Enabling the circular economy of sustainable metals production at scale through AI-powered systems to support a net-zero future.

通过人工智能驱动的系统实现大规模可持续金属生产的循环经济，以支持净零未来。

• 批准号: 83002099
• 金额: $ 127.41万
• 依托单位: INTELLISENSE.IO LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Innovation Loans
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=83002099
• 关键词: Enabling; circular; economy; sustainable; metals

**Industry Challenge**The Clean Energy Transition is creating demand for metals that cannot be fulfilled; current production for graphite, cobalt, vanadium, nickel are inadequate, with more than 66% gap v/s demand \[IMF,2021\]. With exponential increase in demand for metals 'critical' to a Net Zero Future (e.g. demand for lithium and cobalt are expected to rise 540% and 292% respectively by 2030 \[IEA,2020\]), demand is now being turbocharged by energy-security concerns (increased by the Russian invasion of Ukraine) \[McKinsey,2022\].However, developing mines is a lengthy process---taking a decade or more---presenting challenges, at company and country level. Mining operational realities are:* Accessible sources are exhausted.* Declining grades at operating sites threaten mine-site viability.Lack of short-term supply can be solved by increasing throughput at existing mining/refining sites whilst enabling metal recycling at scale. Currently the UK loses £13.63m/year from waste electricals/batteries due to lack of advanced recovery technologies \[MaterialFocus,2021\], threatening 114k direct automotive jobs linked to gigafactory potential by 2040 \[T&E,2021\].**Intellisense.io**IntelliSense.io is an Industrial Artificial Intelligent (AI) SME, focusing on the Base Metals Industry, headquartered in Cambridge, UK. IntelliSense.io is recognised as a leader in the Industry for the Internet-of-Things and Machine-Learning applications (UK National Technology Award: "Artificial Intelligence Solution of 2022''). IntelliSense.io has developed and commercialised 'brains.app', a real-time decision-making platform for the mining and refining industries, containing 6 process-specific mining optimisation applications, significantly increasing yields in comminution and beneficiation processes. brains.app is installed at some of the largest mine-sites in the world.**IUK Loan Requirement**Building industrial AI solutions is lengthy, complex and expensive. This combined with long sales cycles, means IntelliSense.io cannot fund the R&D it needs to do now from revenues alone. The IUK Loan will expedite R&D, enabling IntelliSense.io to build:* Discrete software to further increase throughputs in 2 commercialised applications, by optimising Solvent-Extraction processes and Grinding Circuits. Once complete, sales will be achieved by 'expanding' existing customer accounts to repay the loan.* A platform solution for the Circular Economy, supporting recyclers to extract high-purity metal concentrates from waste batteries economically (bringing parallel problem solving from mining & minerals processing sectors). This platform will bring together IntelliSense.io's relevant mining & minerals processing platform & applications and adapt them to the similar processes used by recyclers, enabling plant operators to optimise process operations and reducing costs per tonne of battery recycling. IntelliSense.io partners with companies in this space to accelerate route-to-market.

** 行业挑战 ** 清洁能源转型正在创造无法满足的金属需求;目前石墨、钴、钒、镍的产量不足，与需求的差距超过66%[IMF，2021\]。随着金属需求的指数增长，对净零未来至关重要（例如，到2030年，锂和钴的需求预计将分别增长540%和292%[IEA，2020]），能源安全问题正在推动需求增长（随着俄罗斯入侵乌克兰而增加）\[McKinsey，2022\]。然而，开发矿山是一个漫长的过程--需要十年或更长时间--在公司和国家层面都面临挑战。采矿作业的现实情况是：* 可利用的资源已经用尽。运营场地的品位下降威胁着矿场的生存能力。短期供应不足可以通过增加现有采矿/精炼场地的吞吐量来解决，同时实现大规模的金属回收。目前，由于缺乏先进的回收技术，英国每年因废弃电子产品/电池损失1363万英镑[MaterialFocus，2021]，到2040年将威胁到与千兆工厂潜力相关的11.4万个直接汽车工作岗位[T & E，2021]。Intellisense.io **IntelliSense.io是一家专注于基础金属行业的工业人工智能（AI）中小企业，总部位于英国剑桥。IntelliSense.io被公认为物联网和机器学习应用行业的领导者（英国国家技术奖：“2022年人工智能解决方案”）。IntelliSense.io已经开发并商业化了“brains.app”，这是一个采矿和精炼行业的实时决策平台，包含6个特定于流程的采矿优化应用程序，显著提高了粉碎和精炼流程的产量。brains.app安装在世界上一些最大的矿场。** IUK贷款要求 ** 构建工业人工智能解决方案是漫长、复杂和昂贵的。再加上漫长的销售周期，意味着IntelliSense.io无法仅从收入中为现在需要进行的研发提供资金。IUK贷款将加快研发，使IntelliSense.io能够构建：* 离散软件，通过优化溶剂萃取工艺和研磨回路，进一步提高2种商业化应用的吞吐量。一旦完成，销售将通过“扩大”现有客户账户来偿还贷款。循环经济的平台解决方案，支持回收商从废电池中经济地提取高纯度金属精矿（带来采矿和矿物加工部门的并行问题解决方案）。该平台将汇集IntelliSense.io的相关采矿和矿物加工平台及应用程序，并使其适应回收商使用的类似流程，使工厂运营商能够优化流程操作，降低每吨电池回收的成本。IntelliSense.io与这一领域的公司合作，以加快产品进入市场的速度。