Project title: Recovery of Tungsten, Niobium and Tantalum occurring as by-products in mining and processing waste streams
Funding programme: Horizon 2020
Action type: Research & Innovation Action (RIA)
Duration: 01/06/2019 – 30/11/2023
Overview of the TARANTULA project
Refractory metals like tungsten, niobium and tantalum have special characteristics that make them more durable and resistant than other standard metals. Features include a high melting point, high resistance to corrosion, and good heat and electricity conduction. Despite being classified as critical raw materials by the EC, fractions of these indispensable metals end up in mining waste streams and process scrap.
The EU-funded TARANTULA project aims to recover refractory metals from low-grade waste by developing a suite of cost-effective, scalable and eco-friendly metallurgical processes. Following systematic research activities at a laboratory scale, the new technologies will be brought to technology readiness level 5, and based on performance will be validated at prototype level by TECNALIA. TARANTULA will blueprint tailored Communication, Dissemination and Civil Society Engagement strategies with respect to obtaining and maintaining the ‘Social License to Operate’ for future heavy-duty metallurgical processing.
Project objectives
TARANTULA’s overarching objective is to develop a toolkit of novel, efficient and flexible metallurgical technologies with high selectivity and recovery rates with respect to W, Nb and Ta. As such, the project will promote:
- sustainable annual supply of secondary W at an amount equivalent to 50% of current EU W primary production
- exploitation of Ta content equivalent to at least 120% of EU annual demand
- exploitation of Nb content equivalent to at least 5% of EU annual demand.
Our involvement in the TARANTULA project
PNO Innovation is responsible for the value chain stakeholders analysis, and also provides dedicated support in the strategy development and execution of project communication, exploitation and dissemination activities.
