January 2021 – Investment opportunities in raw materials in Bosnia and Herzegovina

This brochure has been created in the framework of the project InvestRawMaterials – Multifactor model for investments in the raw materialsector, case study Bosnia and Herzegovina, funded by European Instituteof Innovation and Technology (EIT) under the KIC Raw Materials program. In this brochure, we present you the outcome of the devoted work of theentire project consortium from 2017 to 2019. Here you will be able tofind the summary of the most relevant economic and legal data pertaining to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as geological data on 14 carefullyselected antimony, bauxite, fluorite and magnesite deposits. We hopethis brochure will find its way to interested parties and fulfill its purposeas a guide to the investors in this prospective, but insufficiently investigated area.

Download the brochure here

Project overview

September 2020 – European Raw Materials Alliance kickoff meeting

Peter Moser (Vice-rector of Montanuniversität Leoben was invited to the European Raw Materials Alliance kickoff meeting to give the commitee members a perspective from a research point of view:

“The European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA) is the first action of the Critical Raw Materials Action Plan of the European Commission. Research and development can play a vital role in the implementation of this by developing the necessary knowledge and theoretical frameworks that the approaches are based on, such as we have done in the past, like design of value chains, material efficiency of final products, etc. This initiative is highly appreciated and needed, however, systemically it is clear that in the future this alliance must expand its scope beyond building resilience for only value chains of specific materials. Society is undergoing a massive transformation currently, a transformation that needs to be successful for future generations to be able to meet their needs and live in favourable ecological conditions. This means that we cannot tackle challenges in our old conventional ways but that we need to transform our systems. Innovative technologies and change of human behaviour are the basis for meeting the ambitious climate targets of the Green Deal and the implementation of the sustainable development goals. In the following I will address the necessary research and development needs as a pre-requisite for this transformation because the kind of challenges we are facing are entirely new and we need new flexible and systemic ways to react to them. On the one hand, we need to create the knowledge basis for innovative technologies, alternative societal systems and responsible human behaviour. On the other hand, we also need to address the transformative needs of the R&D system itself to be fit for tackling these societal challenges effectively. Successful R&D in this context grows in a suitable biotope that we have to form – a biotope that attracts the most talented and creative researchers and provides them with a working environment where enthusiasm and inspiration is promoted, and stronger than the frustration from the frequent lack of R&D resources and bureaucracy.

In a nutshell:

  • we urgently need more enthusiastic visionary people and
  • we need sufficient resources for researchers to work efficiently and effectively
  • we need simplicity and less bureaucracy

In terms of people it is necessary that education and research work closely and in synergy so that our long-term human capacity needs are met. In terms of funding it is essential to provide stable and long-term funding frameworks to promote effective and visionary R&D environments. In terms of simplicity and low bureaucracy it is important to rethink how funding frameworks work. It is crucial to have uniform, simple and aligned rules across different frameworks.

The three ingredients for creating a suitable R&D biotope itself are:

  • First: The acknowledgement, awareness and conception that R&D is a solution provider for meeting the ambitious climate targets. This means that industry needs to be committed on a much higher level in the future to participate in R&D and long-term invest in it. Furthermore, we need to promote the image of the researcher as an indispensable puzzle piece of today’s challenges.
  • Second: The acknowledgement, awareness and conception that economic growth has planetary boundaries and that new technologies and societal systems build the basis for what we call resources and impact de-coupling, as conceptualized in the SDGs. We need to directly link the question of raw materials production to the question of raw materials consumption. Therefore, we have to evaluate the value of technologies not only from an economic perspective but also from an ecologic point of view. This takes systemic approaches which is only possible through massive interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Third: The acknowledgement, awareness and conception that we need to adapt and transform our R&D approaches and systems to make them more flexible and stable and thus fit for the challenges we are tackling.

In such type of new approaches and systems we have to implement much more the idea of short-term path finder projects, which upon success are followed by long term initiatives. A good first example in this direction is the European University initiative where a three-year starting period is followed by a long-term period of 10plus years of fixed financing, an approach that really promotes depth and excellence.

In conclusion, the societal transformation can be achieved on the basis of

  • a visionary research agenda,
  • enthusiastic and innovative researchers,
  • a supportive organisational research framework and
  • collaboration across sectors.”

Find the ERMA Agenda here

Sustainable Carbon Supply and Energy Mining

Sustainable Carbon Supply and Energy Mining based on Methane decomposition is seen as a major contribution to a future carbon footprint reduction while maintaining a sustainable supply with raw materials and green energy. Natural gas is the fossil fuel containing the least impurities with an estimated global resource of around 800 trillion m³. Although the composition of natural gas can vary to some extent, its primary component is methane, CH4. By endothermic decomposition (methane pyrolysis) methane can be split into its components carbon  and hydrogen (H2) where especially hydrogen is of interest as a future alternative for various industrial applications. Additionally, there is a high potential for various large-scale applications of carbon, especially in construction and agriculture, if the carbon is available at a lower price than from presently available resources.

Find out more here!

September 2020 – RM@School teaser video

We proudly present our new teaser video for RM@Schools. RM@Schools is a Wider Society Learning project funded by the EIT, focused on an innovative program to make science education and careers in RM attractive for youngsters. An active learning approach will be proposed to schools through RM Ambassadors by involving students in experiments with RM-related hands-on and digital educational toolkits, in excursions to industries, and in science dissemination activities. Apply here

July 2020 – Become a part of the EnAct-SDGs Network

The EnAct-SDGs project aims to create a dynamic network of universities, research institutes, industry and professionals to develop a roadmap to a modernised education. The project aims to promote innovation and new skills for sustainable development among the East and Southeast Europe (ESEE) university graduates and raw materials professionals.

The EnAct-SDGs project is looking for stakeholders from the Raw Materials Knowledge Triangle, primarily from the RIS eligible countries, that would like to join the EnAct-SDGs network and actively participate in the project’s activities.

Find the Call here: EnAct-SDGs website

July 2020 – The Journey summer school moves on

The Climate-KIC The Journey Summer School is Europe’s largest climate innovation summer school for graduates and young professionals. The Journey is usually a 4-week full time programme. Participants visit 3 of the 25 locations involved around Europe, focused on climate action, innovation, systems transformation and community building.

This year “The Journey” was held online with a multi-channel setup and a hands-on toolkit provided to every participant.

As we finish our second week of this year’s “The Journey” we would like to say goodbye to our dear participants. We hope to welcome you in Leoben in person soon!

September 2020 – EnActSDG´s Summer School

EnActSDG´s Summer school is a three days hands-on webinar on Innovation & Entrepreneurship for the Raw Materials industry. The programme is driven by the sustainability development goals and circular economy principles. Students will tackle on challenges proposed by the Industry to generate new business ideas and improve existing solutions; they will acquire new skills, learn to use new tools and develop a new mindset that will help building up their careers as innovation professionals.
The programme curriculum is provided by TU Freiberg, Montanuniversität Leoben, University of Trento and Hub Innovation Trentino, partners of ENACT project.
In this Pilot School students from TUKE, AGH and NTUA will participate as well as other students from the ESEE region.

Apply here

RIC Leoben Booklet 2020

We put a lot of effort into creating a booklet for our partners and for new interested parties. We wanted to distribute it this year but here we are with travel restrictions and lots of online meetings. Nevertheless you can view it online! Enjoy, All the best from the RIC Leoben Team

July 2020 – SafeDeepMining

We are proud to see a publication in the International Mining magazine about our SafeDeepMining project. Visit http://www.safedeepmining.eu/ for course information and keep up the good work!

April 2020 – EnActSDGs

Within the project “EnActSDGs” we aim at enhancing the skills of students in order to achieve the sustainability goals in the raw materials sector in Austria and internationally – but especially in the ESEE regions (East and South East Europe). To achieve this goal, we need you and your opinion as an expert. Therefore we ask you to answer a short survey.
Of course, your data will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and evaluated anonymously.
Your opinion can be a significant contribution to an even higher quality education and thus to quality improvement for the entire raw materials sector. In addition, there is also the possibility of making the company more publicly effective as well as accessible to students, for example with lectures, internships, financed industrial projects or financed projects in basic research.

You can find more information on the EnAct-SDGs website. If you wish you can subscribe to the EnAct-SDGs newsletter to receive news and updates on the project and invitations to participate in our activities.