Periodic Reporting for period 2 - INTRAW (International cooperation on Raw materials)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2016-08-01 do 2018-01-31
Context
A secure supply of mineral raw materials for the European industry is paramount to ensure Europe’s economic sustainability and to enhance the quality of life of European citizens. However, in the last decade, a structural change has taken place in global mineral markets. The old standing – 20 percent of the world population in Europe, USA and Japan consuming more than 80 percent of the total minerals production – is no longer valid. With the integration of India, China and other populous emerging countries, such as Brazil and Russia, into the world economy, more than half of the world’s population is increasing their share of global raw materials. Therefore, the global demand for raw materials is on the rise and, because Europe is strongly dependent on imports of mineral raw materials, safeguarding fair trade and Europe’s minerals supply is a growing challenge in a landscape populated by new competitors.
Project objectives
The INTRAW project ran over 36 months from 01 February 2015 to 31 January 2018. INTRAW mapped and developed new cooperation opportunities for the EU related to mineral raw materials in Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States, addressing:
• Research and innovation;
• Policies and strategies;
• Joint educational and skills programmes;
• Licensing and permitting procedures, royalties and tax policies;
• Data reporting systems;
• Exploration, extraction, processing and recycling practices;
• Management and substitution of critical raw materials.
The outcome of the mapping and knowledge transfer activities was used to develop and launch the International Raw Materials Observatory, an international non-profit association, registered in Belgium in September 2017. The mission of the Observatory is «to support international cooperation on mineral raw materials’ research & innovation, education & outreach, industry & trade and recycling, management & substitution of strategic raw materials».
The Observatory is a self-sustained organisation, having a clear strategy and management approach that embraces specialisation around in-depth knowledge of the materials value chain, access to policy-makers and high-quality reputation and credibility. To ensure its feasibility, the Observatory offers services to members and the marketplace. Its Unique Selling Proposition states that «the International Raw Materials Observatory is a not for profit independent, honest broker, providing authoritative specialised support on raw materials cooperation, diplomacy and foresight».
A secure supply of mineral raw materials for the European industry is paramount to ensure Europe’s economic sustainability and to enhance the quality of life of European citizens. However, in the last decade, a structural change has taken place in global mineral markets. The old standing – 20 percent of the world population in Europe, USA and Japan consuming more than 80 percent of the total minerals production – is no longer valid. With the integration of India, China and other populous emerging countries, such as Brazil and Russia, into the world economy, more than half of the world’s population is increasing their share of global raw materials. Therefore, the global demand for raw materials is on the rise and, because Europe is strongly dependent on imports of mineral raw materials, safeguarding fair trade and Europe’s minerals supply is a growing challenge in a landscape populated by new competitors.
Project objectives
The INTRAW project ran over 36 months from 01 February 2015 to 31 January 2018. INTRAW mapped and developed new cooperation opportunities for the EU related to mineral raw materials in Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States, addressing:
• Research and innovation;
• Policies and strategies;
• Joint educational and skills programmes;
• Licensing and permitting procedures, royalties and tax policies;
• Data reporting systems;
• Exploration, extraction, processing and recycling practices;
• Management and substitution of critical raw materials.
The outcome of the mapping and knowledge transfer activities was used to develop and launch the International Raw Materials Observatory, an international non-profit association, registered in Belgium in September 2017. The mission of the Observatory is «to support international cooperation on mineral raw materials’ research & innovation, education & outreach, industry & trade and recycling, management & substitution of strategic raw materials».
The Observatory is a self-sustained organisation, having a clear strategy and management approach that embraces specialisation around in-depth knowledge of the materials value chain, access to policy-makers and high-quality reputation and credibility. To ensure its feasibility, the Observatory offers services to members and the marketplace. Its Unique Selling Proposition states that «the International Raw Materials Observatory is a not for profit independent, honest broker, providing authoritative specialised support on raw materials cooperation, diplomacy and foresight».
Key activities performed and its results are:
1. The Consortium mapped the contextual and operating environment of mineral raw material provisioning in the reference countries.
The analysis made identified the necessary conditions and key-drivers of successful strategies for raw materials policy and highlighted best practices on raw materials research & innovation, education & outreach, industry & trade and processing, recycling & substitution of mineral raw materials.
2. A database, created to host an online intelligence repository, was designed and populated with data collected and information produced by INTRAW.
The intelligence repository is freely accessible through the INTRAW website. The interface of this database enables collaboration and information exchange, thus supporting the Observatory activity.
3. The Consortium outlined cooperation strategies and actions on mineral raw materials with the reference countries.
Best practice from the reference countries was relativised against each country mineral endowment and raw materials’ policy. Raw materials management in the EU was also assessed, and 20 international cooperation pathways were outlined. 86 actions along these pathways were described in four Action Plans that detailed linkages between activities, time frames for implementation and facilitators. The overall complexity of each action, existing collaboration maturity levels, financial resources required and future scenarios on raw materials provision were taken into consideration in the prioritisation of the actions.
4. Launch and operation of the International Raw Materials Observatory as a definitive raw materials intelligence self-sustained infrastructure.
The Observatory was established on 14th September 2017 as a non-profit international association. The Observatory was launched during the 2017 Raw Materials Week, in Brussels.
5. The infrastructure to support dissemination activities and develop messages concerning the activities, outcomes and impact of INTRAW and the Observatory is in place.
The dissemination of INTRAW’s activities and outcomes consistently reached a wide audience of up to 450.000 geoscientists from all over the world, building awareness and interest in the activities of the International Raw Materials Observatory.
1. The Consortium mapped the contextual and operating environment of mineral raw material provisioning in the reference countries.
The analysis made identified the necessary conditions and key-drivers of successful strategies for raw materials policy and highlighted best practices on raw materials research & innovation, education & outreach, industry & trade and processing, recycling & substitution of mineral raw materials.
2. A database, created to host an online intelligence repository, was designed and populated with data collected and information produced by INTRAW.
The intelligence repository is freely accessible through the INTRAW website. The interface of this database enables collaboration and information exchange, thus supporting the Observatory activity.
3. The Consortium outlined cooperation strategies and actions on mineral raw materials with the reference countries.
Best practice from the reference countries was relativised against each country mineral endowment and raw materials’ policy. Raw materials management in the EU was also assessed, and 20 international cooperation pathways were outlined. 86 actions along these pathways were described in four Action Plans that detailed linkages between activities, time frames for implementation and facilitators. The overall complexity of each action, existing collaboration maturity levels, financial resources required and future scenarios on raw materials provision were taken into consideration in the prioritisation of the actions.
4. Launch and operation of the International Raw Materials Observatory as a definitive raw materials intelligence self-sustained infrastructure.
The Observatory was established on 14th September 2017 as a non-profit international association. The Observatory was launched during the 2017 Raw Materials Week, in Brussels.
5. The infrastructure to support dissemination activities and develop messages concerning the activities, outcomes and impact of INTRAW and the Observatory is in place.
The dissemination of INTRAW’s activities and outcomes consistently reached a wide audience of up to 450.000 geoscientists from all over the world, building awareness and interest in the activities of the International Raw Materials Observatory.
Progress beyond the state of the art
INTRAW main aim was to establish and launch the International Raw Materials Observatory as a definitive mineral raw materials intelligence infrastructure, promoting international cooperation on raw materials’ issues. To achieve this goal, the project mapped best practices on raw materials provisioning in five reference countries. The results of this benchmarking activity advanced the knowledge on the determinants of the competitive context of the mineral raw materials sector. This knowledge will be conveyed to EU policymakers for consideration in policy formulation.
The results of the mapping of best practices in the five reference countries were used to set the foundation for enhanced, long-term cooperation between the EU and the world’s principal players in raw materials technology and scientific developments. Four action plans, addressing research & innovation, education & outreach, industry & trade and recycling, management & substitution of critical raw materials, together with a roadmap and a report on cross-cutting synergies were prepared, detailing how to advance and maximise the impact of the 86 cooperation actions outlined.
To reinforce the consistency and robustness of the cooperation actions, INTRAW developed future scenarios on raw materials provisioning. The foresight activities to build up the scenarios, encompassing a time horizon of up to 2050 and a global geographical approach, provided a reliable outcome, examined, stress tested and already used by diverse stakeholders.
The Observatory is already established as an international not-for-profit organisation, based in Brussels. Its action will facilitate cooperation between the EU and its trade partners along the minerals value chain, contributing to a sustainable supply of mineral raw materials to Europe, and having a positive societal impact.
Expected potential impact
The policy/economic drivers of the Observatory will enhance global cooperation and will facilitate the alignment of research & innovation activities among the EU countries.
Enhanced global cooperation will be a consequence of developing synergies among international research and innovation programmes on raw materials. The alignment of European initiatives like the European Technology Platforms or the Knowledge and Innovation Communities will be facilitated by the knowledge base developed by INTRAW and the activity of the International Raw Materials Observatory, thus supporting the European Innovation Partnership Strategic Implementation Plan on Raw Materials and advancing the EU innovative capacity and cooperation.
INTRAW main aim was to establish and launch the International Raw Materials Observatory as a definitive mineral raw materials intelligence infrastructure, promoting international cooperation on raw materials’ issues. To achieve this goal, the project mapped best practices on raw materials provisioning in five reference countries. The results of this benchmarking activity advanced the knowledge on the determinants of the competitive context of the mineral raw materials sector. This knowledge will be conveyed to EU policymakers for consideration in policy formulation.
The results of the mapping of best practices in the five reference countries were used to set the foundation for enhanced, long-term cooperation between the EU and the world’s principal players in raw materials technology and scientific developments. Four action plans, addressing research & innovation, education & outreach, industry & trade and recycling, management & substitution of critical raw materials, together with a roadmap and a report on cross-cutting synergies were prepared, detailing how to advance and maximise the impact of the 86 cooperation actions outlined.
To reinforce the consistency and robustness of the cooperation actions, INTRAW developed future scenarios on raw materials provisioning. The foresight activities to build up the scenarios, encompassing a time horizon of up to 2050 and a global geographical approach, provided a reliable outcome, examined, stress tested and already used by diverse stakeholders.
The Observatory is already established as an international not-for-profit organisation, based in Brussels. Its action will facilitate cooperation between the EU and its trade partners along the minerals value chain, contributing to a sustainable supply of mineral raw materials to Europe, and having a positive societal impact.
Expected potential impact
The policy/economic drivers of the Observatory will enhance global cooperation and will facilitate the alignment of research & innovation activities among the EU countries.
Enhanced global cooperation will be a consequence of developing synergies among international research and innovation programmes on raw materials. The alignment of European initiatives like the European Technology Platforms or the Knowledge and Innovation Communities will be facilitated by the knowledge base developed by INTRAW and the activity of the International Raw Materials Observatory, thus supporting the European Innovation Partnership Strategic Implementation Plan on Raw Materials and advancing the EU innovative capacity and cooperation.