BATCircle – Circular ecosystem of battery metals

According to the EU, the European battery market value is forecasted to reach €250 billion by 2025, while the majority of the current lithium ion battery value chain is based in Asia. 

Responsible sourcing and refining of raw materials, the production of active battery materials, and efficient recycling of end-of-life batteries are needed to meet the increasing demand for a sustainable battery materials value chain that supports ongoing energy and mobility transitions.

Finland is an exceptional operating area in the booming battery metals business: a small country with rich reserves of battery materials including nickel, cobalt, lithium and graphite, several metallurgical operators, technological competence and infrastructure, and research center and university research groups recognized by the sector. 

The strength of the BATCircle project is to bring all the key players from the Finnish battery metals ecosystem together to find opportunities for improved competitiveness and new business in a circular economy. 

Six Finnish research organizations and 23 companies are search for opportunities to add value in the battery metals sector from raw materials through refining, and active material production to recycling. The technical work is supported by business studies and in collaboration with a European battery network.

The research organizations in the consortium include Aalto University, the University of Eastern Finland, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, the University of Oulu, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and GTK Geological Survey of Finland. 

Companies include Boliden Harjavalta, Boliden Kokkola, Finnish Minerals Group, Fortum, Fortum Waste Solutions, Umicore, Outotec, Norilsk Nickel, Akkuser, Crisolteq, Fennoscandian Resources, Ima Engineering, Keliber, Latitude 66 Cobalt, Magsort, Mawson, Mine On-Line Service, Elementis Minerals, Suhanko Arctic Platinum, Teraloop, Tracegrow, and FinnCobalt. The cities of Harjavalta and Pori are also part of the consortium.

Contact information: Pyry-Mikko Hannula, [email protected], Project Manager of BATCircle