Periodic Reporting for period 2 - DIGIECOQUARRY (INNOVATIVE DIGITAL SUSTAINABLE AGGREGATES SYSTEMS)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-12-01 al 2023-11-30
DIGIECOQUARRY’s ambition is to tap the full potential of process digitalisation and automation capabilities for the aggregates sector. It will develop systems, technologies and processes for integrated digitisation and automation real-time process control, to be piloted in 5 EU quarries with the target of improving health and safety conditions for workers, efficiency of processes maximizing quarry resources and their sustainable management, minimising environmental impact and expanding EU aggregates and construction business. Coupling Artificial Intelligence with cyber-physical system and Internet of Things make Industry 4.0 approach possible and the smart sustainable extractive site a reality. All phases of the process, from extraction to the end-user will be covered, ensuring communication with policy makers, social acceptance activities and international cooperation with Colombia and South Africa. The development of an Intelligent Quarrying System (IQS) will increase the sustainable supply of minerals for the construction sector and extraction of EU´s mineral resources in quarries.
The Innovative Quarrying System (IQS) will be the main outcome of the project comprising sensors, processes, tools and methods for data capture, processing and sharing to provide integrated digitalised, automatic and real-time process control for aggregates quarries. Besides, DIGIECOQUARRY will achieve: 1) to build a smart, sustainable and digital quarries; 2) to develop Industry 4.0 solutions to improve process control in real time; 3) to reduce the exposure of workers to dangerous conditions; 4) to increase the efficiency of the quarry; 5) to guarantee the environmental sustainability of the quarry by developing technologies to reduce GHG emissions; 6) to foster social growth and acceptance of quarrying improving transparency and visibility of quarrying operations; 7) to validate the key technologies in 5 representative and complementary pilot sites developed in a full-scale - industrial environment; 8) to contribute to the EU knowledge base with dedicated Clustering plans, contributing to feed the EU RM Knowledge Base and the RM Information System, to ensure knowledge transfer and project replicability at EU level supported with International Cooperation (EU, Colombia and South Africa) with a communication plan to policy makers and public bodies; and 9) to define specific business models & exploitation plans for the new products and services implemented.
The Innovative Quarrying System (IQS) will be the main outcome of the project comprising sensors, processes, tools and methods for data capture, processing and sharing to provide integrated digitalised, automatic and real-time process control for aggregates quarries. Besides, DIGIECOQUARRY will achieve: 1) to build a smart, sustainable and digital quarries; 2) to develop Industry 4.0 solutions to improve process control in real time; 3) to reduce the exposure of workers to dangerous conditions; 4) to increase the efficiency of the quarry; 5) to guarantee the environmental sustainability of the quarry by developing technologies to reduce GHG emissions; 6) to foster social growth and acceptance of quarrying improving transparency and visibility of quarrying operations; 7) to validate the key technologies in 5 representative and complementary pilot sites developed in a full-scale - industrial environment; 8) to contribute to the EU knowledge base with dedicated Clustering plans, contributing to feed the EU RM Knowledge Base and the RM Information System, to ensure knowledge transfer and project replicability at EU level supported with International Cooperation (EU, Colombia and South Africa) with a communication plan to policy makers and public bodies; and 9) to define specific business models & exploitation plans for the new products and services implemented.
During these first 30 months of project implementation, several objectives have already been achieved. Within WP1, it has: 1) Defined the requirements of the smart, sustainable digital quarries in compliance with European strict legal and environmental requirements; 2) Ensured that all the objectives are related with the definition of the specific requirements for the global project and particularised for each pilot site and for each aggregates production process by developing. an evaluation of the initial starting infrastructure and services (state 0) of pilot sites; 3) Ensured that all requirements were defined with a detailed characterisation of critical processes along the quarrying value chain; 4) Defined specific requirements for each Technological development and finally 5) Specified the requirements for the evaluation of the degree of fulfilment of the project’s objectives. Besides, other project objectives related to other WPs have been already reached, more specifically, WP3 has identified the key data inputs and outputs from cyber & physical quarrying system for the different quarry processes that are necessary for implementing the concept of the smart, sustainable digital quarry, in accordance with the requirements defined in WP; and WP4 has already: 1) Defined the ICT requirements for the IQS, and 2) carried out a comprehensive study of the inventory of the existing and operational ICT assets, as well as 3) benchmarked most promising IoT and data frameworks and off-the-shelf tools as baseline for the different types of solutions and 4) defined the architecture and the solution to integrate smoothly existing platforms.
As an ambitious pilot action, the disruptive concept of DIGIECOQUARRY will be tested in 5 multi-scale EU quarries. This is conceived as a “door opener” for quarry owners willing to evolve towards Industry 4.0 sustainable digital quarries, reinforcing their competitiveness and positioning as key players of the EU economy. DIGIECOQUARRY will have a positive impact in all (7/7) of the targets of the EIP on RM (Topic Impact 1 (TI1), proving its full alignment with them (see section 6 for more information). DIGIECOQUARRY will also contribute to Demonstrate a market potential and the competitive technology advantage that will be gained through the pilot leading to expanding the EU business and to be implemented across the EU after the project is finished (TI2), with a set of products and services with proven market potential to be up-taken across the EU and beyond, specifically, the following Economic impacts are foreseen: 1) Increase in 701 K€ the incomes and 2)total cost reduction on the quarry operations (up to 684/€ year) as well as 3) increased investment in geological and mining research (in a 5%). DIGIECOQUARRY will also Push the EU to the forefront in the area of mining technologies and solutions through generated know how (planned patents, publications etc.) (TI3) as knowledge transfer and replicability are a priority for DIGIECOQUARRY, due to the large number of sites and companies in Europe. Thus, the project will push the EU aggregates companies to the forefront in the relevant areas of mining technologies through the generated know how. The Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation Plan and a specific WP for clustering (WP8) will generate solid synergies and co-creation with key initiatives and projects related to this topic. Besides, the project will also contribute to Lead to unlocking substantial reserves of new or today unexploited resources within the EU (TI4) by maximising the efficiency of the management of unexploited resources in existing sites in all stages of quarrying. A double approach (at field and operational levels) will allow introducing key enabling technologies orchestrated by the IQS. Thus, currently unexploited resources(aggregates) will be directly revalorised due to the improved performance shown by DIGIECOQUARRY’s Economic and Environmental Indicators, increasing the quarry lifetime up to 2-3 years. Also, the project will Create added value and new jobs in raw materials producing, equipment manufacturing, information and communication technologies and/or downstream industries (TI5) by fostering the aggregates sector (and related ones) by developing 38 cost-effective solutions, reaching up to 911M€ of cumulated incomes in 5 years, definitely contributing to create technological, environmental and economic added value (including up to 40 more employs and 10% improvement in workers training). Lastly, DIGIECOQUARRY will also Lead to improving the environmental (including reduction of emissions), health and safety performance of the mining operations (TI6) by reducing in a 20% the accident frequency index with withdrawal of own personnel and/or subcontractors; reducing in a 20% the severity index; and in a 25% the Frequency index of work incidents in own works, achieving near zero fatalities.