29/April/2023
With the international seminar "Creating the basis for the sustainable development of lithium in Chile", this Friday was officially presented Lithium I+D+i: Center for Research, Development and Innovation in Lithium Batteries, an initiative formed in 2022 at the Catholic University of the North (UCN) with the purpose of conducting scientific research on technological innovation throughout the value chain of lithium batteries.
The center, financed by the company SQM, a world leader in the production of lithium with high added value, seeks to become a technological development center of reference at the national level and in Latin America, for its contribution to the strengthening of the innovation ecosystem around lithium batteries in the country.
In this regard, the rector of the Universidad Católica del Norte, Dr. Rodrigo Alda Varas, said that "this is an unprecedented event for UCN, since it allows us to establish a shared work itinerary with the company and advance in everything that the lithium battery value chain means, addressing the requirements of this industry with strategic alliances in international centers of excellence and, in this way, strengthen human capacities within the Institution".
José Miguel Berguño, SQM's Vice President of Corporate Services, said: "We are very proud to be part of an unprecedented alliance for the region that seeks to contribute to research, innovation, technological development and human capital formation. As a world leader in lithium production and with concrete sustainability goals such as being carbon neutral in the case of lithium by 2030, we could not be left out of an instance that is key to contribute to enhance the value of one of the region's strategic resources.
The Lithium R&D&I launching ceremony was attended by various authorities, as well as UCN authorities and SQM executives. The activity began with the words of Rector Alda and SQM's Vice President of Corporate Services, José Miguel Berguño. The presentation of the Center was in charge of the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Geological Sciences (FICG) of UCN, Dr. Hernán Cáceres.
The day continued with an international seminar in which two important international experts in lithium development spoke: Andreas Bittner, executive director of the European Lithium Institute and head of New Business Development at Fraunhofer ISC, and Nian Liu, assistant professor at Georgia Tech University, specialist in materials and nanotechnology for high-energy batteries.
Each keynote address was followed by panel discussions with the participation of the regional governor of Antofagasta, Ricardo Díaz; the rector of the Universidad Católica del Norte, Rodrigo Alda; SQM's Vice President of Corporate Services, José Miguel Berguño; SQM's Innovation and Development Manager, the Ministry of Mining's Lithium and Salars Advisor, Gonzalo Gutiérrez; and the leader of Lithium R&D+i, Hernán Cáceres. About Lithium R&D+i The Lithium I+D+i Center: Center for Research, Development and Innovation in Lithium Batteries, was born in the Faculty of Engineering and Geological Sciences of the Universidad Católica del Norte, thanks to a donation of US$8 million given by the company SQM to the University, with the objective of promoting a first level research center in the northern part of the country.
As Hernán Cáceres, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Geological Sciences of the UCN and director of the Center, explains, the Center was created "with the objective of creating a research and development pole for the delivery of technological solutions to multiple challenges related to lithium-based storage systems".
"We hope that this Center will also contribute to promote the formation of research teams and specialized professionals, promoting the formation of advanced human capital in innovation in materials, design, systems, production and recycling of these batteries", he added.
The Center has four lines of research: Materials and battery cells, to generate new materials and design alternatives for lithium batteries that allow the highest efficiency in their operation according to the context in which they are used; Systems and applications, focused on scaling new battery cell designs to evaluate configuration alternatives; Battery recycling, whose objective is to innovate in recycling processes for the recovery of critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium; and Modeling and analysis, a non-experimental field for mathematical modeling of process and network optimization, market analysis and regulatory analysis of the sector.
"The Center's mission is aligned with national and international efforts and actions aimed at expanding and strengthening the use of renewable energies and the massification of electromobility, in order to advance in the urgent process of energy transition that leaves behind the use of fossil fuels and thus joins the global fight against the impacts of climate change," explained the dean of Engineering and Geological Sciences of UCN.
Indeed, electromobility and the generation of electricity from renewable energies are technologies that have gained prominence in the energy transition process. These sectors require technological developments for their storage systems, which must be increasingly efficient and economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. In this sense, research on lithium ion batteries has become fundamental.
Lithium-ion batteries have proven to have significant comparative advantages over other storage alternatives. In the last decade, the market for electric cars and electronic devices has grown exponentially, driving demand for lithium-ion batteries, which has expanded by 500% since 2010.
In addition, it is estimated that by 2030, electric vehicles, along with energy storage systems, electric bicycles, electrification of tools and other battery-intensive applications, will account for 95% of the demand for this mineral. According to the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco), lithium demand is projected to experience a compound annual growth of 21% until 2030.
Academic training associated with the Center
In order to meet the objective of training advanced human capital, the creation of the Lithium R&D&I Center is associated with the creation of a series of academic programs under the Faculty of Engineering and Geological Sciences of UCN, some of which will begin to be implemented in the coming months.
During the second semester, a diploma course on "Lithium production, use and recycling" will be offered in conjunction with the Universidad de Antofagasta. In addition, two postdoctoral researchers joined the FICG, whose research focuses on the design of button-type lithium-ion batteries and the development of more sustainable lithium battery recycling processes.
In order to strengthen the formation of advanced human capital through these academic programs, Lithium R&D&I is in the process of signing several agreements with prestigious international research institutions and universities that are at the forefront of research in the sector, which will provide advice on infrastructure and academic expertise. Among these institutions with which we are working are the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy System (Germany), the Instituto Tecnológico de la Energía (Spain) and Georgia Tech University (United States).
Finally, as part of the strengthening of the Center for the coming years, it is in the process of enabling infrastructure in laboratories and research materials.
"We are carrying out all the necessary actions to consolidate Lithium I+D+i as the largest lithium battery research center in Chile and a reference in Latin America, both for its first class scientific and technological infrastructure, for the quality of its professional training and advanced research, as well as for its contribution to generate high impact technological solutions, making Antofagasta the technological capital of Chile", said Hernán Cáceres, dean of FICG.