SOLVOMET R&I Centre

SOLVOMET is KU Leuven's Research & Innovation Centre that develops new and/or optimises existing hydrometallurgical unit processes and (circular) flowsheets. We offer the global mining and metallurgical industry both short-term contract research projects (3-12 months) and long-term, framework agreements (multiple years). Energy-transition metals SOLVOMET focuses on novel metal extraction and purification processes for the so-called “energy-transition metals’. These are metals such as lithium, cobalt and rare-earth elements, which are all instrumental in driving the transition to a climate-neutral society. The SOLVOMET approach SOLVOMET goes beyond a basic, trial-and-error methodology to develop or optimise hydrometallurgical flowsheets. Instead, SOLVOMET combines experimental testing on lab/mini-pilot scale with detailed feed characterisation, thermodynamic and kinetic modelling, and a deep, molecular understanding of metal extraction mechanisms. Circular hydrometallurgy? SOLVOMET recently postulated the “Twelve Principles of Circular Hydrometallurgy” (Binnemans & Jones, Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy 9(1) (2023) 1-25)). Circular hydrometallurgy refers to the area of hydrometallurgy that focuses on the design of energy-efficient flowsheets or unit processes that consume a minimal amount of reagents and produce virtually no waste. It entails a different way of thinking about how hydrometallurgy is practiced, both for primary mining and recycling processes. Circularity refers to the regeneration and reuse of all the reagents in a process. SOLVOMET uses these 12 principles to design metallurgical unit processes and integrated flowsheets, in close collaboration with its industrial partners. SOLVOMET is part of Belgium's leading university, i.e. KU Leuven.