Innovative eco-efficient processing and refining routes for secondary raw materials from silicon ingot and wafer manufacturing

ICARUS aims to demonstrate modular processing solutions at industrial scale to retrieve 95% of high valuable raw materials from ingot and wafer manufacturing, through eco-efficient processing and refining of industrial silicon, graphite and silica residues and developing industrial symbiosis by providing these materials to other industrial applications. Material closed-loop systems will be implemented to enable a circular economy for silicon ingot and wafer manufacturers, potentially unlocking substantial volumes of raw materials: 9,600,000 MT (metric tons) of silicon, 1,165,300 MT of silica and 64,000 MT of graphite by 2050. ICARUS will set-up 3 innovative industrial pilot-lines to demonstrate the production of silicon-, silica- and graphite-based raw materials: - Pre-treated and purified silicon, silica and graphite products (Resitec) - Granular silicon products with flexibility in silicon qualities, depending on market requirements (Elkem) - Granular feedstock for photovoltaic application (RoSi), for 6 different high-end applications with strict raw material quality standards, to assess the technical and economic viability of these applications: - Hydrogen fuel and silicates (Garbo) - Al-Si alloys (Gränges) - Thermo-electric modules and generators (Magnetti Marelli) - Lithium ion battery cells (Leclanche) - Silicon carbide powders (Washington Mills) - Isotropic graphite (SGL Carbon). The R&D team consists of internationally recognised partners, SINTEF, CEA, INP, UCY and Cidetec, that will support with services for more efficient implementation of innovations developed in the project. Technological feasibility will be assessed by the industry partners, while bifa will carry out environmental assessment and, together with BCC, support assessment of economic and market viability for the ICARUS value chain. Successful industry-wide implementation of targeted innovations could generate silicon raw material with an annual initial market value of 33 million.