During the “Research & Innovation: Horizon Programme Success Stories” session at EU Raw Materials Week 2025, Research and innovation in the raw materials sector was at the forefront, bringing together stakeholders to highlight the impact of EU-funded projects.
The session featured an overview of past and ongoing support under the Horizon programmes, presented by Katleen Engelbosch, Head of Department for Digital, Industry, and Space at the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). She outlined the scale of EU investment in the sector, noting that HaDEA is currently funding 60 Horizon Europe research and innovation projects in the field of raw materials, representing a total investment of €456.6 million. These projects are making significant contributions to scientific advancement and technological innovation across Europe.
Several projects addressed the growing need for circularity and resource efficiency. REEPRODUCE, Batraw, and REEsilience are developing innovative solutions to recover rare earth elements and other critical raw materials from end-of-life products, helping to reduce dependency on primary resources. In addition, the FutuRaM project introduced a comprehensive framework for secondary raw materials datasets, supporting better data availability and informed decision-making.
Six projects were showcased during the event, illustrating the diversity and ambition of EU-funded research. MultiMiner demonstrated how Earth observation data combined with advanced machine learning techniques can enhance mineral exploration. HARARE presented pioneering approaches to the sustainable production of non-ferrous metals, with hydrogen playing a central role as a clean enabling technology.
Picture credits: HaDEA