CROCoDILE

First of a kind commercial compact system for the efficient recovery of cobalt designed with novel integrated leading technologies.

Due to the rapid growth of electric mobility, the demand for cobalt will increase significantly.
Currently, 65% of world cobalt production takes place in the Democratic Republic of Congo and this has led the EC to define cobalt as a highly critical metal. The creation of an EU value chain for primary production and cobalt recovery is therefore of strategic importance. The European project EU H2020 CROCoDILE will create an innovative metallurgical system, based on advanced technologies of pyrometry, hydrogen, bio-ions and electrometallurgy, for the recovery of cobalt. CROCoDILE will demonstrate, thanks to synergistic approaches and the integration of innovative metallurgical systems, the recovery of cobalt from primary and secondary sources existing in different locations in Europe, will improve the efficiency of these processes, improve their economic and environmental values and provide a “zero waste” strategy for cobalt-rich streams such as batteries.