The CEO Blog

The Metallic Mining Hall (MMH) was held in Sevilla, Spain, on 17-19 October 2017, offering an international forum for the industry related to mineral extraction and processing. The focus of MMH 2017 has been the sustainability of metals mining with regard to the technology advancements, the environmental protection and efficiency of the processes. In this 2017 edition, EIT RawMaterials and MMH have started a fruitful collaboration to the benefit of the sector’s stakeholders. The CLC South has organized a booth and a Matchmaking Workshop "Challenges and Innovation in Exploration and Mining: Opportunities with EIT RawMaterials". The event aimed at showcasing [...]

ThingWave, a start-up supported by EIT RawMaterials, provides solutions for real-time and online rock bolt monitoring. The ThingWave smart rock bolt, developed by researchers Jens Eliasson and Pablo Punal Pereira at the Luleå University of Technology, is expected to fully contribute to an increase in safety in mines. Mining companies around the world now show great interest in the product. The market potential is huge. Only LKAB, which has about one percent of the market, puts 400,000 bolts in the mine every year. Mining companies in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden are very interested in testing our system and we can see a [...]

DMT receives funding for further development of the awarded innovation project from EIT RawMaterials The German engineering and consulting firm DMT continues to lead the way in innovation in the raw materials sector and receives funding from EIT RawMaterials. In the coming years, DMT will engage in several projects to develop innovative technologies and services for the European natural resources sector together with international partners. Previously DMT has received funding from EIT RawMaterials for a number of innovative projects, such as the development of an automatic shaft inspection system, an integrated monitoring concept for tailing dams, a certification system for [...]

The SusCritMat winter school is open for PhD and Master students, as well as engineers from all countries, seeking a professional training in Critical Raw Materials. The SusCritMat winter school will take place on 15-19 January 2018 in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, and will offer modules on the role of critical raw materials in the whole value chain, developed and taught by European experts in the field. It is focused on the bigger picture and the interconnected nature of global business and society, which is increasingly necessary for decision-making in industry. The main case study of this winter school will be Neodymium magnets for electric cars, one [...]

Circularise, a start-up supported by EIT RawMaterials, showed their product during the Disruptive Innovation Festival, an online open access event that asks the question: what if we could redesign everything? About Circularise Circularise web-based individual product tracking system allows producers to add unique identifiers to any product (e.g. composition product and material contents). This identifier can be used internally and to communicate with other parties in the value chain (e.g. to recyclers: buildup of end-of-life products, value assessment, forecasting, etc.). This communication is based on Blockchain, thereby ensuring trust and privacy. How Circularise is used Circularise is used by producers of [...]

Graphene composites could reduce reliance on critical raw materials for automotive, aerospace, and energy applications. This was the message at the workshop co-hosted by EIT RawMaterials, Hub Innovation Trentino and the Graphene Flagship in Trento, Italy, on 12 October 2017. The Graphene Composite Innovation Day workshop, held at the Foundation Bruno Kessler (FBK) in Trento, Italy, and co-hosted by EIT RawMaterials, Hub Innovation Trentino (HIT), and the Graphene Flagship, was focused on how graphene’s benefits can be applied in the composites industry. Industry and academic participants shared ideas on how graphene can be used in composites for the automotive industry, [...]