Green Calcination

Purpose and goal

The project addresses the challenge of transition to fossil-free production of critical raw materials. The Swedish mining and metal industry is considered one of the leaders in production of raw material with low environmental footprint, however in the pyrometallurgical processing of ores and minerals at elevated temperatures (>800°C), that is not the case. The primary objective of the project is to contribute to the energy shift to fossil-free by substituting natural gas used in thermal treatment processes by green electricity or possibly hydrogen.

Expected results and effects

The project is Northvolt´s initiative to fulfill its vision to manufacture the world’s greenest batteries. Processing battery raw materials includes several steps of high temperature calcination. Successful completion of this project will facilitate substantial reduction of process related emissions. It is expected that by having Northvolt setting the example for the implementation of green calcination, other possible end-users who are also committed to sustainability will seek green calcinations.

Planned approach and implementation

This project is a collaboration between Swedish academia and industry involving Luleå technical university (LTU), Northvolt AB, Kanthal AB and Outotec Sweden AB. In order to reach the project goals, both experimental and theoretical investigations will be employed in this project. The experimental works focus on pilot scale calcination tests and material characterization, while the theorical investigations involve CFD modeling of the calciner followed by techno-economic analysis of the green calcination process.