CIsTEMEEC - Industrial Value Chain, Energy Transition, Electric Mobility and Circular Economy

The CISTEMEEC project aims to expand three of these industrial sectors in Wallonia, supported by the growth of the electric mobility and energy transition sectors:

Li-ion battery recycling. At present, these batteries are collected and sold at negative cost to treatment centers outside the Walloon Region.

The copper sector, as copper is one of the main vehicles for the electrification of our societies.

The rare earth elements contained in the permanent magnets of electric motors and lost in the flow of scrap metal to the steel industry.

The extension of these value chains is based on a series of innovations and technological breakthroughs developed by the consortium's partners during previous regional and European research projects. They offer local industrial players a competitive edge in these markets and a positioning towards the production of high value-added products.

CISTEMEEC is one of 18 projects selected under Reverse Metallurgy+, a strategic portfolio funded with €113 million by the Walloon Region in the fields of “low-carbon industry” and “circular economy”. The project is expected to help create nearly 2,500 direct and indirect sustainable jobs. It also deploys advanced robotic sorting and smart sensor technologies, co-developed with the University of Liège.