Project description
Making sure mining waste and waste heat are not lost
From steel and food production to electronics, manufacturing processes and machines generate heat, which should not be wasted and lost. The EU-funded START project will capture and directly convert waste heat into electric power. This will be achieved by developing sustainable thermoelectric (TE) systems, with the further added value of exploiting European mine wastes for the TE materials, thus bypassing the supply of critical raw materials from third countries. Overall, the START concept represents a major opportunity to improve the overall energy efficiency and to increase resource productivity and reduce resource dependence and waste, in line with the objectives of the Green Deal and the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan.
Objective
START project primary objective is to build an innovation ecosystem in the European Union (EU) based on the development of sustainable and economically viable thermoelectric (TE) waste heat harvesting systems to be applied in heavy industry and in maritime industry as well as primary power source for off-grid sensors and IoT devices. This objective will be achieved by incorporating abundant sulphides (mainly tetrahedrite mineral series), at present an environment hazard in mine tailings, collected in five European countries, in the production of advanced sulphide p-type TE thermoelements. In contrast, current commercial TE devices incorporate p-type and n-type TE thermoelements that are produced from expensive and rare elements, namely tellurium, which is predominantly sourced in China. The impact of START project approach on endorsing a more sustainable and resilient EU comes from three inputs. First, by reducing EU?s dependence on primary critical raw materials. Secondly, through the promotion of circular economy processes that will create value in EU by building a strategic ecosystem based on a high-abundant mineral. Just recently, it was demonstrated by our team that the mineral was amenable to processing to single phase p-type tetrahedrite. Thirdly, by the production of TE energy harvesting systems offering a contribution to the reduction of fossil fuels consumption with a great impact on the increase of the overall efficiency of energy production and consumption systems, as well as on the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions. For that, START project aggregates research organizations, with strong background and knowledge on geology, materials science and renewable energies, and industrial organizations that guarantee the entire production and exploitation supply chain.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy
- engineering and technology environmental engineering mining and mineral processing
- social sciences economics and business economics sustainable economy
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.4 - Digital, Industry and Space
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.4.8 - Circular Industries
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4466-901 S.Mamede De Infesta
Portugal
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.