Skip to main content
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Objectives of the commitment

This commitment is a contribution by National Geological Surveys, represented by their association EuroGeoSurveys, towards the European Union Raw Materials Knowledge Base.
Building on the ongoing EGDI-Scope and Minerals4EU projects, its general objectives are, by 2020, to stimulate investment in the exploration and exploitation of EU mineral resources assets, as well as to provide data, knowledge and tools for their sustainable management. Its specific objectives are:
- Development of interoperable/harmonised data models and digital information services;
- Development of a multilingual EU data infrastructure, compliant with the INSPIRE Directive, providing access to national/regional data assets;
- Providing annual publications of an EU minerals yearbook and minerals foresight;
- Set up a coordinating body to develop and manage the needed common data models and interoperability arrangements.

Description of the activities

The National Geological Surveys of Europe, united under their umbrella organisation EuroGeoSurveys, are responsible for the national geological data management of their respective countries. Their public databases can be considered as one key element of the European Union Raw Materials Knowledge Base (EU-RMKB).

To ensure the development and operations of the EU-RMKB, the following activities of National and Regional Geological Surveys are needed:
(1) Continue maintaining, updating and constantly improving the national databases on mineral deposits and occurrences, taking into account needs from various end-users. This includes improving of knowledge and exchange of best practice regarding the development of methods and techniques in the area of exploration (marine and on land).
(2) Harmonising the existing mineral resources relevant public, digital, data assets over specific high-potential zones; developing interoperability schemes and multilingual metadata/data access, sharing the best practices and expertise on economic geology and raw material data management between National Geological Surveys within Europe and worldwide, taking into account the specific needs arising from building up of EU-RMKB.
(3) To actively improve the mineral statistic data and to participate on foresight studies on mineral raw materials.
(4) To promote standardised geological services and improve existing services for various end-users, like companies, decision makers, and citizens.

This will deliver:
(1) An information infrastructure with coherent interoperable databases.
(2) Access to Pan-European, high-quality mineral resources related geological data.
(3) High quality data on mineralised areas, exploration and mineral production and flows; intelligence and foresight studies for public and private decision-makers, raw material producers and society.

The members of EuroGeoSurveys have already started the work, actively participating in the FP7-funded Minerals4EU project developing a structure to ensure the continuation of the minerals intelligence network beyond the lifetime of the project. Parallel to that, the EGDI-Scope project, also funded by FP7, is preparing for a pan-European Geological Data Infrastructure.

The current situation with regards to data availability is quite variable within Europe. National Surveys hold national databases, but there are great differences between them – different content, not harmonised, different rules on accessibility, etc. Several projects on harmonisation (e.g. ProMine, EURARE, EuroGeoSource) have made progress but are often not sustainable, not fully pan-European, not interoperable with national datasets or do not cover all resources.

Minerals4EU aims to address this by setting up a permanent network and information system, whilst the EGDI-Scope study will investigate possible infrastructures for a pan-European Geological Data Infrastructure. These initiatives, alongside others, are part of the EuroGeoSurveys Strategy towards the development of a European Geological Service (EU Geological Knowledge Base, including raw materials, but also other geological information).

This commitment aims at sustaining the outcomes of these aforementioned projects as well as those to come in the future, while also strengthening connections with the secondary mineral resources communities to provide more complete datasets and thus a complete overview of EU's mineral endowment.

Description of the expected impacts

The successful data harmonisation, knowledge sharing, and construction of a single pan-European geological data service will have diverse impacts on European level. This will contribute to a more secure and sustainable supply of raw materials. This will contribute to reduction of import dependency and promotion of exports by improving supply conditions from EU and providing resource efficiency, including recycling and alternatives in supply. This will also contribute towards putting Europe at the forefront in raw materials sectors by making Europe a leader in the capabilities related to exploration and recycling by 2020, as well as mitigating the related negative environmental and social impacts.

Existing literature, such as the report published in 2010 by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) “Government geoscience to support mineral exploration: public policy rationale and impact” documents the vital role of public geoscientific data assets and their value to society as a public good, as a same data set can lead to several discoveries by different economic players. Lambert (1999), based on the Australian experience, found that every $1 spent by government on pre-competitive geoscience led to discovery of in-ground resources worth $100 to $150.

Coordinating organisation & role

Name of the coordinating organisation: EuroGeoSurveysCountry: BelgiumEntity profile: OtherRole within the commitment:

To coordinate the activities of the network of European Geological Surveys, providing a communication channel in between the individual partners but also between the geological survey community and the stakeholders (EU Institutions, industry, public, etc.). To ensure alignment of these activities with the EIP SIP. To coordinate and play an active role in communication and dissemination activities.

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: Yes

Period to implement the commitment: from 01-05-2014 to 01-01-2020