Key Enabler for a Sustainable Circular Economy of Minerals and Metals
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. The institute is a constituent part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. It researches within the Materials and Technologies for the Energy Transition Program of the Helmholtz Association. HIF works in close collaboration with TU Bergakademie Freiberg and is a core member of the European EIT RawMaterials network.
News and Events
Critical raw materials from electrolysers back into the cycle: Researchers succeed in recycling functional materials for hydrogen production
Hydrogen plays a central role in the energy transition. The gas is mainly produced with the help of electrolysers. This process requires critical raw materials such as platinum group metals, rare earths or nickel as catalysts. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), an institute of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), have now been able to recover these functional materials using innovative flotation processes and liquid-liquid particle separation, thus returning them to the material cycle. The research is part of the H2Giga lead project of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), which is investigating the longevity and recyclability of hydrogen electrolysers.
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ReMining Conference: August 27 - 29, 2025 in Freiberg
An event organized by the Wir! alliance recomine with exciting keynotes, project results from the alliance and interesting excursions in Freiberg and the Ore Mountains.
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Freiberg Short Course in Economic Geology, 1 - 5 December 2025
The Freiberg Short Course in Economic Geology celebrates its 20th anniversary and will pay tribute to the ore deposits of the Variscan orogeny with the topic: Mineral Systems and Metals Endowment of the Variscan Orogeny. The event will be held at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology.
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Research Highlight
FlexiPlant - The research infrastructure for the recycling 4.0
One of the challenges confronting our society today is the sustainable use of our resources. To recover raw materials energy efficiently we strive to develop a research infrastructure that serves as platform for a new generation of adaptive, flexible, and digital technologies for the processing and recycling.
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