The ENICON consortium participated in the EIT RawMaterials Partner Day 2025, held on 10–11 September in Brussels, where over 300 partners — including more than 40 new members — gathered to shape the future of Europe’s raw materials ecosystem.
Funded by the Horizon Europe programme, ENICON (Efficient, Novel and Innovative Concepts for Nickel Recovery) develops advanced processes for the sustainable extraction of nickel from laterite ores. Nickel is a critical raw material for Europe, essential in clean energy technologies and batteries. ENICON’s participation in Partner Day underlined the project’s contribution to strengthening Europe’s resilience and competitiveness in raw materials.
ENICON’s relevance at the event drove discussions on how its innovative hydrometallurgical and process-intensification technologies can help reduce Europe’s dependence on imported nickel while cutting environmental impacts.
By engaging directly with partners across the raw materials value chain, we are ensuring that ENICON’s solutions will be positioned for real-world application.
Aligning with Europe’s Strategic Goals
EIT RawMaterials marked its 10th anniversary during the gathering, highlighting initiatives such as the Critical Raw Materials Facility and the new Strategic Impact Group Networks (SIGN). These align closely with ENICON’s mission to secure Europe’s supply of critical raw materials through innovation, collaboration, and sustainability.
The event also showcased the importance of skills development through the RawMaterials Academy, an area where ENICON is contributing by training the next generation of researchers and engineers in sustainable metallurgical processes.
A Step Toward 2030 Targets
With fewer than five years until 2030, ENICON is on track to deliver technologies that could make a significant impact on Europe’s strategic autonomy in nickel supply. By participating in Partner Day, the consortium strengthened ties with industrial and research partners, ensuring that ENICON’s results will transition from the laboratory to large-scale deployment.
