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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Balancing Regulations, Innovation and Trade in the EU

Objectives of the commitment

• Set up a methodology for socio-economic analysis of impacts on the value chain, particularly on SMEs (competitiveness, costs, employment, relocation of EU industry, recycling projects, etc.) of soft bans, compiling of lists or non-uses scenarios due to the implementation of regulations impacting the supply or use of raw materials. This Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEA) must involve industrial stakeholders of the entire value chain and take place at the early stages of any regulatory initiative that may impact raw materials of economic importance for the EU
• Health risk assessments with elaboration of professional and consumer exposure scenario
• Perform pilot case-studies on critical raw material Co, Be, Cr
• Propose alternatives to bans, restrictions, authorisations or the generation of lists
• Propose ‘regulatory risk’ as a criterion for criticality assessment of materials

Description of the activities

The supply of raw materials poses increasing challenges for Europe which is relatively poor in resources and is dependent on international trade conditions to ensure secured supply. However, the objectives of the industrial policies - aiming at boosting innovation and increasing the availability of raw materials for Europe - are sometimes in conflict with those of environmental and health policies. Indeed, many raw materials (some metals and many metal salts) have a hazard profile that triggers restrictions, resulting in some not being available for the added value supply chains. However, the restrictions can be avoided in some cases by conducting ex-ante integrated impact assessments (environmental, sanitary, social and economic) before any regulatory decision is taken.
The capacity of the EU industry to compete in the global economy depends on the health of the entire value chain. However, this can be impacted by the restriction of raw materials: supply shortage, decrease in demand, market shift toward less regulated countries, loss of jobs and innovation, etc. The regulatory framework can thus impact the criticality of some materials that are part of the value chain of a substance that has been restricted, banned or placed on a list (ex: REACH).
The project will develop a methodology to help decision-makers perform ex-ante impact assessments of on the one hand the economic implications (costs, competitiveness, jobs, relocation, impact on SMEs, etc.) of regulatory decisions, and on the other hand the safety and health of workers and consumers. This quantitative risk assessment should ideally be performed at the initial stages of any regulatory initiative impacting the use of raw materials; and industrial stakeholders should be involved to benefit from their experience and plan ahead measures to face the new technical or economic issues that may stem from the new regulation.
The collaboration of industrial stakeholders with European health institutes will enable the elaboration of exposure scenarii that take into account adapted and feasible control measures that can be implemented in industrial processes to maintain the use of some raw materials while ensuring the protection of health and the environment. The integrated impact assessment will also consider uses further downstream (professional and consumer uses, and waste stages) by determining how exposure takes place during professional and consumer use and how this may be avoided (e.g. by innovative solutions).
As case studies, the project will (i) consider mapping EU and national regulatory frameworks such as possible future regulation under REACH, Occupational Exposure Limits or any other legislation that may have or already are impacting the supply or use of raw materials; (ii) identify key mega sectors that use critical raw materials (aerospace, automobile, renewables, biotechnology etc.) impacted by such regulatory frameworks; (iii) use a pre-designed methodology to assess the socio-economic impacts to the European industry of the entry into force of the identified regulations for some CRMs (cobalt, beryllium, chromium, etc.) against the benefits and proportionality of each legal measure to be considered for reducing the risks to workers and consumers; and (iv) involve industrial stakeholders with European health and environment institutes for the elaboration of risk assessment models for each substance. These case studies will support the ‘regulatory risk’ as a criterion for the assessment of criticality of a substance in a value chain.

Description of the expected impacts

The project will support the design of future policy or decision-making in a way that preserve the (safe) use of raw materials that have a high economic value for the whole value chain and, hence, the EU industry; through methodologies elaboration (quantitative risk assessment and socio-economic implications) and industrial stakeholders implication.
Moreover, the project will promote an enhanced coordination between industry and environmental or health and safety policies at the EU but also Member State levels. Indeed, the objectives of these policies are sometimes conflicting; collaboration between the different entities is then necessary to prioritise the objectives, on the basis of a quantitative risk assessment and integrated impact assessments. The involvement of the entire value chain stakeholders, including SMEs, in this prioritisation will permit to obtain relevant data, feedback and suggestions for the impact assessments.
The third expected impact is the recognition and adoption of the ‘regulatory risk’ as a criterion in the assessment of raw material criticality.
The last impact of this project is the promotion of a trilateral (EU-Japan-US) trade cooperation on raw materials supply through the involvement of Japanese and American key industrial stakeholders in the BRITE consortium.

Coordinating organisation & role

Name of the coordinating organisation: BIO by Deloitte Country: FranceEntity profile: Private sector - large companyRole within the commitment:

Main Contact Point with the Commission, consortium partners and Steering Committee members; will ensure:
- Harmonious implementation of the whole project
- Financial and administrative management
- Reporting of activities, provision of deliverables
- Organisation of committees, meetings, etc.
- Management of crisis and difficulties
- Data confidentiality
- Development of Socio Economic Impact Assessment and quantitative risk assessment methodologies

Other partners

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V.

Name of the organisation: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V. Country: Germany Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: Fraunhofer will lead the CFRP and GFRP recycling research.
Fraunhofer will perform corrosion tests on the developed materials.
Fraunhofer will work with CIDAUT on the implementation, validation and refinement of LCCA tools for the project. Fraunhofer is the Quality Manager of the Consortium and will oversee deliverables and general reporting are produced with the best possible quality following agreed review standards.

Fundacion Cidaut

Name of the organisation: Fundacion Cidaut Country: Spain Entity profile:
Role within the commitment: CIDAUT will lead the research activities on materials recycling and compounding, implementing lab scale demonstrators of each process at its premises and, later, supporting end-users upscale the processes.
CIDAUT will perform mechanical tests, microstructural analyses, injection moulding capability studies on the developed materails, and will work with Fraunhofer on the implementation, validation and refinement of LCCA tools for the project.

RWTH Aachen University (Institute of plastic processing (IKV)

Name of the organisation: RWTH Aachen University (Institute of plastic processing (IKV) Country: Germany Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: RWTH will implement the novel 3D Generative Preforming process (3D Fibre Spraying) that enables to create high-value long fibre-reinforced 3D preforms for thermoplastic and thermoset composites at low process costs (different kinds of yarn as a raw material, low tooling costs due to low cavity pressures). This cost effective technology allows to align the sprayed fibres in order to produce high-performance, engineered anisotropic products.

Universita' di Cagliari

Name of the organisation: Universita' di Cagliari Country: Italy Entity profile:
Role within the commitment: University of Cagliari is one of the leading European organization in the resin design and coupling with thermoplastic and thermose materials. University of Cagliari will support in the definition of the composite materials, both from CFRP/GFRP, ABS and Rare Earth composite material.

Relight

Name of the organisation: Relight Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - SME
Role within the commitment: RELIGHT will work with ITRB to provide the research partners with residues for the recycled ABS supply and the REE recovery processes, including their HydroWEEE process as part of the processes to be studied and analyzed.

Piaggio Aerospace

Name of the organisation: Piaggio Aerospace Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - large company
Role within the commitment: Piaggio Aerospace is one of the project End Users (Aeronautics Industry): as such it will provide requirements and further applications that could be developed with the Consortium Materials. Piaggio will assist in the compounds selection, provide Fraunhofer with specific corrosion requirements on business jet size aircraft, and will assess that the developed materials performance fits the selected applications desired improvements.

Blackshape Aircrafts

Name of the organisation: Blackshape Aircrafts Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - SME
Role within the commitment: Blackshape Aircrafts is one of the project End Users (Aeronautics Industry): as such it will provide requirements and further applications that could be developed with the Consortium Materials. Blackshape will support to fulfill the requirements of the aeronautics industry on ultra light jet, light jet and trainer for Syllabus, and will assess that the developed alloys performance fits the selected applications desired improvements.

KU Leuven

Name of the organisation: KU Leuven Country: Belgium Entity profile: Academia
Role within the commitment: KUL will collaborate on the balance problem studies and will lead the rare earth recovery research with the solvometallurgical and ionometallurgical processes.
KUL will also contribute to the final compounding selection.
KUL is the Dissemination Manager of the project, promoting that all partners are active on the project Dissemination.

FIDAMC

Name of the organisation: FIDAMC Country: Spain Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: FIDAMC is going to lead the Work Package on Compression Moulding with CFRP-enhanced materials. As part of the AIRBUS Group, FIDAMC will also be able to provide the input material.
FIDAMC successfully developed a 3D Printer of own design to serve the Aerospace Industry and will be supporting Smart Lab 3D Industries in its 3D printer design.

COMPOSITE INNOVATION CENTER

Name of the organisation: COMPOSITE INNOVATION CENTER Country: Canada Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: Composite Innovation Center is one of the world leading organization in the field of Composite materials, both from carbon fiber and vegetal-based fibers.
Composite Innovation center has successfully implemented, at lab-scale, recycling processes for CFRP and GFRP.

Existing EU Contribution: No

Period to implement the commitment: from 07-02-2014 to 07-02-2019