Innovation for Europe’s materials dependency
Europe's demand for resources is reaching far beyond its borders. In particular the demand for materials is so intense that between 20 and 30% of the resources we use in Europe are now imported. The EU has defined 14 Critical Raw Materials where current and, to a major extent, future availability is essential for major European industrial sectors. ICT, construction, energy, chemicals, automotive, aerospace, machinery and equipment sectors (among many others) all depend on access to raw materials. Fully aware of this challenge, the European Commission has proposed a European Innovation Partnership on raw materials. The Innovation Partnership brings together, among others, EU countries, companies, researchers and NGOs to promote innovative solutions to Europe's raw materials challenge. Among these innovative solutions substitution of critical raw materials constitutes an attractive alternative for mitigating Europe’s dependency as well as provides an opportunity for technological breakthroughs leading to novel applications and markets. Nevertheless efforts need to be realized in a coordinated manner in order to fully benefit from existing know-how and create synergies among industry and academia as well as inter-sectorial. Project CRM_InnoNet (http://www.criticalrawmaterials.eu/(opens in new window)) has been started recently under the EC FP7 to contribute to the alignment and coordination of R&D&I efforts in the field of substitution of critical raw materials. The contributions of CRM-InnoNet will encompass three major action avenues: the elaboration of a roadmap for substitution of critical raw materials, the establishment of an Innovation Network in the field and the elaboration of recommendations for policy makers based on the scenarios for substitution identified. Today CRM_InnoNet is launching the Innovation Network for substitution of critical raw materials at a workshop event in Brussels attended by over a hundred interested organizations. The Innovation Network main objectives are to catalyse the European innovation community in the area of substitution so to find synergies, share information, promote best practices as well as identify innovation pathways. The Network brings together relevant actors across the value chain (i.e. engineers, scientists, academics, industrial community, policy makers, etc) in order to establish an open, fruitful and enduring dialog. The project CRM_InnoNet is coordinated by Chemistry Innovation. PNO Consultants is behind the efforts for establishing the stepping stones towards the initiation, consolidation and endurance of the Innovation Network. Catherine Joce, Project Manager at Chemistry Innovation, says: “The issue of critical raw materials affects a very diverse community. The Innovation Network will provide an identity and focus for researchers and businesses with an interest in substitution, drawing together a community which contains representatives from different disciplines and sectors together with a focus on substitution for the first time. Creating a network to bring these people together in a constructive environment will play a vital part in shaping the research and innovation environment to enable future development of substitutes to help address the problem of materials scarcity.” This first Innovation Network Workshop constitutes the first in a series of three, with future workshops planned for May 2014 and April 2015 in Brussels. To register your interest in the network, please contact Catherine.Joce@ciktn.co.uk Website: http://www.criticalrawmaterials.eu/(opens in new window) Twitter: @CRM_InnoNet
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Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom