Peacoc

Pre-commercial pilot for the efficient recovery of Precious Metals from European end of life resources with novel low-cost technologies

Low-cost, eco-friendly, first-of-its-kind technologies for efficient recovery of gold, silver and platinum group metals from waste. PEACOC technology innovation concept will solve current and future challenges related to Europe's dependence on the import of critical raw materials from third countries. In doing so, it will help diversify the supply of precious metals and improve resource efficiency and circularity, while contributing significantly to the achievement of the ambitious energy and climate targets set in the European Green Deal and promoting sustainability. In this context, Europe is the world's largest consumer of Platinum Group Metals and is becoming heavily dependent on imports, which are essential to its economy.

Targets

The PEACOC project is designed to provide sustainable and responsible industrial solutions, leveraging secondary waste resources in Europe, while reducing the risk of sourcing precious metals. PEACOC technologies should be the first of its kind across Europe. As part of the PEACOC project, the consortium has set itself 7 ambitious goals:
  1.  Creation of a new broad and comprehensive value chain of 19 partners for the production of precious metals from end-of-life products available in Europe that have not yet been recovered and estimated at: ~ 50 t of platinum group metals per year from spent non-recycled auto-catalysts ~ 30 t of gold per year, ~ 10 t of palladium per year and ~ 100 t of silver per year from printed circuit boards non-recycled, ~ 720 t of silver projected in 2030 from emerging photovoltaic waste streams in Europe.
  2. Demonstration of new technologies to address the challenge of effective and efficient recovery of low-quality precious metals from complex waste matrices designed with a waste approach almost zero and a true circular economy mentality. 
  3. Development of the first compact, mobile and modular pre-commercial refining system on a pilot scale with a production capacity of up to 2 kg of metall the valuables per week to expand their recycling activity across Europe. Thus enabling SMEs to exploit the recycling of end-of-life products and untapped resources.
  4.  Design and manufacture of new equipment on a pre-commercial scale for refining precious metals by European SMEs.
  5.  Facilitating investment in new production facilities , potential investors will be able to rent and test the PEACOC solution on a pre-commercial scale, without the need for large upfront investments. 
  6. Support the European Commission in achieving the ambitious energy and climate goals set out in the Green Deal. By demonstrating the use of recovered precious metals as catalysts for reducing emissions and generating clean energy, it will minimize environmental impacts and risks and earn the trust of European communities in the commodity sector. 
  7. Promote sustainability through the development of valorization and recycling strategies of all by-products associated with the recovery of Precious Metals.

Consortium

The Project is managed by a Consortium of 19 partners from 8 European countries and Turkey, represen ting leading organizations and institutions in business, technology and research across Europe. 
The Project Coordinator Tecnalia Research & Innovation (Spain) will oversee the implementation plan of the project of 11 work packages for a duration of 4 years. The Project started on May 1, 2021 and will run until April 30, 2025. 
The partners involved cover the entire value chain to produce precious metals from end-of-life products and waste.

Supported by:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement no 958302.

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