As part of its commitment to strengthening collaboration across the European research landscape, the ENICON project has contributed to a joint publication prepared together with coordinators of other EU-funded projects and key stakeholders working in the fields of circular economy, critical raw materials (CRM), and resource optimisation. In this context, ENICON collaborated with the Horizon Europe project HEPHAESTUS. HEPHAESTUS focuses on developing innovative and sustainable solutions for the recovery and valorisation of critical raw materials from complex primary and secondary resources, supporting Europe’s transition towards a more circular and resilient raw materials value chain. A valuable connection between the two projects is provided by Dr. Stylianos Tampouris from LARCO, who contributes his expertise on nickel laterites and their processing within both ENICON and HEPHAESTUS. His involvement in the two Horizon Europe initiatives facilitates knowledge exchange and strengthens synergies between the projects. Dr. Tampouris has published an interesting report, that gives a good overview of the Nickel market in the EU.

Abstract: In recent years, the huge increase in demand for nickel has resulted in a surge in its production levels that exceeded 3.5 million tons and expects to exceed 4.000.000 tons next year. Asia is the most important producer and consumer of nickel. Several countries outside China are promoting the production and use of electric vehicles (EVs) to achieve carbon neutrality but lack the self-sufficiency in raw materials that such a transition requires. Today, available data show that in several regions, including the European Union, current production capacity and primary nickel reserves cannot meet the growing demand for nickel. The only European Union country to produce nickel from its own deposits was Greece, where laterite mining and ferronickel production stopped in 2022, though the recent geo-political situation changes create a new opportunity for the Nickel production in Greece.

The link to the full article: https://irispublishers.com/amme/pdf/AMME.MS.ID.000518.pdf