About project
Horizon Europe project HAlMan
The project HAlMan stands for Sustainable Hydrogen and Aluminothermic Reduction Process for Manganese, its Alloys and Critical Raw Material Production. The project is co-funded by the European Union under the grant agreement ID 101091936. The project has started on the first of January, 2023.
duration
partners
partners
represented
The aim of the project
The aim is to demonstrate the HAlMan process for Mn and Mn alloys production in pilot scale. These metals will be further used to produce several tons of Mn-containing commercial steels and aluminum alloys. In addition, the project aims to produce manganese dioxide for battery applications and demonstrate the production of metallurgical grade alumina and commercial cements from process byproducts. The mapping and extraction of Critical Raw Materials, including Rare Earth Elements (REEs), is the other aim of HAlMan.
Low carbon
footprint
Low energy
consumption
No solid waste
generation
Valorisation of secondary raw materials
HAlMan will
develop & test
HAlMan consortium will develop and test a unique process that will ensure more effective and sustainable production of Mn and Mn alloys with various potential applications. For example:
- A new feedstock for the aluminium industry (Al-Mn alloys)
- A greener Mn metal product that can replace electrolytic Mn in different industry
- New Mn ferroalloy products for the metallurgical industries (steel, Aluminum, casting industries)
- Manganese dioxide for the battery industry
- Metallurgical alumina feedstock for aluminium industry (replacing bauxite raw material) extraction of critical raw materials (CRM) from raw materials
- CaO-based feedstock for the cement industry
The main objectives & the implementation process of the project
- Evaluating, mapping and support of Raw Materials
- Bringing the optimized HAlMan technologies to pre-commercial scale
- Demonstrating all valorisation routes for all HAlMan products and by-products through commercial aluminium and iron alloys, and feedstock for metallurgical, construction and battery industries
- Ascertaining the environmental impacts of HAlMan technology, including energy recovery modelling, and HSE analysis
- Establishing business cases and IP management for further process commercialization
- Disseminating project results and achievement to all target audiences, including general public, establish new collaboration and clustering, paving the way to further commercialization
Why this project is important?
About 1.4 million tons of manganese ferroalloys were produced in Europe in 2020, relying on about 1.3 million tons of manganese ore that were imported and 0.6 million tons of manganese ores produced, leading to more than 1.8 million tons of CO2 emissions, which is about 2.5% of the EU metallurgical industries total CO2 emissions.
In 2020, Europe imported about 111.000 tons of are electrolytic manganese and 38.000 tons of electrolytic manganese dioxide. The latter is critical in the years to come for the battery industry, which expects significant growth. In addition, for the next few decades, the EU metallurgy industry will have to deal with a requirement to remain sustainable while maintaining economic competitiveness and maintaining the green course.
“One of the most important outcomes of this project is the strategic foundation for increasing the production of valuable metals via sustainable and resource efficient processes in a European framework. The technology developed in HAlMan will benefit mining, ferroalloys, iron foundry, steel, alumina.”
The coordinator team Prof. Jafar Safarian and Dr, Maria Wallin Researcher at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Expected impact
The success of the HAlMan could bring an important positive impact on the metallurgy sector in Europe
Mn ferroalloys production
- Preventing 1.8-million-ton CO2 direct emission in Europe (per year now)
Mn metal production
- Preventing 0.8-million-tons of direct CO2 emission related to Mn import to Europe (per year now)
- Preventing 0.5-million-ton solid waste generation (per year now)
- Preventing the import of more than 111.000 tons of Mn metal to EU (current market)
Mn-Al alloys production
- Valorizing 70.000 tons Al dross and 500.000 tons of Al scrap from European industry and society in a process with no hazardous waste generation (per year now)
- Establishing an efficient circular economy between ferroalloy and Al industries to run zero waste processes
Alumina
- Producing about 700.000 tons of alumina for the Al industry (current market)
- Reducing the dependence of Europe on about 1.8-million-ton Bauxite ore (a critical raw material) import/mining (current market)
Mn dioxide
- Preventing the import of 38.000 tons of electrolytic manganese dioxide to Europe (current situation)
CRM
- Supplying more than 10.000 tons of CRM to EU (future market)
Project progress and results
The project’s progress and results, including papers, articles, and publications, are available. Discover the main milestones, achievements, and insights the HAlMan project team has gained through the project implementation.
Student involvement in
the project
NTNU is the largest university in Norway and has a prominent profile in science and technology, with about 44000 students. “Knowledge for a better world” is the NTNU vision, and about 400 PhDs graduated from the university, completing their study in various programs. The PhD candidates do research at the NTNU to build knowledge, pave the way for scientific and technological developments, and benefit society. The results of PhD student research will be used to further implement the process on a pilot scale with the consortium partners.
HAlMan team at the first
Kick-off-Meeting
January, 2023, Trondheim, Norway
The first consortium meeting was a great opportunity for all the consortium partners meet and discuss in detail the implementation of the project. 2-day meeting hosted more than 43 participants in hybrid mode.
