster Hub’s annual workshop is a satellite event organised within the Raw Materials Week 2023, and it will take place in hybrid format, on 16 November 2023. 

Register here

The ENICON Horizon Europe funded research project, organizes the 1^st Capacity Building Seminar, on the 2^nd and 3^rd of October 2023. The seminar will take place at the Technical University of Crete’s Campus, Greece, in a hybrid format.

The target group of the seminar involves mainly graduate and post graduate students and early stage researchers, however all students and researchers in topics related to ENICON’s objectives are welcome.

The seminar will take place at the Technical University of Crete’s Campus, Greece, in a hybrid format. Four lectures will be given by Prof. Koen Binnemans (KU Leuven), Prof. M. Konsolakis (TUC), Dr. Arne Peys (VITO) and Dr. George Bartzas (ΤUC), who are experts in their fields.

A Zoom link will be provided to the registered participants after the closing of the registration period.

The detailed program is the following:

Register here

The RESPECT project is already in its first year of development, and to celebrate this important corner stone, they organise a launch event. It is time to introduce the project and discover how the RESPECT project is going to drive a positive change and accelerate the transition towards a cleaner, more sustainable world.

The event will take place online on the 5th of October from 09:00 to 12:25 CEST.

In the framework of the launch event, Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA) is going to provide a workshop: „Sharing the best practices and common expertise to improve EU-funded R&I projects efficiency and dissemination results“. Including 2 fruitful Panel Discussions:

1. „Lessons learned from other clusters“ (Collabat, Solid4B (waiting for confirmation) and Battery heroes)
2. “Clustering activities for the projects on Sustainable, safe and efficient recycling processes?” (RESPECT, FREE4LIB, RHINOCEROS (waiting for confirmation))

The 3 Panel discussion “How do R&D projects support the creation of the EU battery value chain and the implementation of the new legislative requirements?” will cover several aspects related to the implementation of Battery Regulation.

Registration link

Project description:

RESPECT project proposes a logistical chain of disruptive, flexible, sustainable and versatile recycling processes that consider the safety aspects of battery opening and deactivation, and utilizes hydrometallurgy or direct recycling, depending on the targeted LIBs to be treated, thereby supporting the next generation of battery materials development.

The vision of the RESPECT project is to contribute to paving the way for increasing global competitiveness, strategic autonomy and circularity of the European battery ecosystem by developing innovative green recycling materials recovery processes, and thus supporting the growing Li-ion battery manufacturing in Europe.

The 2023 Batteries Event will take place in October 10^th-13^th, 2023 in Centre des Congrès – Lyon – France.

After a very successful 2022 event that gathered 750+ participants from the battery industry, the conference’s ambition is to keep growing and welcome more than 900 participants in 2023!

As always, the organisers’ goal is to create the perfect forum where all the battery industry stakeholders will be able to meet, discuss industry trends and best practices – from the battery production to its recycling. More than 90 stakeholders will showcase their products & services with an individual booth.

What happened in the last 25 years?

The Li-ion battery market has increased from 2 GWh to more than 725 GWh! In value, the market for batteries and their components has experienced a strong double-digit growth and several positive factors ensure the fast-growing evolution of the market.

What is Batteries Event 2023’s ambition?

3 days to inspire, learn, understand, inform and share. The objective is to bring together at least 900 people from across the industry (researchers, raw material suppliers, components, manufacturers, consultants, intellectuals …). Over 130+ selected speakers, thematic conferences, 90+ exhibitors, quality networking moments and friendliness are only a few highlights the Batteries Event has in place for the 2023 edition.

More information about the Batteries Event 2023