Titanium and Beryllium for European Resilience and Innovative Utilization of Minerals

TiBeRIUM will be a pioneer in unlocking Titanium (Ti) and Beryllium (Be) mineral resources from Kazakhstan (KZ) and Uzbekistan (UZ), paving the way for strategic cooperation with EU partners. It will support the resilience and sustainability of critical EU industrial value chains in digital and green energy transition sectors. Both Be and TI are on the EU Critical Raw Materials list as they are considered critical due to high economic importance and supply risk. TiBeRIUM responds to the strategic interest of the EU industrial competitiveness in line with the Critical Raw Materials Act by developing and demonstrating innovative processes on KZ and UZ mining assets for: a) extraction and processing of Ti and Be resources, and b) direct refining-production of high-value end products such as Be-Ti, Fe-Ti, Cu-Be and Al-Ti alloys and pure metals. The project enables a tangible access to Ti and Be metals for the EU through implementation of novel extraction, processing and metallurgical technologies, supported by digital twins for improved efficiency, reduced environmental impact, and streamlined refining steps. For the Ti value chain, following the digital twins of the extraction phase, TiBeRIUM will demonstrate a breakthrough low-carbon Ti processing from ilmenite and titanomagnetite from KZ and UZ, achieving over 90% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the conventional Kroll process. The innovative process begins with a green hydrogen-based Ti reduction, which will be demonstrated to produce Ti powder and directly Ti alloys. For the Be value chain, TiBeRIUM will develop and demonstrate a novel mineral processing scheme to recover Be from a complex ore (BeO grade 0.1¬–0.3 %) from the Karadzhal deposit (KZ). The obtained high-quality Be concentrate (BeO > 4%) will serve ULBA refinery (KZ) to bring Be alloys/intermetallic compounds qualified by EU-based end-users. TiBeRIUM contributes decisively to the Strategic Partnership Initiative between EU and KZ on critical rm.