EIT Raw Materials has the ambitious vision of turning the challenge of raw materials dependence into a strategic strength for Europe. Its mission is to boost the competitiveness, growth and attractiveness of the European raw materials sector via radical innovation and entrepreneurship.

It includes over 110 core and associate partners who are leaders in their fields. They will contribute €8 million in cash and almost €30 million in kind already in the first year.

The approach will pay particular attention to systemic thinking and de-siloing across the value chain.

The KIC’s organisational structure will combine top-down and bottom-up governance: Strategic directions will be defined at the headquarters level through a matrix structure joining market needs and thematic expertise in the co-location centres (CLCs).

This will be realised through the introduction of innovative and sustainable products, processes and services and well-educated people that will deliver increased economic, environmental and social sustainability to European society.

Challenge

• EU is highly dependent on imports of raw materials that are crucial for core industrial activities
• Increasing the supply of materials from all types of sources requires a range of technologies, infrastructures, trade measures and policies that can dynamically adjust to different resource types, availability and product compositions
• The challenge for the EIT RawMaterials is to fully utilise the potential of industrial symbiosis through applying a systemic perspective and to revitalise the human capital in the raw materials sector.

Vision

• To rise to this challenge, our vision is to develop raw materials into a major strength for Europe
• In this vision, products, processes and solutions are geared towards the closure of highly interconnected material cycles
• The vision requires the development of a systemic link between the optimal use of primary and secondary resources complemented by a new generation of skilled people entering industry, universities and research

Goals

• Creating and developing new game changing businesses across Europe;
• Boosting the existing raw materials sector through the market introduction of new materials, investment in new production and processing units,
• system integration and setting up of new partnerships across the value chain using innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) solutions and smart product design;
• Creating new entrepreneurial education approaches addressing the development needs of graduates and professionals in the RM sector to support the effective transformation of ideas into businesses and contribute to a resource and cost-efficient industry.