Enter the Raw Materials and Circular Societies Prize and see your business idea brought to market
Backing innovators to secure Critical and Strategic Raw Materials from secondary sources for a green and digital future
Are you an entrepreneur who wants to be at the forefront of Europe’s green and circular transition? Do you have a new innovative solution to bring critical raw materials back into the European production loop? Submit your idea by 18 September to the Raw Materials and Circular Societies Prize to win €10,000 and bring your solution to the market.
The Raw Materials and Circular Societies Prize
The annual prize is an initiative by EIT RawMaterials in collaboration with the WEEE Forum, EYDE Cluster, and EUROMINES. The aim is to discover ground-breaking solutions for an efficient and sustainable supply of critical and strategic raw materials from secondary sources. These solutions are urgently needed to meet Europe’s demand for a green and circular economy.
There are three different categories of solutions, and the winning idea under each category will receive €10,000. In addition, they can join one of EIT RawMaterials leading support initiatives for entrepreneurs and innovators.
The three categories are:
- Supply of secondary Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) and Strategic Raw Materials (SRMs) through the valorisation of mining tailings
- Supply of secondary CRMs and SRMs through the valorisation of industrial wastes
- Supply of secondary CRMs and SRMs through the recycling of end-of-life products
You can submit your application by 23:59 (CET) Sunday 18 September 2022.
Why do we Need Your Solutions for Critical and Strategic Raw Materials?
Europe has an ambitious goal to become the first carbon-neutral continent but is reliant on the export of 30 CRMs and SRMs for the green and digital transition. Critical raw materials are a building block for Europe’s industrial ecosystems like automotive, renewable energy, construction, aerospace, digital and more. High-tech products and emerging innovations such as electric cars, solar panels, and wind turbines rely on a sustainable supply of critical/strategic raw materials. These can include lithium, cobalt, magnesium, copper, and rare earth elements.
This is why Europe needs innovators like you. We need you to identify new solutions for sustainable access to CRMs from secondary sources so that valuable materials can become the new, green technologies tackling climate change.
Who can Enter?
The contest is open to any legal entity (or group of legal entities) established in an EU Member State, or a country associated to Horizon Europe, including:
- SMEs (according to the European Commission’s definitions) having innovation projects relevant to the three different prize topics
- Start-up or spin-off companies at least registered at the time of the application
The winners will be awarded €10,000 in each of the three topics. Winners will also be invited to join one of EIT RawMaterials support services such as EIT Jumpstarter, RawMaterials Accelerator, or EIT RawMaterials Booster. These services are tailored to entrepreneurs with different maturity levels of their business proposition.
How to Apply?
You will find all the details about the Raw Materials and Circular Societies Prize in the call guidelines below. Please fill out the application template and proceed to the submission form following the external link below.
More information HERE
