Innovative solutions for efficient use and enhanced recovery of mineral and metal by-products from processing of raw materials (IA) -

Expected Outcome:

Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the destination by increasing access to primary raw materials and secondary raw materials, in particular critical raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Increase process selectivity, broader range and higher recovery rates of valuable raw materials, particularly critical raw materials;
• Unlocking substantial reserves of new or currently unexploited/underexploited resources within the EU;
• Significantly increase economic performance in terms of higher material-, water-, energy- and cost-efficiency and flexibility in minerals processing, metallurgical or recycling processes;
• Significantly improve the health, safety and environmental performance of the operations throughout the whole life cycle which is considered, including a reduction in waste, wastewater and emissions generation and a better recovery of resources from generated waste;
• Contribute to the implementation of the following actions of the EU Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials: Action 8: Develop Horizon Europe R&I projects on processes for exploitation and processing of critical raw materials to reduce environmental impacts starting in 2021 and Action 3: Launch critical raw materials R&I in 2021 on waste processing, advanced materials and substitution.[1]

Scope:

Actions should develop sustainable systemic solutions through industrially- and user driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain of non-fuel, non-food raw materials.

Actions should develop energy-, material- and cost-efficient new sustainable mineral processing and/or metallurgical technologies and processes to increase the selectivity and the recovery rates of valuable by-products[2], particularly critical raw materials[3]. The importance of the targeted raw material by-products for the EU economy should be duly demonstrated in the proposal. Recycling of end-of-life products is excluded from this topic.

Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the industrial partners after the end of the project.

Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions developed through industrially- and user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain and should consider standardisation aspects when relevant.

Actions should justify the relevance of selected pilot demonstrations in different locations within the EU (and also outside if there is a clear added value for the EU economy, industry and society).

Actions should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external stakeholders and the general public across the EU about the importance of raw materials for society, the challenges related to their supply within the EU and about proposed solutions which could help to improve society's acceptance of and trust in sustainable raw materials production in the EU.

Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate resources accordingly.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

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Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

[1] COM (2020) 474

[2] The term "by-products" should be interpreted here as the constituents usually accompanying the major component(s) of a raw material at low concentrations.

[3] EU list of critical raw materials 2020 – add link when published

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