The Cluster Hub “Production of raw materials for batteries from European resources” is a knowledge exchange ecosystem, where partners involved in different European projects (private companies, support organisations, experts, universities and research institutes) can identify and discuss common topics related to their projects, and to the production of materials for batteries, as well as synergies that can foster innovations in this field.
The initiative to establish a permanent clustering hub appeared first in November 2022, during the 7th edition of the Raw Materials Week, when eight EU-funded projects gathered together for the workshop with the same name: “Production of raw materials for batteries from European sources”. Encouraged by a first successful event, and echoed by the stakeholders’ vivid interest for collaboration, the European Commission welcomed with enthusiasm the proposal to establish a permanent Clustering Hub.
This year’s annual meeting will allow all representatives – counting today no less than 12 projects, to share the preliminary results of their work, address the remaining challenges that all EU initiatives face, and interact with external stakeholders actively interested in the issues and opportunities raised by these projects.
The Cluster Hub’s annual workshop is a satellite event organised within the Raw Materials Week 2023, and it will take place in hybrid format, on 16 November 2023.
Join numerous EU-funded mineral raw materials projects for a one-and-a-half-day clustering event to discuss and exchange ideas on current technological challenges and topics within the raw materials sector.
Call for abstracts [accepted by 1 September 2023]
Currently the EU is highly dependent on a small number of countries for raw materials, especially the critical raw materials that it needs for strategic value chains such as e-mobility, batteries, and renewable energy. Europe’s opportunity to become self-sufficient, resilient, sustainable and responsible in critical minerals supply from its own resources is a reachable goal due to its geological setting and significant mineral endowment.
However, many of the critical raw materials do not form their own mineral deposits, but rather are produced as by-products, associated with other primary commodity mines. This switch to a multi-element way of mining will demand new ways to conduct exploration activities in general, as exploration must nowadays shift to the more integrated point of view of mineral systems. There is also a need to develop innovative exploration concepts and data analysis tools to enhance the probability of finding new sources of critical raw materials for the EU’s economy.
Thirteen EU-funded raw materials projects EIS, AGEMERA, CIRAN, EXCEED, GOLDENEYE, GREENPEG, M4MINING, MaDiTraCe, MinExTarget, MultiMiner, S34I, SEEMS DEEP and SEMACRET, as well as the University of Queensland (Australia) are partnering up to organize a one-and-a-half-day clustering event “European Union SuperCluster Lapland Geoconference”, which will take place on Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st October 2023 in Rovaniemi, Finland. With this event, the organisers hope to bring together a wide range of stakeholders, such as the European Commission, EU projects and other initiatives related to the raw materials sector; regional authorities; industrial representatives; exploration companies as well as other interested stakeholders, to discuss and exchange ideas on current technological challenges and topics within the sector.
The SuperCluster event will be organized just before the official start of the 14th Fennoscandian Exploration and Mining (FEM) 2023 conference (Levi, Kittilä, Finland. Home – FEM (femconference.fi)). Planning for transport from Rovaniemi to FEM Conference in Levi is underway. This is for those participants who would like to attend both events (see map here: Rovaniemi – Levi Summit – Google Maps). The FEM conference is one of the most significant and largest mining industry events in Europe.
The latest live conference FEM 2019 brought together 1215 participants from 32 different countries and more than 400 organizations to Lapland.
The expected number of SuperCluster participants is about 100 persons, and we hope to attract people and companies who usually do not attend the FEM conference. The main target audience are European Commission, EU projects and other initiatives related to the raw materials sector; regional authorities; industrial representatives; exploration companies as well as other interested stakeholders.
This meeting will comprise 20-minute oral sessions, poster space and discussion time to maximise the benefits to all participants. No keynote talks are planned – the focus will be on EU-funded projects exclusively.
The conference is free-of-charge! Also, lunches and conference dinner is free for the registered participants.
Call for abstracts [accepted by 1 September 2023]