EIT RawMaterials Newsletter - 2019/May

On 20-22 May, the Raw Materials Summit 2019 will gather experts from Europe and the rest of the world to discuss Innovation and new Technologies covering the entire raw materials value chain. Most relevant topics in the raw materials sector will be addressed such as strategies concerning supply and access of raw materials, European industrial competitiveness and innovation capacity as well as entrepreneurship and innovation in education.

The Raw Materials Summit 2019 will provide all participants with a unique opportunity to understand the EU positioning concerning the energy transition and the impact this will have on raw materials supply and policies. The event will include keynotes by prominent speakers from the raw materials sector, representatives of the EU Commission, high profile entrepreneurs and start-up investors. Besides the keynote speeches, a series of parallel sessions will take place.

Start-ups will showcase and pitch their ideas to potential investors at the Venture Forum, and innovative programmes in Education will be presented.

Check the latest programme and become a part of the EIT RawMaterials flagship event!

Innovation project COFREE offers Cobalt-free solutions for cemented carbide tools and their production

Two Swedish competitors, Epiroc and Sandvik Coromant, decided to join forces with Swedish universities to find a substitute for cobalt as a binder in cemented carbides. Using advanced quantum mechanics modelling, researchers at KTH and Uppsala University were able to design an iron-nickel alloy that has the same binding properties as cobalt. Using this iron-nickel alloy, batches of cobalt-free tools were produced and the TRL5 performance of these tools looked promising.

To upscale their solution with the EIT RawMaterials funded innovation project COFREE, these four partners were joined by the Freeport, a Finnish company that currently refine and supply cobalt particles to the tooling and other industries.

The COFREE innovation project was vital to Epiroc and Sandvik Coromant contributing to the immediate R&D boost as well as the capacity for producing cobalt-free tools. This, together with Freeport capability to supply the iron-nickel alloy substitute, means that the European mining, manufacturing and tooling industries have the contingency in place and the supply of cemented carbide tools is secure in the era of raw materials supply uncertainty.

Learn more about the EIT RawMaterials funded project COFREE boosting R&D forces of partners to develop cobalt-free mining and manufacturing tools.

On 28 March 2019 in Brussels, the EIT Jumpstarter, a competition and training programme for start-ups run cooperatively by EIT RawMaterials, EIT Health and EIT Food, won the Best Association Training Initiative category in the European Association Awards celebrating the vital work that the European Associations do on behalf of their members.​

The EIT Jumpstarter 2019 has kicked off this spring. During the bootcamps, participants will learn how to get started on building a business in a unique cross-industry environment: building a team, business processes and organisational design. The primary focus is on quantitative business model building. At the end of the program, graduates will prepare their pitch deck, business model canvas, competitive landscape, go-to-market strategy and roadmap. Participants will be selected based on the strength of the entrepreneurial idea, their impact on the sector and their growth potential. 

Read more about the EIT Jumpstarter boosting innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe.

Raw Materials Summit 2019
20-22 May in Berlin, Germany

STINGS project at EXPONOR 2019
27-30 May in Antofagasta, Chile

EIT RawMaterials at the 15th MiningForum 2019
27-28 June in Berlin, Germany

Copper 2019 Conference
18-21 August in Vancouver, Canada

EIT RawMaterials at the 9th International Conference on Life Cycle Management
1-4 September in Poznan, Poland

EIT RawMaterials at the European Minerals Days 2019
20-22 September, tba

Visual3D Conference
1-2 October in Uppsala, Sweden

4th Expert Forum on Sustainable Materials for Future Mobility: Electrification and Lightweight Design
7-9 October in Turin, Italy

EIT RawMaterials at the 12th Fennoscandian Exploration and Mining (FEM 2019)
29-31 October in Levi, Finland

Assessment of undiscovered mineral resources – the MAP method: theory and examples
1 November in Levi, Finland 

C-BOOT: pre-startup coaching programme for circular entrepreneurs
Registration deadline is 20 May 2019

Course: Powder and Hard Materials
3-7 June in Gothenburg, Sweden

RMTechFlow workshop: IP and Innovation Management
11-12 June in Trento, Italy​

RawMaterials University Day @ the 8th International Geosciences Conference
16-20 June in Uppsala, Sweden

INNOMAT course on Critical Raw Materials and the Life Cycle Assessment Methodology
17-18 June in Brussels, Belgium

RawMatCop Academy 2019: Copernicus for Raw Materials, Discover the Potential!
17-20 June in Bologna, Italy

Course: Press and Sinter
17-21 June in Grenoble, France

Talk Nerdy To Me – A Science Communication Bootcamp
1-4 July in Goslar, Germany

Course: Hot Isostatic Pressing
1-5 July in Coventry, UK

SusCritMat Summer School for Educators
10-12 July in Cambridge, UK

Summer Camp: Doctoral Course for Circular Economy Entrepreneurship in System Integrated Metals Processing
31 July - 2 August in Delft, the Netherlands

Raw & Circular Economy Expedition (RACE)
18-31 August in 4 locations across Europe

Course: Additive Manufacturing
26-30 August in Dresden, Germany

Lightweight Professional: Introductory Module
3-5 September in Munich, Germany

Course: Metal Injection Moulding
9-13 September in Madrid, Spain

Lightweight Professional: Introductory Module
17-19 September in Leuven, Belgium

Conference and Ideation: The Future of Raw Materials – related Higher Education in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
2-3 October in Zagreb, Croatia

Lightweight Professional: Introductory Module
8 October in Altavilla Vicentina, Italy

Lightweight Professional: Introductory Module
8-10 October in Bilbao, Spain​

Circular Economy – Sustainable Materials Management (MOOC)
Online

The E-Waste Challenge (MOOC)
Online

U-START Call on Circular Economy
Application deadline is 31 May 2019

Start-up and SME Booster Call 2019
Application deadline is 14 June 2019

Veolia PraxisCamp 4.0
13-14 June in Berlin, Germany