PaNaBat: German-Chilean research project targets sustainable battery materials

The newly launched German-Chilean research project PaNaBat aims to strengthen cooperation in research and education, technology transfer and industrial collaboration for sustainable battery materials, lithium extraction and battery recycling.

The research project aims to establish a foundation for a sustainable circular economy in the European battery market. A key element of PaNaBat is the creation of an information and networking platform linking project partners, companies and research institutions.

In addition, PaNaBat focuses on developing a sustainable circular economy for battery materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and aluminium. The project covers advanced recycling processes with closed material loops and a low carbon footprint, as well as automated battery dismantling, new sorting technologies and efficient material recovery methods. Rather than recovering materials to their elemental form, the aim is to preserve their functional properties wherever possible so they can be reused directly in battery production. Another focus is assessing the environmental impact of new technologies.

The German Federal Ministry of Research is funding the PaNaBat project with €450,000. The project brings together Chile’s Universidad Católica del Norte, Fraunhofer Chile and the German Fraunhofer Institutes for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, for Solar Energy Systems ISE and for Silicate Research ISC. Fraunhofer ISC is also responsible for coordinating the project.