The Helmholtz Association awarded Dr. Lukas Körber and Dr. Anna Vanderbruggen its doctoral prizes in the fields of mat­ter and energy in Berlin on Monday, April 29. They received the prizes for their outstanding doctoral theses, which they completed at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology at HZDR. In her research approach, Vanderbruggen uses a proven method to return the graphite from used batteries, which has hardly been recycled to date, to the material cycle. Körber's work contributes to a deeper understanding of magnetic spin waves, which are significant for various future ­techno­logies. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros. Additionally, the Helmholtz Association supports stays abroad of up to six months with a monthly grant of 2,000 euros.

Lithium-ion batteries have become an integral part of e­veryday life. The number of used batteries is correspondingly high. They contain considerable amounts of important raw materials such as graphite. Recycling this mineral for being reused for new batteries with the same performance is an important goal. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm and the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have now demonstrated that a graphite recycling technology is successful as intended. In tests, the purified graphite showed excellent capacity retention com­parable to pristine commercial anode-grade graphite.

The Cen­ter of Interface Studies (CIS) is a joint initiative of three HZDR institutes by combining the top-notch interface sciences competence: Helmholtz-Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), Institute of Fluid Dynamics (IFD) and Institute of Resource Ecology (IRE). The kick off event gives an initial insight into the planned joint research.

The BHT - FREIBERGER UNIVERSITÄTSFORUM serves the professional exchange between science, economy and society. In se­veral specialist colloquia, participants discuss issues relating to resource extraction and processing, and they learn about current research from all faculties. The recomine alliance will present itself in a specialist colloquium on June 5, 2024.

One of the challenges confronting our society today is the sustainable use of our resources. The concept of a circular economy, in which products, materials and componen­ts are reused and recycled within a loop, thus generating hardly any waste, is intended to meet this challenge. In order to reco­ver raw materials of all kinds (e.g. rare earth elements) in an energy-efficient and function-preserving way, it is necessary to develop a new generation of adaptive and flexible ­techno­logies and digital platforms for the processing and recycling. FlexiPlant will be a globally unique research infrastructure, to develop and test scientific models, methods and ­techno­logies for the mechanical processing of raw material in a pilot scale. The digitalization and automation of the processing system are required for transferring the processes to industrial scale. As an open transfer platform, FlexiPlant will provide a variety of research and cooperation opportunities for interested partners from academia, industry and society.