Two representatives of the European Commission in charge of the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials (EIP-RW) visited ERAMET Research, the Groupe’s research centre, in late October 2013. They were accompanied by representatives of French institutions: the COMES (Strategic Metals Committee) as well as the Environment and Foreign Affairs ministries.
The EIP-RW aims at fostering R&D and innovation, coordinating capital expenditure and speeding up the definition of standards on raw materials-related subjects. It is structured around a roadmap that sets strategic orientations on crucial issues such as dependence in raw material supplies, recycling challenges or the presence and development of know-how inside Europe.
The tour of laboratories and pilot facilities at ERAMET Research enabled this European delegation to grasp the importance of metallurgy in the raw material value chain, to have a more practical view of it and to better understand the crucial role of pilot facilities for an essential validation phase in any industrial development.
For ERAMET, this meeting was an opportunity to prove that the Groupe is fully aligned on the European Commission’s goal of fostering innovation as a solution vector in response to the priorities identified on raw material issues.
