More than 50 percent of the world’s lithium reserves are located in Latin America, primarily in the so-called “Lithium Triangle” of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. Extraction currently takes place mainly in Chile’s Atacama Desert using large evaporation ponds. This process can lead to significant water loss and place a heavy burden on the environment—especially in sensitive ecosystems and in regions where water resources are also vital for the local population and agriculture.

Against this backdrop, new, more sustainable, and more efficient technologies—such as direct lithium extraction and closed-loop evaporation processes—are gaining importance; these are being researched, for example, by the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN) in Chile and various Fraunhofer Institutes. The German-Chilean cooperation project PaNaBat aims to jointly establish a resource- and energy-efficient lithium value chain—from responsible raw material extraction through cell manufacturing and further processing to recycling, accompanied by life cycle assessments. Coordinated by Fraunhofer ISC, the project brings together the Chilean Universidad Católica del Norte, Fraunhofer Chile, and the German Fraunhofer Institutes for Thin Film and Surface Technology (IST), for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), and for Silicate Research (ISC).

Plans include a coordination office with branch offices in both countries, a digital networking platform, and a Fraunhofer-UCN cooperation group. An industry advisory board composed of German and Chilean companies—primarily small and medium-sized enterprises—is supporting the project and will play an active role in shaping its implementation as the project progresses.

Fraunhofer ISE, with its Center for Electrical Energy Storage, provides approximately 1,200 square meters of laboratory space for the development and optimization of battery materials, electrode manufacturing, and battery cell assembly for various cell technologies, including electrical characterization, aging tests, and post-mortem analyses. This includes a pilot plant for the roll-to-roll production of electrodes, as well as a highly flexible, semi-automatic assembly line for pouch cells, which operates in an industrial cleanroom. In addition, Fraunhofer ISE has supported UCN in establishing its Center for Research, Development, and Innovation in the Lithium Battery Value Chain.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space.