Sustainable futures
Driving Chile’s mining industry towards net zero
The University of Nottingham is the only UK member of Chile’s Institute of Clean Technologies and is helping the South American country find innovative ways to minimize the environmental impact of its globally significant mining industry.
The challenge
Mining has helped Chile become one of South America’s most prosperous nations. Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and has the world’s largest reserves of lithium. Both metals are playing a globally important role in the transition to net zero, with much of Chile’s copper ending up in electrical wiring and electronics, whereas next-generation batteries are dependent on lithium. However, mining can have a massive environmental impact and the industry is under increasing scrutiny from regulators and from communities.
How should Chile safeguard its prosperity while making mining more sustainable as the country transitions to net zero?
Our response
The University of Nottingham is the only UK institution to join Chile’s Institute of Clean Technologies (ITL) and the leading overseas university in the $123m project, which brings together government, corporations and research institutions in perhaps the biggest investment of its kind in Chile’s history.
The ITL’s mission over the next ten years is to guide Chile’s journey towards net zero with a focus on developing hydrogen, solar energy and electromobility technologies, all of which will help its huge mining industry become more sustainable.
The university’s Power Electronics, Machines and Control (PEMC) Research Group is leading this collaboration. It has world-leading expertise in transport electrification, from electric motor drives and propulsion systems, power electronics, batteries and converters, to EV charging stations. These technologies are key to the transformation of Chile’s mining industry, such as through the electrification of its heavy transport, energy sources and operations.
The university is already a long-standing UK partner in Chile. This was formalized in 2016 with the creation of the University of Nottingham Chile Fundacion, which gave a legal entity capable of carrying out research in the country and enabled the university to play a more active role in Chile’s research and knowledge transfer activities.
Professor Pat Wheeler, Head of the PEMC Research Group, said: “We have collaborated with several university partners in Chile over the past 30 years, meaning we already have incredibly strong foundations on which we can build on as part of the institute."
Expertise is being drawn together from across the university to work with the ITL and partners in Chile on the delivery of clean energy systems and technologies such as hydrogen and solar, together with sustainable water management and greener mining processes. As well as working with mining operators, we are collaborating with communities to ensure new skills and green technologies are relevant to their needs.
Our impact
"We are extremely proud to be the first UK institution to join the Institute of Clean Technologies. The exciting technologies we’re creating here at the University of Nottingham are on the world stage and are being tested in real industrial environments. We’re turning our research into reality and helping to solve real-world challenges that are relevant across the globe – not just in Chile."
The ITL is based in the Atacama Desert, the centre of Chile’s mining operations. This means net zero technologies developed by the University of Nottingham can be tested in extreme, high-altitude conditions, giving global partners the opportunity to adopt resilient, reliable and sustainable systems that can be rolled out across the world.
This includes studies that could revolutionise mine-site power systems, creating smart, green microgrids that integrate renewable energy resources, green fueling systems and intelligent frameworks. This will identify opportunities for commercial applications across the mining industry, and provide energy solutions at local level that will also plug into greener national networks.
The PEMC’s expertise in developing electric propulsion systems can be directly applied to the Chile’s fleet of 5,500 heavy mining vehicles, with a 300kW motor drive already demonstrated for industry readiness at the Driving the Electric Industrialisation Centre, located in the PEMC’s university headquarters.
The PEMC Research Group is also developing DC-to-DC power converter technologies, which provide fast-charging points for electric vehicles. This means EVs can operate in remote mining locations such as the Atacama and take advantage of an abundant renewable energy source – the desert sun.
A lithium-ion battery suitable for operation in the extreme conditions of the Atacama and at high altitudes is also being developed.
While the PEMC is leading on partnerships with Chile, Professor Wheeler said: “We have also put together a cross-disciplinary university portfolio, taking in hydrogen technologies, sustainable processes and technologies for mining and mineral extraction, as well as the social sciences, to address the challenge of engaging with communities over sustainability and acceptance of new technologies.”
Mining demands huge volumes of water, already a scarce resource in many areas of Chile. Nottingham researchers, in collaboration with Chilean counterparts, are exploring innovative water management techniques to avoid disruption to local ecosystems, such as such as developing closed-loop systems, minimising brine contamination, and exploring desalination technologies to bring seawater into the mining process.
The university’s chemical engineers are also exploring sustainable processing that captures waste material for such applications as insulation materials and industrial coatings.
The university recognises the importance of involving local communities in the development of sustainable mining practices. Researchers are establishing partnerships with Chilean universities and community organisations to ensure that the transition to clean technologies benefits local populations. This included training and capacity-building programmes.
Our international and domestic partners from the mining sector include BHP, Anglo American and Codelco (The National Copper Corporation of Chile), and with energy providers including the Enel Group and the Chile utility company Colbun. Other research partners include the UK’s BT Group, European Space Agency and MICOMO, a joint venture between Codelco and telecoms company NTT of Japan.
Professor Marco Rivera, the university's research lead in microgrids, solar energy, green hydrogen production, and advanced control of power converters with the Clean Technologies Institute, said: “Our research provides sustainable solutions across all the critical areas Chile must address if it is to transform its mining industry, and our partnerships have the potential extend this impact globally.”
A global benchmark for sustainable mining
The PEMC and ITL’s holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to the mining ecosystem in Chile will help drive positive change and have significant environmental, economic and social impact, with the potential to serve as model for mining industries around the world seeking to reduce their impact on the environment.
"The University of Nottingham can help deliver a national strategy for decarbonisation of a key industry through electrification and advancing energy and water efficiency. The solutions delivered by ICL will influence how other countries look to develop innovative partnerships and lessen the massive global impact of mining, while sustainably and competitively harnessing their resources to secure resilient, skills-rich economies."
Pat Wheeler
Pat Wheeler is Professor of Power Electronic Systems in the Faculty of Engineering and leads the Power Electronics, Machines and Control Research Group. He is also the faculty’s Director of Global Engagement.
Email: pat.wheeler@nottingham.ac.uk
Marco Rivera
Marco Rivera is Professor of Control of Power Converters and Drives and a member of the PEMC Research Group.
Email: marco.rivera@nottingham.ac.uk