A world-renowned center of excellence

Based in Trappes, France, Eramet Ideas is staffed by experts who work closely with site-based operational teams. Eramet Ideas has expertise in mining, extractive metallurgy and recycling, and helps to improve the Group’s short-term operating performance, while developing long-term projects in support of the strategic roadmap.

  • Create sustainable value by embracing open innovation to support the Group’s mines, plants and growth projects.
  • Leverage digital transformation, technological agility and mining and metallurgical expertise to drive innovation
  • Be a recognized center of excellence in mining, extractive metallurgy and recycling in Europe and worldwide

A hub of expertise

Open innovation, an engine for growth

Cutting-edge tools

Project incubator

Our research teams work hand in hand with their colleagues in the field on short, medium and long-term innovation programs.

Centenario Lithium

The Centenario project in Argentina is based on a high-performance direct lithium extraction process developed by Eramet Ideas in association with IFP Énergies nouvelles (IFPEN). This process offers a number of advantages over the conventional lagoon process, including double the extraction yield, reduced overall water consumption and a production time that can be measured in days rather than months.

Battery recycling

The ReLieVe project for recycling lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles was launched in the Eramet Ideas laboratories. A demonstrator is currently being built on the Trappes site. The aim is to validate the efficiency and robustness of the Eramet process on a pre-industrial scale.

Sonic Bay

Eramet Ideas’ teams are working on the Sonic Bay project to produce battery-grade nickel and cobalt in Indonesia. Its experts are studying the impact of ore variability on the process, the treatment of residues and the reduction of reagent consumption.

Decarbonation

Eramet’s roadmap for reducing CO2 emissions depends mainly on decarbonizing ferroalloy production. The first lever is the substitution of fossil-based reducing agents by biomass-based reducing agents. Major R&D efforts are being deployed to characterize and understand these new types of materials, assess their durability and production performance, and carry out substitution tests on a pilot and industrial scale.

169
employees (37% women and 63% men) representing 14 different nationalities

3
pilot halls and associated laboratories for mineralurgy, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy

28
subsidized joint projects in Europe since 2016, of which 5 have led to major breakthroughs for the Group while 1 is currently in the process of going into production

150
high-potential Group startups