01 · About
BRACE (Battery Recycling for the Circular Economy) is a 24-month EIT RawMaterials upscaling project that brings industrial AI to Europe’s battery recycling plants, turning a decision-intelligence platform proven in mining into a market-ready solution for recyclers.
EIT RawMaterials · Upscaling
Jan 2026 – Dec 2027
Coordinator: IntelliSense
Overview
IntelliSense’s brains.app is a decision-intelligence platform for mining and refining, with 26 installations on four continents at customers including Anglo American, Glencore, Rio Tinto, Collahuasi and CSN. It has delivered a €96.74 M increase in net-metal production, a 16% reduction in chemicals and 3.5 GWh of energy savings.
IntelliSense has already invested more than €1.1 M in reconfiguring brains.app applications into BRACE, an AI platform for battery recyclers that has reached TRL 5–6. The project adds two new components, Materials Tracking & Influence (MTI) and brains.VOS, and deploys the complete platform at Sunlight’s lithium battery recycling pilot plant in Greece.
The result: a closed-loop decision-intelligence system for real-time operational control and strategic planning, validated at industrial scale and ready for Europe’s fast-growing recycling market.
Project facts
Full title
Battery Recycling for the Circular Economy
Acronym
BRACE
Funding
EIT RawMaterials · Acceleration (D2.2 Upscaling)
Project no.
25276
Duration
24 months · Jan 2026 – Dec 2027
Coordinator
IntelliSense
Pilot site
Sunlight Group, Xanthi (Greece)
Objective
Closing materials loops
Lighthouse
Circular Societies
Value chain
Batteries · battery metals
The challenge
Battery recyclers process feeds that change with every delivery. BRACE targets the operational issues that make stable, efficient metal recovery so hard to achieve.
<5%
of lithium-ion batteries are recycled today
versus around 99% for lead-acid batteries.
01
Constantly changing feed compositions destabilise solid–liquid separation.
02
Sludge density and solid build-up cause unexpected stops.
03
Limited insight into what actually enters the process.
04
It is hard to find the right process parameters for each feed composition.
05
Little control over chemical conditions and no view inside tanks reduce recovery.
06
Laboratory results arrive too late to close the control loop.
07
Scattered data, and decisions that rely on individual operator experience.
Objectives
01
Deploy the full platform on Sunlight’s recycling flowsheet and reach TRL 9: optimisation apps for sorting, pyrolysis, crushing, flotation and leaching; Materials Tracking & Influence across all steps; proactive management; brains.VOS for strategic planning; and brains.Expert for augmented operational intelligence.
02
1–3% higher metal recovery, 20% lower operational costs, up to 30% less energy, 16% fewer chemicals and up to 40% water recovery, plus savings of up to €10 M per event by predicting accidents and unwanted stops.
03
A robust go-to-market strategy: the first platform sale in 2027, revenues of up to €7 M by 2030 and €2 M of investment attracted, reaching recyclers such as Umicore and CATL through the partners’ networks.
04
Maximise visibility and uptake of the results through an open innovation day, a matchmaking event, and participation in conferences and trade fairs.
05
Quantify and validate the environmental, economic and social benefits of BRACE through life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC) and social LCA (S-LCA).
Work plan
Each work package is led by a consortium member who reports monthly to the coordinator. A steering committee meets quarterly, and a technical committee meets every two weeks during critical phases.
WP0
Led by IntelliSense
Market analysis, competitor mapping, value proposition, business model and IP management, leading to a complete commercialisation roadmap.
WP1
Led by IntelliSense
Coordination, quality assurance, risk management and KPI monitoring across the consortium.
WP2
Led by SE&C
Branding, communication strategy, scientific publications, events and stakeholder engagement.
WP3
IntelliSense, with TUBAF
Operational, data and workflow requirements at the Sunlight pilot plant, instrumentation needs and the digital twin backend.
WP4
Pilot deployment
Configuration and testing of models and screens, closed-loop automation, digital twin validation and a plan for scaling.
WP5
Led by SE&C
Life cycle inventory, LCA, LCC and social LCA of BRACE-enabled processes, with recommendations for sustainable replication.
Milestones
2026
Year 1 · Foundations
M5
Kick-off meeting
May 2026
M6
IP management plan for BRACE results
Jun 2026
M8
Data integration plan approved
Aug 2026
M12
Market analysis completed (Year 1)
Dec 2026
2027
Year 2 · Pilot & market
M18
Digital twins and interfaces demonstrated
Jun 2027
M20
Life cycle assessment completed
Aug 2027
M21
Closed-loop automation implemented
Sep 2027
M24
Open innovation day, go-to-market strategy completed and closing meeting
Dec 2027
Global goals
SDG 12
Circular economy practices that reduce waste, chemicals and water use.
SDG 9
Objective-driven AI, digital twins and LLMs for recycling at industrial scale.
SDG 7
Secondary raw materials for the batteries behind renewable storage and e-mobility.
SDG 13
Lower operational greenhouse gas emissions in battery recycling.
SDG 8
Upskilling the workforce in digital and circular industrial practices.
Talk to the consortium about the project, the pilot or future deployments.