The 'Horizon' Of A Sustainable World Seen From Mardin

EtiBakır'sMazıdağı Plant has been awarded EU funding for sustainable batteries. EtiBakır'sMazıdağı Metal Recovery and Integrated Fertilizer Plant, the only plant in the world that can produce cobalt from the pyrite concentrate produced in copper production, has become the only Turkish company to receive funding from the European Union for its "Sustainable Technologies to Reduce Europe's Dependence on Battery Raw Materials" project.

Putting R&D activities, the driving force of sustainable growth, at the centre of its production, Cengiz Holding has accelerated its efforts in this area. The EtiBakırMazıdağı Metal Recovery and Integrated Fertilizer Plant, the largest private sector investment in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions with an investment of USD 1.2 billion, was one of the 19 international companies in the consortium that was awarded funding from Horizon Europe's call for proposals for a "Competitive and Sustainable European Battery Value Chain". In the €7 million "STREAMS: Sustainable Technologies for Reducing Europe's Battery Raw Materials Dependence" project, 600 thousand Euros of the €1.05 million budget of EtiBakır, which will produce cathode active material, one of the main components of the battery, with cobalt, nickel, manganese, and lithium compounds, will be covered by this program.

19 ORGANIZATIONS FROM 13 COUNTRIES

Emre Kayışoğlu, General Manager of EtiBakırMazıdağı Metal Recovery and Integrated Fertilizer Plant, said that with this success in the Horizon Europe project, Turkey has assumed an important role in the sustainable production and recycling of batteries, one of the most important issues of the 21st century. Underlining that they are the only facility in the world with the capability to produce cobalt from pyrite, which is a residual product in copper production, Kayışoğlu said, "With the recent increase in the use of electric vehicles, the production and recycling of the batteries in these vehicles has become one of the most important agendas of the whole world. In this context, a call was made from the European Union titled 'A Competitive and Sustainable European Battery Value Chain' to support the 'Cross-Sector Solutions for Climate Transition' target. We are delighted to be the only Turkish company in the consortium of 19 companies and international organizations from 13 countries, including Austria, Australia, Norway, Norway, USA, Ukraine, Finland, Spain, UK, Belgium, and Poland. It is also a source of pride for us to be in the same project with TÜBİTAK RUTE, one of Turkey's most important scientific research institutions."

LITHIUM-ION BATTERY TO BE DEVELOPED

Explaining that battery components will be synthesized from primary and secondary sources and battery waste with sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies in the project, Kayışoğlu continued as follows: "This project aims to develop lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide (NMC) type lithium-ion batteries with high energy density. In the project, we will provide the cobalt, nickel, manganese, and lithium compounds required for the cathode active material, one of the main components of the battery. The cathode active material accounts for approximately 31% of the battery by weight and 51% of the cost."

LITHIUM WILL COME FROM ETHYLENE ALUMINUM

Drawing attention to the 'sustainable' nature of the projects that have become widespread in Europe, Kayışoğlu said that all of Cengiz Holding's group companies have been carrying out these projects for years with 'zero waste' awareness. Stating that with the Horizon Europe project, they will improve the existing cobalt carbonate production process with advanced purification methods and develop battery quality cobalt sulphateheptahydrate, Kayışoğlu continued his words as follows: "We will synthesize new products in the form of battery quality nickel sulphate hexahydrate and manganese sulphate monohydrate compounds by recovering valuable metals such as nickel and manganese, which are present in trace amounts in our existing raw material, pyrite concentrate. On the other hand, we will recover lithium, which is found in trace amounts in the residual product of the bauxite mine processed at the Seydişehir plant of our sister company EtiAlüminyum and synthesize lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in battery quality with advanced purification techniques in Mazıdağı. With the 3-year project, we are very happy to contribute to the sustainable economy of our country and then the world."