La Palma Research Centre

ROBOMINERS Project Meeting, Tampere, January 2023

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The ROBOMINERS Project teams joined together in Tampere, Finland, to discuss the current status of the project and next steps in the development of a unique mining technology line. The project will finish in November 2023, so it is important to discuss issues and work together to achieve the goals. This meeting was held on the 24, 25 and 26 January 2023. From the side of La Palma Research Centre, two members of the team were there to contribute to discussions.

The first day was dedicated to the presentation of the status of the 9 relevant Work Packages, which covered topics ranging from technical (Simulations, virtual prototyping, scale model experiments, Miner design and prototype development, etc) and less technical (Active roadmapping & clusters, Integrated sustainability assessment, etc). LPRC, who leads the Active roadmapping & clusters Work Package, presented the activities of 2022 and what are the next steps. The day finished with technical discussions between the partners.

On the second, LPRC hosted a Workshop with the project partners dedicated to the Preparation for Pilots. Divided between two groups lead by LPRC members, the workshop aimed at collecting information about the site selection for testing the technology in 2030 and for commercial application in 2050. A paralell objective was to gather data on future research pathways that are interesting for the ROBOMINERS technology line.  After the workhsop, more technical discussions were held. The day was complemented with a visit to a nearby museum.

The final day was dedicated to the preparation of the upcoming field activities: integration of the robot-miner between different partners, testing in laboratory conditions and demonstrations with the miner in the real environemnt.

LPRC will now process the details and information collected during the workshops and will use the data to implement the remaining Tasks: Preparation for Pilots and Roadmapping.

Follow ROBOMINERS on the website and its social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube) to learn more about and keep informed with the project!

CIRAN project

CIRAN project Kick-off, Brussels, January 2023

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The recently started CIRAN EU-funded project held its Kick-off meeting in Brussels, Belgium, and the LPRC team was present to meet project partners, discuss the objectives and map the many implementation aspects of CIRAN, especially the ones that are most relevant to LPRC.

CIRAN – CrItical RAw materials extraction in enviroNmentally protected areas – is an EU-funded Horizon Europe project that aims at reconciling two societal objectives and needs: protecting environmentally sensitive areas and increasing socio-economic resilience. The project that just started on the 1st of January 2023 and that will last until 31st December 2025, counts with 13 partners from 11 European countries. The project partners met for the first time in Brussels, Belgium, on the 10th and 11th of January 2023 for the Kick-off meeting, organised by INTRAW, the project coordinator. The total list of consortium members includes:

  • International Raw Materials Observatory (INTRAW)
  • MacCabeDurneyBarnes (MDB)
  • Geologian tutkimuskeskus (GTK)
  • Telos Aleff (TAL)
  • Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning (SGU)
  • Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA)
  • Regione Emilia-Romagna (RER)
  • La Palma Research Centre (LPRC)
  • Geologia e Geotecnia Consultores (GGC)
  • Generator (GEN)
  • Proman Consulting (PRM)
  • Petronavitas (PN)
  • Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA)

The agenda of the meeting focused on connecting and engaging with project partners, generating trust and a collaborative environment for the project implementation. From this perspective, the work plan for the project was detailed and discussed. LPRC attended to present the planned work for Task 3.3 – Nexus between policy decisions and drivers of change and Task 7.1 – Communication and outreach. LPRC leads these two tasks where it will implement foresight-based exercises to collect data from experts on the connection points between policy and drivers of change that affect policymaking and develop, create and implement communication tools such as the website, social media, brochures and other material to connect the project with the relevant stakeholders.

Project work will now continue and more news will follow.

LPRC joins four new Horizon Europe projects

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Together with the start of the year, La Palma Research Centre is also starting its participation in four new innovative and exciting Horizon Europe-funded projects in the fields of natural sciences, social sciences, engineering and technology. These four projects are:

  • CIRAN (CrItical RAw materials extraction in enviroNmentally protected areas) – CIRAN will develop, test and validate processes to arrive at systemic policy-making, balancing environmental protection and societal needs for accessing critical raw materials (CRMs).
  • FIREFLY (FlexIble, predictive and Renewable Electricity powered electrochemical toolbox For a sustainable transition of the catalyst-based European chemicaL industrY) – FIREFLY rises to the sustainable evolution of the catalyst-based chemical industry, towards its electrification and reduced third-party dependence on metals and fossil energy.
  • AIRSHIP (Autonomous Flying Ships for Inter-Island and Inland Waters Transport) – AIRSHIP envisions an innovative use of a known transportation mean: flying ships. Such vehicles are designed and built to take advantage of the ground effect, that allows these crafts to fly with enhanced lift and reduced drag.
  • TRIDENT (Technology Based  Impact Assessment Tool for Sustainable, Transparent Deep Sea Mining Exploration and Exploitation) – TRIDENT aims to contribute to a sustainable exploitation of seabed mineral resources, by developing a reliable, transparent and cost-effective system for prediction and continuous environmental impact monitoring of exploration and exploitation activities in the deep sea.

These projects will have their first meetings throughout January 2023. Once they happen, there will more news to share!

LPRC leads the SEAWINGS project!

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La Palma Research Centre is the coordinator of a recently-funded EDF (European Defence Fund) project that has just started – SEAWINGS (Sea/Air Interphasic Wing-In-Ground Effect Autonomous Drones). The project was submitted to the Call “Open call dedicated to SMEs for development of innovative and future-oriented defence solutions”. The project will last for 42 months and has received a total funding of almost 4 Million Euros.

The SEAWINGS project will develop a new class of military surveillance drones to operate in the sea/air interface giving rise to a new type of unmanned craft, Unmanned Wing-In-Ground Vehicles, capable of very high payloads, inexpensive, long range that do no require infrastructure or launch vehicle for departure and landing.

The consortium for this innovative project includes:

  • La Palma Research Centre SL (Coordinator) – Spain
  • Universidad Politecnica de Madrid – Spain
  • INESC TEC – Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciencia – Portugal
  • Trisolaris Advanced Technologies, Lda. – Portugal
  • Zanasi Alessandro SRL – Italy
  • Porvalor – Ativos de Engenharia Lda. – Portugal

More information can be found on the following images:

La Palma Research Centre

LPRC presents itself to the TIMREX MSc programme students

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La Palma Research Centre (LPRC) was present at an event to introduce the non-academic partners to the students of the TIMREX MSc programme. The Partner Introductory Event was an opportunity for students to learn about the activities and added value from industry partners in TIMREX with regards to innovations in mineral exploration and the opportunities for students to join their activities.

LPRC presented the company, its mission and vision for the geosciences and sustainable development. The presentation then focused on the TIMREX work on mapping Innovation and Entrepreneurship-related skills and competencies, how these are considered in TIMREX and how students can benefit from acquiring certain skills for professional and personal development alike. The title of the presentation was “Defining future skills and competencies needs for the raw materials sector”.

Work will continue with the integration in the TIMREX curricula of means to deliver the selected skills and competencies.

 

La Palma Research Centre

LPRC joins the INCORE meeting in La Reunion

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The INCORE partners met in the Island of La Reunión (France) on the 21-23 November 2022. LPRC was present there contributing to the representativenes of the Canary Islands as an Outermost Region – which is one of the company’s main missions.

The first day of events happened on 21 November 2022, hosted by the partner École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs Réunion Océan Indien – ESIROI (Université de La Réunion). In this opportunity, external stakeholders from the island attended the open event to deliver high level presentations. In addition, the event counted with contributions from members of the Regional Council, companies, and representatives of local research & innovation initiatives. A roundtable discussion on the INCORE project, Innovation and Entrepeurship completed the day.

The second day of meetings was dedicated to consortium’s discussions. Here, the Work Package leaders presented the progress and future tasks of their work, followed by feedback and discussions on how to align the work plan for the upcoming months, including the following topics:

  • Coordination activities
  • Training programmes for young entrepreneurs and start-ups
  • Development of new modalities for HEI-SME cooperation
  • Development of joint and individual actions for transformational change
  • Communication and dissemination management (lead by LPRC)

The final day started with Rosanna West, who conducted EIT HEI Initiative workshop and ecosystem, from which recommendations were collected. The next section was led by Dr. Oliver Schwabe, the leader of the Call for Start-ups and SMEs to receive high level mentoring from INCORE expertise.

Follow the INCORE project news on the website and social media channels for more information on how the project is changing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Outermost Regions!

UNEXUP

LPRC organizing the UNEXUP Final Conference!

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The UNEXUP project, funded by EIT RawMaterials, held its final conference in Brussels – Belgium, on 18th November 2022. This event was organized by the La Palma Research Centre.

With the objective to present the project’s outcomes, robotic development, field missions and commercialization of the unique technology, participants also had the opportunity to watch the UX-1Neo robot in action inside the pool of Nemo33. LPRC chose Nemo33 as the venue for the event, which is a diving school with the necessary facilities to deploy UX-1Neo underwater.

The event kickstarted with welcome words given by the project coordinator (Norbert Zajzon), followed by a presentation about the overview and progress of the UNEXUP project during the last three years. The next presentation was dedicated to the complete evolution of the robotic technology: from the UX-1 that was built during the UNEXMIN project, to the UX-1Neo – developed during UNEXUP. After that, the CEO of UNEXMIN GeoRobotics (UGR) covered the field missions and main results that were achieved, as well as the commercialization of the spatial and geoscientific surveying missions beyond the UNEXUP lifetime. The final talk was about the post-processing & geological interpretation of the data collected by the robot. Finally, for the last session of the conference, the demonstration of UX-1Neo performing underwater autonomously in Nemo33 pool, was done.

The UNEXUP Final Conference was a successful event for the consortium to present to the audience what was accomplished in the past three years, and to discuss about the future of the technology and the consortium. LPRC is glad to be part of this project and to have organised such a successful event!

La Palma Research Centre

LPRC team joins the Raw Materials Week 2022 in Brussels

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The Raw Materials Week is already a current and important event in the raw materials value chain panorama. LPRC has attended all previous editions since 2o17 and this year was no exception. As usual, the Raw Materials Week is a great opportunity to discuss and present current EU projects, catch up with raw materials professionals and engage in new ideas and visions for the future of the EU.

This year’s event included many relevant topics for raw materials development in Europe: EU Horizon technology success stories (where the ROBOMINERS project was mentioned), the 9th Annual High-Level Conference of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on raw materials, including EU-Ukraine strategic partnership on raw materials and batteries, Future trends Innovation and skills for raw materials (where the TIMREX project was used as an education-focused example) and Knowledge needs: future supply/demand foresight.

Projects that were mentioned during the event – during presentations, through posters and videos – and where LPRC contributes to included ROBOMINERS, START and TIMREX. Finally, the UNEXUP Final Conference was also included in the event’s agenda as a Satellite event.

Until next year!

 

EFG

LPRC participation at the CROWDTHERMAL Final Conference, Berlin, October 2022

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On 19 and 20 October 2022 the CROWDTHERMAL project held its final events in Berlin – Germany, with the participation of consortium partners in person and online. The purpose of the event was to review the progress of the work packages, future tasks, as well as administration and financial issues to be completed before the official closure: December 2022.

On the first day, 19th November 2022, the consortium held an internal meeting at IZES facilities, in which LPRC (represented by Márcio Tameirão) introduced the current state of the CROWDTHERMAL Core Services – followed by discussions and comments on how to improve them – the Core Services were developed by LPRC. The next day was dedicated to the Final Conference of the CROWDTHERMAL project, as a joint event with COST DHC: ‘’First Geothermal District Heating and Cooling Day event’’. In this opportunity, LPRC introduced the Core Services to the wider audience that attended the event, with an overview of the 7 tools that are currently available on the project website to help project developers, communities and local authorities to implement geothermal projects in Europe.

The CROWDTHERMAL consortium during the Berlin meeting

The next two months, up to the project final day, will be dedicated to addressing comments and implementing the necessary changes in CROWDTHERMAL tools to further improve the user’s experience and added value in their projects.

AGH

RaVeN Project Kick-Off meeting, Krakow, October 2022

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The RaVeN project – a new EIT RawMaterials project in which LPRC takes part – had its Kick-Off meeting in Krakow, Poland in on the 17 and 18 October. This was the first time that project partners got together to discuss the implementation of the project, with special emphasis on the EIT Label that RaVeN applied for its Master’s programme.

RaVeN is a new two-year M.Sc. degree scheme that take into account a wide geographical spectrum, diversification and needs of social inclusion, and builds the capacity of higher education in the RIS and ESEE regions. Its main strength is its innovative approach to teaching along the raw materials value chain through the involvement of non-academic experts, mobility exchanges, industry and start-ups to support the learning process.

The meeting agenda included discussions on Management and project coordination, the EIT Label process and next steps, Students recruitment, Didatics, Summer School, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and, finally, Dissemination and Communication. LPRC leads the last of these Work Packages, but also contributes to some other Work Packages and Tasks.

As part of the its work until now, LPRC has been drafting a few communication and dissemination tools (website, social media, banner, etc) and the overall strategy that will help with the recruitment of students for this Master’s Programme on the Raw Materials Value Chain.

Follow the project on its website and social media for more information!