The CROCODILE project was presented in the session on “Circular Manufacturing and Sustainability” at the Manufuture Conference 2019 in Helsinki (Oct. 1, 2019). Teresa Sessa of RELIGHT introduced the attendants to the project in her address on the “Recovery of key-metals from WEEE in circular economy”. The CROCODILE project was presented as a best practice on innovative strategies and integrated leading technologies to recover key metals (as cobalt).
The MANUFUTURE 2019 Conference on Sustainable Smart Manufacturing was held on October 1st in Helsinki. This year, the ManuFuture conference was exceptionally part of a 2-days event, the European Days for Sustainable Circular Economy, which aims to promote a low-carbon, climate resilient circular economy. The Manufuture 2019 conference builds a bridge between the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme and the new Horizon Europe research and innovation Framework Programme, discussing among other things the effects of the structural changes between these frame programmes on the European manufacturing related cooperative research and innovation, and offering time-wise a good opportunity to discuss the priorities of main industrial sectors, and the needed actions at European, national and regional levels.
Discussion themes were developed in different sessions:
- Artificial Intelligence – Research and Innovation Needs for the Industry;
- Circular Manufacturing and Sustainability
- Manufacturing Europe: Towards an EU-Innovation and Education Systems for Manufacturing and the Society;
- Emerging and Disruptive Technologies in Manufacturing.
In the session “Circular Manufacturing and Sustainability”, Teresa Sessa (R&D Manager at Relight srl) discussed the topic “Recovery of key-metals from WEEE in circular economy”, presenting the H2020 CROCODILE project as a best practice in terms of “right technologies for right Manufacturing challenges/opportunity”.
The CROCODILE project is a perfect study case of integrated leading technologies for Cobalt recovery: different Co-bearing sources (like Lithium batteries, Electric Vehicle-batteries and cobalt catalysts) are processed into a high-quality cobalt concentrate by applying a unique combination of advanced mechanical, wet mechanical and pyro-metallurgical process. This project aims to drastically reduce the supply risk of cobalt for the European industries by increasing the efficiency of key-metals recovery process.
(Teresa Sessa, Italy, 04.12.2019)