WUST is the first Polish university to have become a member of ERMA - the European Raw Materials Alliance. At present, the alliance members comprise over 300 companies, organisations, and institutions joining forces to ensure the security of supply of raw materials for the European Union.

The European Raw Materials Alliance was announced early September this year as part of an action plan for the European security in the area of critical and strategic raw materials. The initiative’s key objectives are, among other things, to reduce the dependence of European Union countries on raw materials imported from so-called third countries (that is, countries outside the EU, the European Free Trade Association, or the European Economic Area), to develop and diversify strong supply chains, as well as to improve the management and reuse of resources while promoting responsible supply worldwide.

ERMA’s tasks include serving as a consultation platform and creating a fund to financially support key investments in raw materials (the so-called Raw Materials Investment Platform). It will also carry out activities aiming to promote public acceptance and awareness of the role of raw materials and advanced energy storage materials in the transition to a green and digital economy.

Currently, ERMA is a group of over 300 partners - companies from the mining industry (including both the largest companies operating in the sector such as Anglo American, Boliden, Epiroc Rock Drills, and KGHM, as well as smaller companies engaged in the processing and recovery of critical raw materials, including lithium), as well as associations, scientific institutions, financial organisations, and ministries of four countries.

Poland has now six representatives in ERMA - initially, apart from KGHM, they were Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa and our university, which were later joined by KGHM Cuprum Research and Development Centre, the Institute of the Chemical Processing of Coal, and Łukasiewicz Research Network – the Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals.

- The Alliance will support the mining industry to ensure the security of raw materials for the European Union. We joined it because we can see that, as a leading technical university in Poland with extensive experience in scientific projects and excellent research facilities, we can be of great help when involved in the planned activities - says Magdalena Worsa-Kozak, PhD, from the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, who, together with the Dean of the Faculty Prof. Radosław Zimroz established the details of WUST’s joining ERMA.

Professor Zimroz stresses that Wrocław University of Science and Technology is active in the EIT KIC Raw Materials programme, under which it is conducting several projects. The participation in ERMA provides an opportunity to make even better use of universities’ research potential as far as the field of raw materials is concerned. We have assets including 12 specialist laboratories equipped with modern apparatus, located in the new GEO-3EM research centre. These include the Laboratory of Earth Sciences and Mineral Engineering, the Laboratory of Modelling Techniques for Mining, the Laboratory of Machine Systems for Mining, and the Accredited Laboratory of Conveyor Belt Transport.

- They can become a testing ground for trying out and developing new technologies throughout the whole cycle of raw material processing or recovery – explain the W6 researchers.

Also, the university has an opportunity to play a major role in educational activities – not only as a place to educate the future workforce for the mining industry but also through measures to raise public awareness of raw materials.

You will find more information about ERMA here.