Newsletter March 2021

A message from Bernd Schäfer
CEO, Managing Director

Dear members and friends of the EIT RawMaterials Community,

This month we launched our Call for Projects 2022 (KAVA 8). For our 2022 portfolio, we will be supporting education, upscaling and Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) Capacity Building projects which will help to drive the European Green Deal. We aim to equip industry with the skilled professionals and ground-breaking clean technologies needed to transform our economy, while harnessing the potential of raw and advanced materials to boost Europe’s strategic autonomy, resilience and growth. I warmly invite partners to take advantage of the networking and support offered by our Innovation team and Innovation Hubs to help prepare high quality proposals.

The European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA) is growing in strength, now with over 500 organisations from companies to government ministries, universities and NGOs having joined. ERMA continues to engage with policymakers at the highest levels in order to highlight the importance of reliable, secure and sustainable access to raw materials.

I am convinced that universities have a key role to play in transforming innovation ecosystems for Europe’s green, digital future. EIT RawMaterials is proud to be leading the new HEI Initiative, which launched on 24 March, and will empower Higher Education Institutions to become regional engines of innovation and entrepreneurship. Funding of up to €1.2m per project is available for the pilot call, to which EIT RawMaterials university partners are encouraged to apply.

To support circular economy entrepreneurs and SMEs, we have announced the Raw Materials and Circular Societies Prize. This will help to develop innovative business models which will contribute to EIT RawMaterials’ objective of closing materials loops, which is vital to securing Europe’s raw materials supply and building a sustainable economy.

These are challenging times for many of us, but I am confident that through the strength of our network and the power of education, innovation and entrepreneurship, we can ensure that raw materials enable Europe to become the global leader in clean technologies for the emerging green economy.

I hope that you and your families stay safe and well.

Warm regards,
Bernd Schäfer
CEO, Managing Director

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