Quarts Enrichment Enabling Net-Zero Silicon Production

The project consists of 7 interrelated work packages: WP1 Preliminaries and development planning WP2 Recovery process for quartz WP3 Sustainable silicon production WP4 System validation WP5 Environment and project collaborations WP6 Communication, dissemination and exploitation WP7 Project management and scientific coordination In WP1 relevant European secondary raw materials resources will be mapped out. Overall design of experimental work and interdependencies between between WPs will be worked out. WP2 will develop technologies for quartz recovery from quarry sands, based on better separation for refinement and extraction, using improved flotation and other technologies and more efficient foundry refinement with lower consumption. Increased recovery and improved grade of quartz will be targeted, with reduced usage of chemical reagents by 50%. WP3 will study both the carbothermic (SAF) and the aluminothermic (SisAl) processes for making silicon by the quarry-sand based quartz from WP2. Resource flexibility in silicon production will be studied, and process flowsheets will be selected for demonstration in WP4. In WP4 pilots will be constructed and operated. Environmental considerations and benchmarking versus existing processes will be carried out in WP5. WP6 will deal with communication and dissemination activities, where also the exploitation strategy will be developed, as well as concrete business plans for the most promising innovations.