EQT Foundation Awards Over €1 Million for Critical Minerals Solutions
EQT Foundation has granted over EUR 1 million to researchers from 11 institutions across 9 countries. The funded projects aim to develop alternatives for critical minerals used in batteries, hydrogen production, and solar energy.
Stockholm – June 16, 2026 – EQT Foundation has awarded more than EUR 1 million in grants to researchers at 11 institutions in 9 countries. The funding is intended for next-generation critical minerals solutions designed to reduce reliance on strategically important and scarce raw materials in climate technologies.
The grants support high-risk, high-impact scientific research. The projects focus on developing alternatives for lithium, rare earth elements, and iridium, which are commonly used in batteries, hydrogen production, and solar panels. The objective is to strengthen supply chain resilience and accelerate the global energy transition.
Research areas include recovering lithium from seawater and industrial waste streams, recycling battery materials and rare earths, reducing iridium use in hydrogen electrolysers, and developing energy technologies based on earth-abundant materials.
Cilia Holmes Indahl, CEO of EQT Foundation, stated that the green transition faces a materials problem. "Too many clean technologies depend on a handful of critical minerals, often mined under hazardous conditions. Supply chains are fragile and recycling practices are immature," Holmes Indahl said. "The researchers we are backing are working on the hard science to change this."