Lídia Cunha holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Porto (FEUP, 2016) and is currently a doctoral researcher in Environmental Engineering, specializing in sustainable hydrometallurgy and circular economy approaches for critical raw materials recovery. Her research experience includes applied work in nanotechnology and hydrometallurgy, with a strong focus on environmentally responsible metal recovery processes. She has been actively involved as a researcher at CERENA, participating in nationally and internationally funded projects. Within the CAVALI project, she investigated lithium sorption by ion exchange, contributing to the development of sustainable lithium production strategies aligned with electric mobility goals in Portugal. In the INN4MIN project, her work focused on the recovery of metals from printed circuit boards, aiming to reduce environmental impacts and improve mineral processing efficiency through best industrial practices. Alongside her academic career, she has experience in entrepreneurship and industrial consulting, having co-founded two startups in the organic food sector and worked as a consultant in an international laboratory environment. This combination of research and industry experience has strengthened her technical, analytical, and data-driven skills, as well as her ability to translate scientific knowledge into applied solutions. Her current PhD project is being developed in collaboration between FEUP and B|AGAIN (DST Group) and focuses on end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and direct recycling approaches for production scraps, contributing to sustainable resource management and the energy transition.