Kickoff of MOTRIS project: ISEC in Muret(31) for the start!

The MOTRIS (Modernisation du Traitement et Recyclage Innovant de métaux critiques et Stratégies) project has emerged from a long collaboration between the SME SOVAMEP, located in Muret near Toulouse, and the ICSM. It is the very first project won by the DES as part of France 2030 on the Critical Metals APP managed by the BPI. With a total budget of more than €15.5 million, this ambitious project brings together the three ISEC departments, including the joint unit with the CNRS (ICSM), as well as numerous partners such as the BRGM. On 14-05-2025, the official kick-off meeting took place on the industrial site in the presence of the technical teams (15 participants on the ISEC side) and a number of key figures from the business world and the public sector. This was the culmination of more than 18 months of collaborative work.

Since 1986, SOVAMEP and its subsidiaries have been collecting and recycling ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals in France and abroad (Morocco, Italy). The company's Director, V. DELAGE, underlined the ambition of the project and the excellent dynamic between the players in the consortium, as well as with the public authorities. A warm welcome and technical visits punctuated the morning of the launch, followed by a project governance meeting to specify the results expected by March 2029.

What are the aims of the project? MOTRIS aims to modernise the recycling chain for titanium for the aerospace industry, and for several critical metals (copper, silver, gallium, germanium, platinoids, etc.) from electronic circuit boards, along with a move up the value chain for these metals. For ISEC, this will include developing and transferring technologies for effluent and sludge treatment, following on from a joint CEA-CNRS patent application, or linked to the site's nuclear know-how such as pyro or hydrometallurgy. The aim of this joint project with SOVAMEP is to transfer the technology to the Muret industrial site, taking it from TRL 5 to TRL 9, and thereby boosting the activity that is so vital to the employment pool in C. Ader's homeland.

The next meeting will take place at Marcoule at the end of October 2025!

^{Credit: ICSM}

Technical correspondents: M. Billet (DMRC/DIR), A. Leydier (DMRC/LPSD) and D. Bourgeois (ICSM)

https://sovamep.com/actualites/