SEArcularMINE Final Event

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Programme Agenda

Date: 17th May, 2024

Location: Polo Universitario di Trapani, Lungomare Dante Alighieri, 2/4, 91016 Casa Santa TP Trapani, Sicily 

Event Details: Participants will follow the below agenda -

  • 10.00 Coffee & registration
  • 10.30 Main programme presentations and facilitated discussions
  • 13.30 Catered lunch
  • 15.00 Guided tours of the pilot plant and the opportunity to engage with project engineers
  • 17.00 Event closure

 

The Event

TheSEArcularMINE project was built on the ancient and still widely used process of saltworks, where seawater goes through natural evaporation and crystallization in shallow basins. The resulting brine (bittern) contains high concentrations of valuable trace elements. The consortium successfully brought together leading experts from academia and industry to:

  • Develop sustainable and cost-effective technologies that contributed to securing European access to CRMs through a circular processing of the abundant bittern resources, and;
  • Pave the way for further development, ensuring wide adoption and acceptance.

 

The project's final event in May 2024 was an opportunity for participants to enjoy captivating presentations detailing the SEArcularMINE project, participate in enriching discussions led by industry experts, and explore firsthand the innovative Trapani pilot plant, where researchers have been working to recover valuable minerals from saltwork bitterns.

Attendees to this final showcase at Polo Universitario di Trapani had the opportunity to see captivating presentations detailing the project's advancements and breakthroughs, as well as participate in a later tour of the pilot plant location in Trapani. The event kicked off with opening remarks from representatives of local authorities and universities. 

The SEArcularMINE project was introduced by its coordinator Andrea Cipollina, and further project partners then showcased the SEArcularMINE technologies. This included the recovery of magnesium, trace elements, and lithium, as well as the on-site generation of reactants. In total, these presentations detailed the various elements that have since been integrated into the pilot site in Trapani. Additional presentations  provided further insight into the innovation landscape, with speakers from the European Health and Digital Executive Agency of the European Commission and additional, relevant projects recovering raw materials from brine, including SEA4VALUE, WATER MINING and REWAISE.

To conclude the main programme, a panel discussion with industrial stakeholders explored the prospects of minerals harvesting from saltworks and integration of desalination, featuring prominent speakers from companies such as SUEZ International, Siciliacque, Groupe Salins, IPOOL, SOSALT, ResourSEAs, IMIEU, and more. Key discussions centred on market prospects generated from the project and a path to a more sustainable future.

The final, and perhaps most anticipated, element of the event was the guided tours of the pilot plant at the ResourSEAs headquarters in Trapani. This was a unique opportunity for attendees to engage with SEArcularMINE project engineers and see the various technologies utilised in the integrated pilot plant. Overall, participants expressed a great deal of interest in the results of the SEArcularMINE project.