Call for proposals 2022 / Innovation / EIT Raw Materials

The DRAFT proposals should not exceed 5 pages and should contain:

• an executive summary, with objectives, outcomes and final results expected (1/2 page),
• a short description of the consortium with role of each partner (1/2 page)
• detailed information (4 pages) addressing call type specific criteria (please see these criteria under Education / Innovation / RIS section), which will be evaluated as “yes/no”; only proposals receiving “yes” to all of the criteria will be invited to submit a FINAL proposal.

The FINAL proposals will be evaluated according to three sets of criteria (more detail in the call text):

1. Eligibility criteria - mandatory requirements (proposals that do not meet such criteria will not be considered for further evaluation);
2. Quality criteria - quality criteria against which the collected proposals will be scored and ranked by external evaluators;
3. Strategy criteria - strategy criteria against which the collected proposals will be scored and ranked by the EIT RawMaterials Management Team.

Eligible proposals will be selected based on the quality and strategy criteria ranking. Quality criteria (external. evaluation) account for 70% of the final score, while strategy criteria (EIT RawMaterials evaluation) account for 30%.

• Project duration 1 to 3 years
• Application success rate 59% (BP2020)
• Average granted budget per project 627K€ (BP2020)
• Average co-funding required per project 30% (innovation); 0% (education)

• It must be clearly explained how the proposal is aligned with the Strategic Agenda 2021-27 of EIT RawMaterials (FPA, Annex I)
• The project consortium must consist of a minimum of 2 KIC Partners, coming from a minimum of 2 different countries
• The lead organization must be a Core or Associate Partner (or Linked Third Party to a Core or Associate Partner) of EIT RawMaterials at the time of proposal submission
• The project consortium must include KIC partners from at least 2 sides of the knowledge triangle (education, research, industry/business - as defined in the Partner registration documentation)
• Non-members are eligible to apply only if they submit an EIT RawMaterials membership application by the end of September 2021. Failure to apply for EIT RawMaterials membership by the end of September 2021 will result in their removal (including the requested funding) from the proposal (note that the project will be immediately terminated if eligibility criteria are not met at this stage)

• A detailed work plan must be provided for each year of the project duration at the time of proposal submission, including determined milestones planning 

• All proposals must include a ‘Dissemination and Communication Plan’ Work Package, following the communications guidelines included in the document ‘EIT RawMaterials Communication and dissemination guidance’

• All proposals must include a ‘Project Management’ Work Package, following the guidelines included in the document ‘EIT RawMaterials Project Management guidance’. The project should be managed by a project manager (PM) with relevant expertise in managing complex projects. Her/his profile can differ from the PC’s, and s/he should commit to the project with a 15% FTE, to be monitored with timesheets (timesheet approved internally + declaration of honour) during project reporting. A one-page CV of the PM must be provided

What is it?

All the Innovation projects (and some of the education projects) receive EIT funding has to commit to pay EIT KIC success fee in case the the project is successfully commercialized and the business owner(s) earn revenue with the results of the project 

Why?

The aim is to diversify the EIT KICs income flow so they would rely not only on the EIT funding & Membership Fee and they could support new projects even after the 7+7 years when EIT do not provide any additional financial support

How?

EIT RawMaterials will consider two main types of FS mechanisms:

1. Revenue sharing: EIT RawMaterials receives a percentage of the revenue generated from the project in at least the amount of the allocated grant if the commercialisation is successful.
2. Any other reasonable mechanism contributing to the financial sustainability of the KIC the Parties may agree upon. In that regard, the consortium shall remain open to enter into negotiations with EIT RawMaterials to co-invest into a project spin-off at a later stage, if applicable; project backflow could be reinvested into this new venture

Zoltan Javor
+358 45 3472373
zoltan.javor@aalto.fi

Proposals receiving “yes” to all of the following criteria will be invited to submit a FINAL proposal:

1. Alignment with the EIT RawMaterials Strategic Agenda 2021-27,
2. Alignment to the topics described in the Thematic orientation
3. Achievement of EIT Core KPIs
4. Composition of the consortium
5. Alignment with a least one Lighthouse program - for Master Education proposals
6. Minimum one RIS university partner – only for Master Education proposals
7. Inclusion of a revenue sharing model – only for LLL proposals

EIT RawMaterials will call for a limited number of lifelong learning projects dealing with 2 thematic areas:

1. Raw and Advanced Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion: Battery minerals, battery production (cells, packs), applications (1^st and 2^nd life,  recycling)

2. Rare Earth Magnets and Motors: Metallurgical processes, magnet manufacturing, e-motor & generator design, dismantling

Please note that each proposals submitted for this call has to fulfill the General Eligibility Criteria listed above. In case of LLL projects the following criteria should be also addressed:

• LL proposals must include a ‘Go-to-market strategy’ Work Package 0
• LL proprosals must include a model of revenue generation through joint service creation together with EIT RawMaterials, in addition to the contribution of co-funding. There in no pre-set nor preferred model as this is highly dependent on the type and scope of the project. The model must be developed in consulation with the KIC and must be described in the proposal
• The project cannot have one partner (including its Linked Third Parties) as the Work Package leader in all Work Packages. In most projects, it is envisaged (but not mandatory) that each partner will lead at least one WP, and that no more than 50% of the EIT funding will be assigned to any one partner (justification to be provided otherwise)

• Must prove customer-demand at the time of proposal submission, be provided in the proposal as a. letter of intent. Deliverable: training needs analysis. This report describes and analyses the professional education need expressed by at least one company.
• Can demonstrate a competitive advantage over existing lifelong learning offers in the European marketplace, including an overview of the existing offers and price-benchmarking against existing competitors. Deliverable: courses design.
• Must provide sound business model. Deliverable: Business model. Partners will develop a business model for the course consisting at least of its cost structure and the expected turnover as a function of the number of participants.
• Must contribute to the KIC sustainability. At the start of the project, EIT RawMaterials will discuss with the Commercialisation partner a strategy for the financial sustainability of the KIC. Details of the backflow will be negotiated prior to the signing of the Project Agreement (PA) and will be outlined in the PA. If the project is recommended for funding, the details of the backflow mechanism (amount, caps, timeline, responsible party/ies, conditions, etc.) must be fully defined and agreed upon in writing by both parties before the project starts. Funds will be released only after both parties have agreed on the backflow mechanism and estimated amount.
• Must record achievements, lessons learnt, and continuously improve. Deliverable: course evaluation.

This year EIT-RM is also looking to establish 2 new EIT-Labelled Master programmes on the following topics:

1. Mining Engineering: The focus of the master degree programme in mining engineering should take a global view to the mining sector and cover the entire mining life cycle and value chain, from resource exploration to mine design and operations to mine closure. Economic, environmental, societal but also health & safety dimensions will be addressed at all stages of the mining life cycle.
2. Mineral Resources Exploration: combines a field based learning approach together with innovative methods for exploration in challenging environment. An additional focus on sustainability performance including key social and environmental risks associated to exploration activities will be positively evaluated. Several key learning objectives to be included in the programme (not exhaustive): Apply and integrate data science to mineral exploration challenges;  Understand the genesis of ore deposits; Apply modern analytical techniques to mineral exploration; Conduct detailed geological mapping of ore deposits; Evaluate the resources and reserves of a deposit; Communicate to different stakeholder groups; Evaluate the environmental and social impact of exploration.

Three of the four of the EIT Core KPIs on education are directly related to EIT-Label Education. For this reason EIT RawMaterials will seek proposals on master education degree programmes that deliver on the following EIT Core KPIs:

• # graduates from EIT-Labelled degree programmes (EIT HE 7.1)
• # students and/or graduates from EIT-Labelled programmes who create start-ups (EIT HE 5.1)
• # students and/or graduates from EIT-Labelled programmes who join start-ups (EIT HE 9.1)

Master degree proposals submitted in KAVA Call 8 which demonstrate they will fulfil the compulsory EIT-Label requirements outlined in the EIT-Label Handbook and commit to satisfying the remaining EIT-Label requirements in the EIT-Label Handbook.

These EIT-Label requirements are listed here but for more detailed information please check here the EIT-Label Handbook or contact Zoltan Javor:

• Mobility: Cross-Organizational and International
• Language: must be taught in English
• RIS involvement: Minimum one higher education institution involved in delivering the education must be from a RIS country
• Non-Academic Involvement: non-academic stakeholders are meaningfully involved in the development and evolution of the curriculum
• Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E): I&E content shall represent minimum 15 ECTS
• Overarching Learning Outcomes (OLOs):  EIT-Labelled degree programmes must have a strong focus on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, and also on shaping a sustainable society based on ethics and human values
• Student recruitment and selection: entrepreneurial potential should be part of the selection process

Proposals receiving “yes” to all of the following criteria will be invited to submit a FINAL proposal:

1. For a proper alignment with the selected Lighthouse topics and the Strategic Agenda 2021-27, the proposal draft targets one of the topics described for each Lighthouse program,
2. To make sure that it will create a High impact, the proposal aims at delivering innovative solution(s) to the market and potentially translate into a larger project for which additional capital/investment (e.g. European Raw Materials Alliance) will be required, as well as to create a relevant amount of jobs
3. To support the commercial attractiveness, the proposal clearly aims to deliver / commercialise something to the market, with a clear definition of the economic benefit it will create. A good understanding of the market potential and the identification of the first customers is also required
4. The commercialization capacity should also be demonstrated with into the consortia clear roles &. responsibilities on partners contribution to the commercialisation activity, with an initial business model already in place (who sells what to whom, how revenues will be made, ..)
5. The amount of negotiable payback, time horizon for pay back and estimated backflow revenues for the organization should also be clearly described.

The proposed project should bring a breakthrough innovation or radical new ways to address raw materials challenges in the following domains:

Sustainable Materials for Future Mobility

• Resource efficient design of materials and products to optimise the use of critical raw materials and to substitute toxic materials.
• Innovative technical and business solutions in process design, plant engineering and  construction for the production of precursor materials, advanced materials, and intermediate  products.
• Development of an improved Life Cycle Inventory database for raw materials and advanced  materials related to e-mobility.

Raw Materials and Circular Societies

• Circular products - Design for circularity tools/methodologies.
• Recycling of end-of-life products containing Strategic Materials and/or Critical Raw Materials dismantling, sorting and recovering technologies.
• Supply of Strategic Materials and/or CRMs through industrial Waste Valorisation/Industrial  Symbiosis.

Sustainable Discovery and Supply

• Targeted exploration of Strategic Materials and/or CRMs with advanced multi-scale data integration and quantifiable approach to scoping and pre-feasibility and a clear investor focus.
• Supply of Strategic Materials and/or CRMs in a responsible way and adhering to Social Licence to  Operate (SLO) principle, including traceability of Strategic Materials and/or CRM.
• Processing capacity of primary Strategic Materials and/or CRMs. Increase in processing capacity,  efficiency and sustainability, including the expansion of existing facilities and creation of new  facilities.

Please note that each proposals submitted for this call has to fulfill the General Eligibility Criteria listed above. In case of Upscaling projects the following criteria should be also addressed:

• It must clearly explain how the proposal addresses one or more of the topics listed in the Lighthouse Appendix
• The proposal must clearly state if and how it has the potential to become an investment case for the European Raw Materials Alliance within the funding period
• The co-funding contributed by the project consortium should be minimum 30% of the total funding (NOT 30% of the EIT funding). Co-funding exceeding 30% will be evaluated positively, but does not replace the financial backflow requirement.
• The proposal must include a strategy and a tentative plan for the financial sustainability of the KIC
• All proposals must include a Go-to-market Strategy Work Package (WP0), following the guidelines outlined in the document ‘Go-to-market strategy for upscaling projects – Process and guidance’
• A Preliminary Market analysis must be included in the proposal

• All projects must lead to specific deliverables and outputs over a defined time schedule and they will be financed by EIT RawMaterials (the KIC) only for a defined duration.
• The project duration can be from a minimum of 1 year to a maximum of 3 years
• It is expected that the budget for each project will be no less than € 500,000 per year (including EIT funding and consortium co-funding).
• Upscaling projects are innovation projects based on validated technologies that need additional step(s) for up-scaling, demonstration or implementation. The objective is to bring the technology to market, as a product, service or process.
• All the funded projects must contribute to the financial sustainability of the KIC
• The technology must be at least TRL 5 at the beginning of the project, corresponding to a “technology validated in relevant environment”. Documented evidence must be provided in the application to substantiate this claim.
• At the end of the project, the technology is expected to have reached a. least TRL 7, corresponding to a “system prototype demonstration in operational environment”. Information must be provided in the application to substantiate this claim, and the project may be scored very low or even deemed to be ineligible without it.
• Upscaling projects must aim for market introduction and/or a commercial use within 3 years (or less) after. the end of project. Projects that aim for commercialization within the project duration will be evaluated positively. The proposal must clearly state who (which partner) will be responsible for commercialization, and outline a plan for market introduction.
• Deliverables must include a mandatory Final Report and an explanation of whether and how the KAVA project will be continued by the partners. The Final Report must include a Conclusion.
• All projects will be tracked and their progress will be assessed for 5 years after the end of the funding period.
• Regardless of the funding source, if an entity incurs costs as part of a KAVA they need to become KIC partners (with the exception of the RIS task partners). In other words, non-members who receive funding, or who incur costs as a result of a KAVA (even if the funding is brought in by them) need to become partners,