Networking in Chile

There is a longstanding collaboration between Bavaria and Chile, characterised by traditional trade relations and partnerships between innovation ecosystems. Against this backdrop, Bavaria’s Minister President Markus Söder hosted Chilean President Gabriel Boric for discussions, during which a connection to BayBatt was proposed. As a result, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Danzer, Professor of Electrical Energy Systems and Director of BayBatt, and Prof. Dr. Christoph Helbig, Professor of Ecological Resource Technology, joined a delegation of European companies, representatives of the European Commission, and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The mission aimed to introduce BayBatt in Chile and expand its international network.

Chile: A Leading Producer of Lithium and Copper

Chile has a rich mining history, producing about a quarter of the world’s copper and serving as a key location for lithium extraction. The delegation visited a lithium extraction facility in the Atacama Desert, where extracted lithium concentrate is transported to Antofagasta for processing into battery-grade lithium carbonate. Antofagasta is home to two leading universities in mining engineering research—Universidad Católica del Norte and Universidad de Antofagasta—both increasingly focused on the battery value chain, a topic of key discussions with Prof. Helbig.

The second stop on the trip was El Teniente, the world’s largest underground copper mine. Copper plays a crucial role in decarbonisation technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries, where copper foil is used as an anode material.

Both visits aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the technical challenges in extraction and production processes, the carbon footprint, and water usage in an extremely arid environment. Discussions also explored opportunities to increase production capacity to meet the growing global demand for batteries.

Chile’s Prestigious Academic Landscape

In parallel, Prof. Danzer visited some of South America’s top universities in Santiago de Chile and Valparaíso, including Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Universidad de Chile, and Universidad de Santiago de Chile. With support from Bavaria’s South America representation in Santiago, he met with professors, researchers, and university representatives to introduce BayBatt, present the Graduate School and the Master’s programmes in "Battery Technology" and "Battery Materials and Technology," exchange ideas in battery research, and explore opportunities for collaboration.

In addition, meetings were held with CORFO, Chile’s economic development agency, and ANID, the national agency for research and development. These discussions focused on understanding Chilean funding institutions and collaboration frameworks. ANID, Chile’s equivalent to the German Research Foundation (DFG), supports exchange programmes and funds Chilean partners in international graduate schools.

Chilean-German Mining and Raw Materials Forum

In Santiago de Chile, both Bayreuth professors participated in the Raw Materials Forum, the annual meeting of the German and Chilean raw materials industries. Over two days, experts discussed critical raw materials, strategic projects, sustainable mining, circular economy practices, and business opportunities with sustainably produced resources in and from Chile. As a keynote speaker, Prof. Helbig shared insights from the University of Bayreuth’s research on establishing raw material cycles and highlighted BayBatt’s role as a knowledge hub connecting academic and industrial partners in battery technology research.

The trip proved to be a valuable opportunity to deepen relations and foster future collaborations in battery research. A first reciprocal visit by Prof. Wolfram Jahn from the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Metallurgy at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile has already taken place in late November, with more visits and partnerships planned for the coming year.