Time: 10:00 – 12:00 CET on 14 October 2024  

Language: English  

Organiser: Geokompetenzzentrum Freiberg e.V. (GKZ) & Co-organiser: Chemie Cluster Bayern (CCB)  

Currently, the European Commission is set to improve the competitiveness of the EU industry and mature the single market. To strengthen the resilience of SMEs in today’s rapidly changing environment, the pivotal role of innovation in boosting competitiveness is emphasized. However, due to their size, SMEs often lack the resources to conduct research and innovation activities independently. To address this challenge, this webinar will introduce strategic research priorities of both  

• the next EU framework programme (FP10) after Horizon Europe (FP9) with an insight on the Strategic Research Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of the European Technology Platform on Sustainable Mineral Resources (ETP SMR) in which GKZ shares the co-editorship; and 

• ERA MIN 3, a separated European funding programme complementary to the FP10, supported by selected EU Member States and associated countries, dedicated to ensure the sustainable supply and use of raw materials for the green and digital transitions.  

Afterwards, a discussion with all participants will take place to identify key research topics of interest and lessons learned from past experiences with regard to the given framework conditions, e.g., application processes. The findings will be shared with ETP SMR and contribute to the shaping of the future EU research agenda.     

Another highlight of this webinar is to present how SMEs could benefit from the business support measures implemented by the EU-funded IDEALIST project. One of them is the upcoming thematic industrial excursion (Learning Expedition – an in-person visit) on 20^th and 21^st of November, 2024 in Florence, Italy, focusing on practical applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain¹ in SMEs. As an example, blockchain can monitor the entire journey of a material along the supply chain, recording all critical information no matter where the material is mined, processed and produced. Large companies such a Volvo and Minsur (global tin producer) have started to invest in blockchain traceability.  

Agenda: 

10:00 – 10:05 Welcome 

10:05 – 10:20 FP10 and strategic research priorities as per ETP SMR SRIA – Wolfgang Reimer (GKZ, ExCom ETP SMR) 

10:20 – 10:40 Strategic research priorities of ERA MIN 3 – Tobias C. Kampmann (Vinnova) 

10:40 – 11:10 Discussion on research topics of interest and improvement of the practicability of application processes 

11:10 – 11:20 SMEs benefiting from the IDEALIST project – Meng-Chun Lee (GKZ) & Ting Liu (CCB) 

11:20 – 11:30 How to make use of AI and blockchain in energy intensive industry? 2nd IDEALIST Learning Expedition for SMEs on 20-21 Nov. 2024 – Irina Vescu (DITECFER) 

11:30 – 11:45 Experience made by an automation company for energy intensive industry from the 1st IDEALIST Learning Expedition – tbc (TERAWATT GROUP)