CICERO Project

🎞️ "Not In My Country: Serbia's Lithium Dilemma", coming soon to theatres all over the world. A new SIM2 KU Leuven / STORYRUNNER documentary. Distributed by Journeyman Pictures. Watch the trailer here: https://lnkd.in/eQkFkZah The Serbian protests that have erupted against a Lithium mine needed to power Europe's EVs Is Serbia merely an EU mining colony, sacrificing its environment so wealthy Europeans can drive oversized electric vehicles? Or is the Serbian population the target of a hybrid Russian warfare campaign designed to hinder Serbia’s EU Membership aspirations? “Not In My Country” is a story about the massive protests in Serbia over the opening of what would be the largest #lithium mine in Europe. The mine will destroy nature and agriculture the demonstrators claim. Environmental scientist Peter Tom Jones is intrigued and travels to Serbia’s #Jadar Valley, where the underground mine would come. There, he discovers that Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the world, is under threat. This documentary is a story about local and national protests, about the metals we need to fight #climatechange, and about distrust and disinformation. 🎬 Featuring Ne Damo Jadar and other local citizens in the Jadar valley; University of Belgrade’s Jelena Vasiljevic; Rio Tinto chief executives & experts (Marijanti Babic, Chad Blewitt, Sinead Kaufman), ElevenEs’s CEO Nemanja Mikac, Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, T&E's Julia Poliscanova (she/her), German MEP Hildegard Bentele, and anonymous Serbian political experts. While including footage from Dragana Djordjevic and several other Serbian opponents. PROMETIA BATTERY 2030+ International Lithium Association (ILiA) EIT RawMaterials KU Leuven Watch the trailer here: https://lnkd.in/eQkFkZah

"Not In My Country" to be distributed by Journeyman Pictures! https://lnkd.in/ess7JZ7b. Massive news given the global reach of this widely respected documentary distributor. “Not In My Country” is a story about the massive protests in Serbia over the opening of what would be the largest lithium mine in Europe. The mine will destroy nature and agriculture the demonstrators claim. Environmental scientist Peter Tom Jones is intrigued and travels to Serbia’s Jadar Valley, where the underground mine would come. There, he discovers that Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the world, is under threat. This documentary is a story about local and national protests, about the metals we need to fight climate change, and about distrust and disinformation. WATCH ON OUR WEBSITE: https://lnkd.in/ess7JZ7b 🎬 Featuring Ne Damo Jadar and other local citizens in the Jadar valley; University of Belgrade’s Jelena Vasiljevic; Rio Tinto chief executives & experts (Marijanti Babic, Chad Blewitt, Sinead Kaufman), ElevenEs’s CEO Nemanja Mikac, Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, T&E's Julia Poliscanova (she/her), German MEP Hildegard Bentele, and anonymous Serbian political experts. 🎬 Funding: SIM2 KU Leuven & KU Leuven 🎬 Director: Stijn van Baarle (STORYRUNNER), Presenter: Peter Tom Jones (SIM2 KU Leuven), Cameramen: Michael Van de Velde & Jochen Maes; Sound technicians: Casimir De Kimpe, Jeroen De Vriese; Editor: Jasper Vander Elst. 🎬 EIT RawMaterials, PROMETIA, BATTERY 2030+, International Lithium Association (ILiA) CIRAN (CrItical RAw materials extraction in enviroNmentally protected areas) Eurometaux (European Metals Association) Euromines IMA-Europe (Industrial Minerals Association - Europe) IRTC | International Round Table on Materials Criticality #criticalrawmaterialsact #mining #refining #slo #lfp #europeanunion https://lnkd.in/ess7JZ7b

🎧 The new CIRAN #Podcast series “Reconciling Two Societal Needs: Resource Extraction and Nature Conservation” is surely a great addition to your to-do's list for the winter break! ✔️ ❄️ In case you have missed it, the CIRAN project 🌱 ⛏️ 🌍 has been launching a new episode every second Tuesday, all of them available from the PodBean App or website so that you can listen to them anytime from wherever you get your podcasts! 🎙️ - Also during the holidays! You will find all episodes on the CIRAN website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dA5Kff7D & on YouTube 💻 https://lnkd.in/edTiwgSz 👉 Here's a preview from Episode 2 with Jorge Cristino (Former EDM - Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro, S.A. Board Member) addressing: ✔️ Circular economy, through recycling and reuse actions ✔️ Minimising resource consumption ✔️ Mitigating environmental impacts related to CRM extraction and processing & Listen to E2 for more! 🎧 https://lnkd.in/dbm7twzS International Raw Materials Observatory alda* - European Association for Local Democracy Generator+ Consulting LPRC - La Palma Research Centre MacCabe Durney Barnes Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) / Geologian tutkimuskeskus (GTK) Vitor Correia W. Eberhard Falck Anita Stein Luís Rosendo Helena Robert i Campos

📣 Join the Capacity Building #Webinar 💻 organised by the CICERO Project and Horizon Europe LITHOS to know more about: ✅the production of #lithium hydroxide from alkaline leaching process of -#spodumene concentrate ✅ the role of #MSA and its use for the crystallization of #battery #metals ✅ the importance of #LCA in #mining and #metallurgical projects ✅ Methane sulfonic acid as a versatile and sustainable acid 🗓️ 15 January ⏱️ 9:00 - 13:00 CET Register before 14.01.2025: https://lnkd.in/eZjt36ay #batteries #circulareconomy #climateneutrality

The Cluster Hub “Production of raw materials for batteries from European resources” held the 3rd edition of its annual workshop, i the framework of the European Raw Materials Week! 🪨 ⛏️ CICERO Project is one of the projects supporting the Cluster Hub.  Susana XARÁ from the European Commission kicked-off the event by presenting the legal framework, underpinning the sourcing of primary raw materials to the European industry. The CRMA remains one of the major tools to support the transition to the Digital and Green economy, supporting sustainable supply of the needed critical #rawmaterials. SIM2 KU Leuven

📣 CALL FOR PAPERS: #CircularHydrometallurgy A Special Issue for 'Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy' is dedicated to Circular Hydrometallurgy, an area of hydrometallurgy that focuses on the design of energy-efficient flowsheets or unit processes aimed at minimizing reagent consumption and producing virtually no waste. Submission deadline: 1st February 2025 https://lnkd.in/eCgBJ--8 #Hydrometallurgy #MaterialsScience

Wake up Europe! My Euronews video clip about the lithium paradox in Europe, the Rio Tinto Jadar project, the anti-mining opposition in Mina do Barroso in Portugal, the Critical Raw Materials Act and (the delay in announcing) the Strategic Projects, the superior lithium refining and recycling technology we have in Europe (cf. Umicore, Metso) and the need for Europe to wake up to avoid an irreversible decline. Monty Python and football analogies were never far away. I also had the chance to speak about our soon to be launched documentaries "Not in my country: Serbia's lithium dilemma" and "Europe's lithium paradox". In the Q&A session I focused on the importance of complementing fact-based dialogues and reports with new formats that allow for reaching out to the general public in this post-truth, post-Western world. The venue for this interview by Hannah Brown was the Euronews / European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) event "From Ore to Road: The Mineral Race to Electric Mobility" (📅 Thursday, December 5, 2024 - Place du Luxembourg 26, Brussels). Video clip courtesy of Euronews recording. Full recording of event is here: https://lnkd.in/eh7QWGFW Speakers of the preceding panel discussion were: Julia Poliscanova (she/her) (T&E), Javier Felipe Andreu and James Watson (Eurometaux (European Metals Association)). 🎬 Europe's lithium paradox. The making of the documentary... 👉 Our Serbian hashtag #Jadar #lithium adventure: https://lnkd.in/dQsH2uPm [also featured in a separate 50-minute documentary "Not in my country" - trailer to be released soon. Avant-premières from January 2025 on.] 👉 Metso’s unique spodumene-to-LiOH process: https://lnkd.in/es_QYm5P 👉 Our Mina do Barroso adventure: https://lnkd.in/e6abxCht 👉 Demand-side management & constructive environmentalism: T&E's view: https://lnkd.in/e8bMVDqH 👉 Umicore's unique pyrometallurgical #batteryrecycling process: https://lnkd.in/eQTjZdkn 👉 Can the CRMA save Europe? Interviewing Hildegard Bentele: https://lnkd.in/e8juJapa [STORYRUNNER, Stijn van Baarle, SIM2 KU Leuven, Peter Tom Jones] 🎬 "Europe's lithium paradox" explores how Europe could potentially mine, refine & #recycle Li, while lowering primary demand. Featuring Julia Poliscanova (she/her), Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, Sinead Kaufman, Charles Stuyck, Janne Karonen, Thomas Gaultier, Alexandre Lima, Toni Eerola, Hildegard Bentele, Ne Damo Jadar, local citizens & many more. Avant-premiere: March 2025. Crowdfunding: https://lnkd.in/gh_Prrnv KU Leuven PROMETIA BATTERY 2030+Horizon Europe LITHOS Horizon Europe AVANTIS Horizon Europe EXCEED International Lithium Association (ILiA) EIT RawMaterials CIRAN (CrItical RAw materials extraction in enviroNmentally protected areas) Euromines European Environmental Bureau Luc Sels Peter Lievens Isabelle Van Geet Philippe Muchez

I came across two must-read articles from Nature, I believe interesting as Europe continues to debate the merits of LFP vs NMC chemistries. These articles shed new light to commonly perceived advantages of LFP vs NMC: 1.       LFP is lower cost vs NMC: This is true in China (thanks to vertical integration, critical size, cheap access to iron phosphate and innovation), but not valid in Europe; 2.       LFP production bears lower CO2 footprint: While LFP displays a narrower range of CO2 impact, NMC 811 displays comparable footprint when CRMs are responsibly sourced; As said before, both chemistries have pro/cons and can/will coexist. Yet, the more I think about the LFP vs NMC debate the more I believe that this is more a matter of industrial vision rather than anything. If Europe (the US) really wants to develop a robust, local and sovereign EV/battery supply chain, can it rely on LFP? I think not. It is impossible to rival China on LFP. This is a lost battle, let’s face it. It would be wiser to move directly to Na+ for energy storage applications. Does Europe want to establish a sustainable and circular loop model for its European battery supply chain? It then needs to establish a level playing field for battery recycling, with no loopholes favouring LFP. The high recyclability of NMC cathodes (not discussed here) is a strong argument to lower production cost, reduce its environmental footprint and develop urban mining. More details below Cost modeling for the GWh-scale production of modern lithium-ion battery cells: https://lnkd.in/gYdPU-Jr This article runs cell manufacturing cost for a 10 GWh gigafactory located in Germany with various cell formats. It outlines that full, levelized and marginal cost of production for LFP cells, once transposed in Europe, is >4% (ex-recycling) and >5% (with recycling) above manufacturing cost of NMC 811 cells (expressed in USD/kWh). These figures contrast with the commonly shared perception that LFP cells are way cheaper than NMC 811 ones. Carbon footprint distributions of lithium-ion batteries and their materials: https://lnkd.in/gkA9DPND This second article outlines the dominating impact of CRMs sourcing over location when assessing LCI of a battery cell. It displays range of 59-115kg CO2/kWh for NMC 811 and 54-69kg/kWh for LFP cathodes respectively. While LFP arguably displays a narrower range (less CRMs), the article shows that the difference between LFP and NMC 811 is low (5kg CO2/kWh or 10%) when CRMs are responsibly sourced (with room for improvement for NMC 811 with recycling/and reduction Ni + Co LCI). With battery production accounting for c40% of the CO2 footprint of an average EU electric car over its cycle life and CAM accounting for 45-50% of this impact it is essential to minimize the environmental impact of battery cell production through responsible sourcing. #criticalmaterials #evs #batterymaterials #esg #recycling #lithium

Discussing the EU lithium paradox and the question if Europe's battery industry is in an irreversible decline, that's on my agenda tomorrow when being interviewed by Hannah Brown for the Euronews / ACEA event "From Ore to Road: The Mineral Race to Electric Mobility". A critical discussion that will tackle the challenges of securing #CriticalRawMaterials for #EVbatteries. EURONEWS / European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) EVENT 📅 Thursday, December 5, 2024 ⏰ Doors open at 16:00 CET 📍 Place du Luxembourg 26, Brussels 💡 Reserve your spot here: https://lnkd.in/eKkF343F 👉 Other speakers: Julia Poliscanova (she/her), Susana Solís Pérez and James Watson. Guiding questions for me will be: 👉 Why is it important for the EU to have domestic lithium mining and refining? 👉 Why is it so difficult to start recycling lithium-ion batteries? 👉 The CRMA will earmark certain lithium projects as strategic projects for the EU. Will this strategy work? 👉 A lot of Serbs say: “if the rich Europeans want to drive around in oversized #electricvehicles, let them mine their own lithium”. Do they have a point? 👉 Are Europeans hypocritical if they want LIB-powered EVs but they don’t want lithium mines in Europe? 👉 Lately we are seeing disturbing news about the made-in-Europe (Li) mine-to-battery/EV value chain (cf. major problems at Northvolt, scrapped/postponed plans for new Li refineries and battery recycling plants). Are we not missing a more concerted, hard-hitting industrial strategy in Europe to counteract the US and Chinese approaches (cf. Ann Mettler)? 🎬 Europe's lithium paradox. The making of the documentary... 👉 Our Serbian #Jadar #lithium adventure: https://lnkd.in/dQsH2uPm [+ documentary "Not in my country"] 👉 Metso’s unique spodumene-to-LiOH process: https://lnkd.in/es_QYm5P 👉 Our Mina do Barroso adventure: https://lnkd.in/e6abxCht 👉 Demand-side management & constructive environmentalism: T&E's view: https://lnkd.in/e8bMVDqH 👉 Umicore's unique pyrometallurgical #batteryrecycling process: https://lnkd.in/eQTjZdkn 👉 Can the CRMA save Europe? Interviewing Hildegard Bentele: https://lnkd.in/e8juJapa 🎬 "Europe's lithium paradox" explores how Europe could potentially mine, refine & #recycle Li, while lowering primary demand. Featuring Julia Poliscanova (she/her), Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, Sinead Kaufman, Charles Stuyck, Janne Karonen, Thomas Gaultier, Alexandre Lima, Toni Eerola, Hildegard Bentele, Ne Damo Jadar, local citizens & many more. Avant-premiere: March 2025. Crowdfunding: https://lnkd.in/gh_Prrnv KU Leuven PROMETIA BATTERY 2030+Horizon Europe LITHOS Horizon Europe EXCEED SIM2 KU Leuven International Lithium Association (ILiA) International Energy Agency (IEA) EIT RawMaterials CIRAN (CrItical RAw materials extraction in enviroNmentally protected areas) Eurometaux (European Metals Association) Euromines European Environmental Bureau

Will the Critical Raw Materials Act save Europe (in terms of its #lithium mine-to-battery supply chain strategy)? For the final Part (VI) of “The making of Europe’s lithium paradox” we traveled to the European Parliament to interview the German MEP Hildegard Bentele. Bentele has been instrumental in developing and finetuning the CRMA on behalf of the #europeanparliament. She is also a member of #CRMBoard that needs to decide which projects will be announced as “Strategic Projects for Europe”. In this short report I’m happy to provide some of the questions addressed to Bentele. For Bentele's exciting answers one will need to wait until the release of the film 🎞️ later in 2025: 👉 Why is it important for the EU to have domestic lithium mining and refining? 👉 The CRMA will earmark certain lithium projects as strategic projects for the EU. Will this strategy work? How many lithium mines will be open in Europe by 2030? 👉 A lot of Serbs say: “if the rich Europeans want to drive around in oversized #electricvehicles, let them mine their own lithium”. Do they have a point? 👉 Are Europeans hypocritical if they want LIB-powered EVs, smart phones and laptops but they don’t want lithium mines in Europe? 👉 Lately we are seeing disturbing news about the made-in-Europe (Li) mine-to-battery/EV value chain (cf. major problems at Northvolt, scrapped/postponed plans for new Li refineries and battery recycling plants). Are we not missing a more concerted, hard-hitting industrial strategy in Europe to counteract the US and Chinese approaches (cf. Ann Mettler)? 🎬 Europe's lithium paradox. The making of... 👉 Our Serbian #Jadar #lithium adventure: https://lnkd.in/dQsH2uPm [+ documentary "Not in my country"] 👉 Metso’s unique spodumene-to-LiOH process: https://lnkd.in/es_QYm5P 👉 Our Mina do Barroso adventure: https://lnkd.in/e6abxCht 👉 Demand-side management & constructive environmentalism: T&E's view: https://lnkd.in/e8bMVDqH 👉 Umicore's unique pyrometallurgical #batteryrecycling process: https://lnkd.in/eQTjZdkn 👉 Can the CRMA save Europe? Interviewing Hildegard Bentele: this post 🎬 "Europe's lithium paradox" explores how Europe could potentially mine, refine & #recycle Li, while lowering primary demand. Featuring Julia Poliscanova (she/her), Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, Sinead Kaufman, Charles Stuyck, Janne Karonen, Thomas Gaultier, Alexandre Lima, Toni Eerola, Hildegard Bentele, Ne Damo Jadar, local citizens & many more. Avant-premiere: March 2025. Crowdfunding: https://lnkd.in/gh_Prrnv KU Leuven PROMETIA BATTERY 2030+Horizon Europe LITHOS Horizon Europe EXCEED SIM2 KU Leuven International Lithium Association (ILiA) International Energy Agency (IEA) EIT RawMaterials CIRAN (CrItical RAw materials extraction in enviroNmentally protected areas) Sara Matthieu