CLEARNESS
Circular recovery and reuse of critical metals for high-temperature fuel cells and electrolyzers
Consortium:
- Warsaw University of Technology (Coordinator, Poland);
- University of Aveiro (Portugal);
- Fuel Cell Poland (Poland);
- Eskisehir Technical University (Turkey).
CLEARNESS advances circular economy solutions for high-temperature electrochemical devices. By combining low-cost physical separation with materials engineering, the project aims to recover valuable metals (including noble and rare earth elements) from spent cell components and reintroduce them into new electrodes for molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) and molten carbonate electrolysis (MCE).
Concept: from end-of-life cells to new components
Work packages and data flow
Highlights
- Recycling route based on disassembly, shredding/milling, and magnetic and electrostatic separation.
- Characterization and post-processing of recovered fractions to restore activity and transport properties.
- Electrode fabrication and electrochemical testing in MCFC and MCE under relevant operating conditions.
- Sustainability quantified through life cycle assessment (LCA) and exergy-based optimization.
Work streams
- WP1 – Characterize reference and recycled materials; define post-processing guidelines.
- WP2 – Design and validate the recycling process and pilot-scale installation.
- WP3 – Integrate recovered materials into cell components and validate performance via electrochemical testing.
- WP4 – Perform process optimization and life cycle sustainability assessment.
- WP5 – Project management, dissemination, and exploitation planning.