The General Director of the CDTI visits the Técnicas Reunidas Technology Centre to analyse advances in rare earths, green hydrogen and CO2 capture

• The main objective of the meeting has been to obtain first-hand knowledge of the Spanish company’s research into rare earths and other critical raw materials, green hydrogen, CO2 capture and circular economy.
• Special attention was paid to several technologies that Técnicas Reunidas already has in the market for the recovery of rare earths (RARETCH), zinc (ZINCEX) or phosphorus (PHOSALIFE), as well as others that are in the final stages of development, such as recycling electric car batteries (RECYCLION) or the recovery of materials from photovoltaic installations.
• Several R&D projects that the company is developing through CDTI programmes in areas such as rare earths (MINETHIC) or the reuse of materials from solar installations (SUNRISE) were also analysed, as well as some EU projects, such as the production of permanent magnets (PERMANET), led by Técnicas Reunidas. 
• In the last 15 years, Técnicas Reunidas has participated in more than 30 projects under the programmes that the CDTI makes available to the Spanish industry, thus considering the CDTI an essential partner for its technological development.

José Moisés Martín Carretero, General Director of the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), has visited today the facilities of the Técnicas Reunidas’ Technological Centre in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid) with the main objective of getting first-hand knowledge about the researchs that the Spanish company is carrying out on rare earths and other raw materials, green hydrogen, CO2 capture and circular economy.

The General Director attended the meeting together with by Paloma Calzas, Head of the Industrial Technologies Department of the CDTI. 

On behalf of Técnicas Reunidas, they were received by Javier Limpo, Corporate Director of Development of Own Technologies, and María Frades, Deputy Corporate and Technological Innovation Area Director of the company.

The agenda of the event included a meeting between the representatives of the CDTI and Técnicas Reunidas, as well as a detailed visit to the more than 5,000 m2 of facilities of the company’s Technology Centre.

At the meeting, main attention was paid to the advances made by Técnicas Reunidas in rare earths and other critical raw materials, green hydrogen, CO2 capture and circular economy. These advances have led to some technologies that are already on the market and some others that are in the final stages of development. 

Many of them have been possible thanks to the collaboration of the CDTI. In the last 15 years Técnicas Reunidas has participated in more than 30 projects under the programmes that it makes available to the Spanish industry.

Main technologies and R&D projects

Among the technologies of Técnicas Reunidas that are already in the market, the meeting paid particular attention to RARETECH, which allows rare earths to be obtained from minerals and which is bidding for tenders in Spain, South Africa and Australia; ZINCEX, already implemented in the United States, Japan and Europe for the recovery of zinc from waste; and PHOS4LIFE for the recovery of phosphorous from the ashes produced by the incineration of sewage sludge, which has been selected for an industrial plant in Switzerland.

Regarding the technologies that are in the final phase of development, RECYCLION, which facilitates the recycling of electric car batteries to manufacture new batteries; the second line of RARETECH for the selective recovery of rare earths, as well as others initiatives related to the recovery of metals and raw materials from photovoltaic panels, the generation of green hydrogen through electrolysers or the capture of CO2, were addressed.

With respect to the R&D projects that Técnicas Reunidas is undertaking in collaboration with the CDTI, the participants analysed, among others, those that are being developed within the framework of the MISSIONS programme, such as MINETHIC, whose objective is to recover rare earths and other critical materials; EFISOEC, to generate green H2; Hy2DEC, for the production of green H2 and CO2 capture; and SUNRISE, to reuse materials from photovoltaic installations. The EU project led by Técnicas Reunidas to create the first complete European value chain for the production of permanent magnets (PERMANET) also deserved special attention.  

As regards the visit to the facilities of the Technology Centre, particular attention was devoted to the pilot plants for the recovery of rare earths and other critical raw materials, the prototypes for the production of green hydrogen and several circular economy projects. 

The R&D laboratories related to critical raw materials and rare earths, green hydrogen, CO2 capture and circular economy were also shown, and the analytical services research laboratory and other pilot plants, where the techno-economic viability of the technologies under development is tested, were also a matter of interest.