Sustainable processing and refining of raw materials to produce battery grade Li-ion battery materials (Batt4EU Partnership)

The main goal of this opportunity is to strengthen the EU's independence in battery raw materials by developing innovative business models and enhancing the battery value chain. It aims to boost the EU's capacity to process and refine strategic raw materials, with a target of reaching 40% domestic processing. Focus areas include sustainability, efficiency, resilience, and public acceptance of processing plants. The opportunity also supports the safe, cost-effective, and sustainable production of battery-grade materials such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, manganese, and phosphorus. Only projects involving eligible countries and focused on these themes will be considered.

• Projects must follow the required proposal layout and page limits as specified in the application guidelines.
• Applicants must be legal entities from eligible countries (EU Member States, associated countries, OECD, African Union, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community, or countries with EU strategic partnerships or trade agreements on raw materials).
• Projects must focus on demonstrating cost-effective, safe, and sustainable production of battery-grade metals or active materials from primary or secondary raw materials.
• Mining, mechanical recycling of battery cells, modules, and packs, and integration of electrode materials into cell production are not eligible activities.
• Projects should collaborate with the designated Coordination and Support Action and report results to the European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU).
• Proposals must include plans for scalability, commercialization, and deployment.

Examples:

• A project demonstrating a new process for refining lithium from recycled batteries in an EU country.
• An initiative to produce battery-grade nickel using sustainable methods from secondary raw materials in a MERCOSUR nation.
• A collaboration between African Union and EU partners to develop environmentally friendly phosphorus processing for battery use.

• Personnel costs directly related to the project
• Equipment and materials needed for research and demonstration activities
• Subcontracting necessary for specific project tasks
• Travel and subsistence for project meetings and site visits
• Costs for testing and validation of new processes
• Dissemination and communication expenses
• Costs related to collaboration and reporting to the designated EU bodies
• Project management and administrative expenses
• Expenses for exploitation and scalability planning
• Other direct costs necessary for the implementation of the project

Restrictions: Only costs that fit within the defined lump sum model and are directly linked to the project activities are eligible.

• Budget for this Call: 20.000.000€
• Number of Grants attributed: 2
• Budget per project: 10.000.000€

• Applicants must be legal entities established in eligible countries (EU Member States, associated countries, OECD, African Union, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community, or countries with EU strategic partnerships or trade agreements on raw materials).
• Entities from countries not listed in the eligibility scope cannot participate.
• Proposals must adhere to the specified layout and page limits.
• Projects must focus on eligible activities related to sustainable processing and refining of battery raw materials.
• Collaboration with the designated Coordination and Support Action and reporting to the European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU) is required.
• Proposals must include plans for scalability, commercialization, and deployment of results.
• The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a consortium member, with some restrictions related to communication network protection.