Lifthium Energy, a company fully owned by Bondalti and José de Mello, has just become a member of the IPCEI EuBatin (Important Project of European Interest - European Battery Innovation), being the only Portuguese company with a green lithium conversion project to be part of this European consortium.
Following the invitation of the Ministry of Economy and the State Secretariat for Energy and Climate, Lifthium participated in the demanding IPCEI tender in 2023 and its application was approved on January 19.
With this approval, Lifthium is part of a consortium composed of companies from Germany, Belgium, Finland, France and Italy that develops projects inserted in the electric battery value chain. The Portuguese company operates in the field of raw materials and advanced materials.
The technology developed by Lifthium, which consists of refining lithium through electrolysis technology, was decisive in integrating the IPCEI EuBatin. This process will be powered entirely by renewable energies, replacing conventional methods with a larger carbon footprint.
Through this technology, Lifthium intends to become a global pioneer in the use of electrolysis for lithium refining and in the use of precursor materials derived from recycling. In this way, the company intends to assume an important role in meeting the goals established by the European Union and in the preservation of the environment, by allowing the reduction of the extraction of natural resources.
Specifically, Lifthium has the ambition to make the industry more sustainable, reducing carbon emissions associated with lithium refining by more than 50% by 2030, ensuring the sustainability of the entire value chain, prioritizing raw materials that respect the most demanding ESG standards and combating waste in industrial production, thus reducing the industry's environmental footprint.
For Duarte Braga, CEO of Lifthium, “the IPCEI is fundamental to the achievement of the European Union's objectives in such crucial matters as energy transition and sovereignty. Being the only Portuguese company with a lithium conversion project in this consortium is, at the same time, a great responsibility and an added motivation to continue working with the objective of being a world reference in the refining of green lithium”.
