Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) pursues the objective of developing innovative technologies for the economy so that mineral and metalliferous raw materials can be made available and used more efficiently and recycled in an environmentally friendly manner.

HIF was set up in 2011 by the German government as part of its national strategy for raw materials. It is a constituent part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and works in close collaboration with TU Bergakademie Freiberg. HIF is a core member of the European EIT RawMaterials network, having played a decisive role in its establishment.

The institute belongs to the Energy Efficiency, Materials, and Resources Program of the Helmholtz Association and to the Resource Technology Topic, respectively.

Latest News

SisAl Pilot: A new EU Initiative in the Raw Material­s Field

The main objective of this 4-year project is to demonstrate a patented novel industrial process to produce silicon (Si, a critical raw material), enabling a shift from today’s process to a far more environmentally and economically alternative: in SisAl Pilot quartz in slag is reduced though aluminothermic reduction that utilizes secondary raw materials such as aluminium (Al) scrap and dross, as replacements for carbon reductants used today.

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Excellon partners with HIF

Excellon Resources Inc. and HIF have come to an R&D agreement to team up in the Sil­ver City Project in Saxony, as announced in a press release from 9th June. Excellon will provide HIF with data and drill core samples through which HIF can test developing, cutting-edge exploration ­techno­logies in real time, including hyperspectral analysis of drill core.

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The Circular Economy: Efficient Use of Valuable Resources

From the copper cables to the lithium batteries, metal and mineral raw materials play a vital role in our everyday lives. The demand for these resources in terms of quantity and diversity is increasing, especially for use in renewable energy, electromobility, communications and other advanced technologies. At the same time, however, ensuring their continued availability poses a growing number of global challenges, as mineable deposits tend to be located in inhospitable areas or at great depths, while the ores themselves have low metal content and are often fine-grained and complex in structure.

How can supplies be secured in the long term? An important contribution to the more efficient use of resources can be made by recycling (known as the Circular Economy) and by minimizing loss from the system.

The HIF research team has been drawn from multiple scientific disciplines and has been gathered together under a single roof to look into such issues as the exploration, processing, metallurgy and recycling of mineral resources. By precisely analyzing the properties of raw materials and the valuable substances they contain as well as by means of computer simulation, it is possible to quantify the material and energy efficiency of processes along the value chain and to identify new solutions for the socially responsible and commercially viable use of raw materials.

Our Mission

We are a key enabler for a sustainable circular economy of minerals and metals.

We achieve this by:

• creating and providing fundamental understanding;
• developing innovative technologies and systems;
• quantifying possibilities and limits of the circular economy;
• developing new solutions in collaboration with society, stakeholders and decision makers.

How to Find Us

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology
Chemnitzer Str. 40, 09599 Freiberg, Germany