Producing magnesium metal (Mg) as part of a circular economy loop in Wallonia

ULiège announces its participation in the FREEDOM project for the establishment, in the Walloon Region, of a complete magnesium production value chain from end-of-life products and secondary raw materials from the circular economy.

Liège, Belgium, October, 2025 - The University of Liège is pleased to announce its participation in the FREEDOM regional project for the establishment, in the Walloon Region, of a complete End-of-Life (EoL) refractory materials value chain targeting the production of magnesium metal (Mg) as part of a circular economy loop originating from the regional anthropogenic stock. FREEDOM benefits from funding of €2,625,190 and involves a consortium of four Walloon partners including a university and three research center :

• ULiège (958,416.60 €)
• INISMA (597,956.42 €)
• Centre Terre et Pierre (725,400.80 €)
• CRM Group (343,418.39 €)

FREEDOM is coordinated by the Centre Terre et Pierre (CTP).

Despite a high natural abundance (2.3% in the earth's crust and the third most abundant element dissolved in seawater), magnesium extraction heavily impacts landscapes and ecosystems. Today, around 85% of the Mg and more than 50% of the magnesia exported worldwide come from China, with the other two largest deposits being in Russia and North Korea. In order to reduce this dependence without destroying local natural resources, the major company RHI-Magnesita has developed a magnesium waste recycling value chain and is aiming for a recycling rate of more than 10% by 2025, which would save 1.8 tons of CO₂ per ton of recycled magnesia.

Thanks to its steelmaking activity, Wallonia also has a significant flow of non-recycled magnesium waste. The heart of the FREEDOM project is the development of an innovative process for producing Mg from magnesia and allows each partner to contribute with their specific expertise in an innovative value chain :

• ULiège : Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Sorting and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
• INISMA : Advanced Ceramics
• Centre Terre et Pierre : Hydrometallurgy
• CRM Group : Metal reduction

ULiège : Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Sorting and LCA

ULiège-GeMMe implements the automated sorting breakthrough technology on refractory materials at the end of their life. The proposed sorting technology is based on AI driven data fusion and classification using a unique combination of sensors (3D, color, Transmitted X-rays and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) aiming to optimize the economic and environmental value contained in EoL refractories by maximizing their recycling in high value-added sectors.

ULiège-GeMMe shall also provide alternative reducing agents from the circular economy to be tested in the thermal reduction process in collaboration with the CTP and the CRM (char from catalytic cracking of plastic generated in the LIFE PlasPLUS project and concentrates of carbon/graphite from the recycling of Li-ion batteries studied as part of the CISTEMEEC project of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan).

ULiège-PEPS contributes its know-how in LCA with the analysis of the environmental impacts of the complete value chain of the FREEDOM portfolio. This is particularly important in the sector of magnesium metallurgy where current production methods are particularly energy-intensive and have an impact on the environment.

CTP : Hydrometallurgy

The magnesium preconcentrate generated by ULiège-GeMMe serves as a basis for the work of the CTP which focuses on two axes.

1. The first axis targets the chemical extraction and recovery of magnesium oxide (MgO) contained in EoL dolomitic refractories. These refractories constitute final waste and are usually landfilled as hazardous materials. The extraction of MgO is carried out by an innovative process leading to the production of magnesium carbonate or hydroxide with high added value. The process is energy efficient and has a small environmental footprint. The objective of the research is laboratory scale optimization and the demonstration of its performance at pilot scale using equipment acquired in the MC² - CTP project of the MC² Mineral Circular Center portfolio.
2. The second axis aims to demonstrate a new process for reducing MgO to Mg. It must enable progression in the value chain and the securing of supply in Wallonia and Europe of a key metal for reducing our CO₂ The process has the advantage of higher efficiency than competing processes. Pilot tests will be conducted using equipment acquired in the MC² CTP project (MC² Mineral Circular Center portfolio) to highlight the benefits of the new technology.

INISMA : Advanced Ceramics

The INISMa research center participation is focused on the optimization of MgO produced by CTP for the production of advanced ceramics and targets 2 objectives :

1. Map all suppliers of used materials rich in magnesium, in and outside Wallonia. This work also includes analysis of available EoL materials.
2. Diversify the potential for valorization, by developing a high added value industrial solution and a low environmental footprint which will massively use the pure magnesia obtained through the process developed by the CTP in FREEDOM. For this 2^nd objective, INISMa targets the additive manufacturing of ceramic parts intended for the foundry and powder metallurgy sectors.

CRM Group : Metal reduction

The study and development of the metallic magnesium production process (from TRL3 to TRL5) is carried out on the basis of magnesium oxide produced by CTP and is based on the following stages:

1. First of all, the magnesia will be conditioned in the laboratory then on a pilot scale in the form of self-reducing agglomerates (MgO + carbon) with well-defined characteristics, allowing optimal use in the carbothermal reduction stage. ULiège-GeMMe will also supply alternative reducing agents from the circular economy
2. The carbothermal reduction consists of bringing a bed of such agglomerates to high temperature by electric heating under inert gas to volatilize the magnesium then recover it by an original quenching technique at lower temperature via a collecting metal such as tin (Sn), further allowing its recovery without reoxidation. The optimal operating parameters of this innovative process will be established by the CRM by combining thermodynamic simulation and laboratory tests; this will lead to recommendations and ‘design data’ for the carbon-thermal reduction prototype which will be built as part of the “MC2” ecosystem.
3. The reduction tests performed on this prototype, will enable the production on the order of one to a few kilograms per test of an alloy combining magnesium and its collector metal. Finally, this alloy (typically Mg-Sn) will be purified by vacuum distillation to obtain metallic Mg usable in high value-added applications and products.

European Union and Walloon Region

As part of its cohesion policy, the objective of the European Union (EU) is to correct imbalances between the regions of Europe and to strengthen economic and social cohesion. The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is one of the financial tools of this cohesion policy which supports territories facing major social, economic and environmental challenges in their transition towards climate neutrality by 2050. In the framework of the EU JTF, Wallonia received an envelope of 438.9 million euros including 197.4 million for public projects and 241.5 million euros for private projects for large, medium and small businesses. The public projects selected are subject to co-financing, i.e. funding from the EU, Wallonia and selected operators.

ULiège will participate in the FREEDOM project through two research entities:

1. GeMMe is a research group specialized in georesources, mineral engineering and extractive metallurgy. Drawing on a long tradition of research in the extraction and processing of primary ores, the GeMMe contributes to the development of disruptive processes for the efficient management of mineral and metallic resources through its mastery of characterization, innovative sorting and hydrometallurgy techniques applied to urban ores.
2. PEPS (Products, Environment, and Processes) is a research group active in the fields of (bio) chemical reaction engineering, thermal and mechanical unit operations, process simulation, low carbon energy systems and sustainable development. A major strength of the PEPs group is the capability to tackle problems on very diverse scales from molecular to designing entire processes.

Contact

Philippe GIARO, Senior Research Officer, GeMMe Research Group, ULiège

^{FREEDOM is a FEDER project funded under the European Union’s Just Transition Fund (JTF)}