EIT RawMaterials and Anglo American have teamed up to support the development of solutions for steel decarbonisation. The Global Innovation Challenge is now open for applications and lucky participants will be in with the chance of getting investment and support from industry experts. Apply here today!

In the battle against climate change, industries across the world are going greener and implementing more sustainable solutions. It’s all part of the global green transition, an international effort to reach net zero, and a reflection of the need to build more sustainable, less CO2-heavy societies.

The steel industry is an integral part of our world. Steel literally underpins global society and is a critical part of our built environment. However, its current manufacturing process is estimated to produce around 8% of total global carbon emissions.

To meet climate targets, the industry must develop and commercialise new low-CO2 technologies within the next 5-10 years. This will mean exploring pathways for transition with a focus on bridging the gap between innovation-driven technology and industry stakeholders.

To help make that happen, EIT RawMaterials and Anglo American, a leading global mining company, are betting on startups. And they’re inviting innovative teams to apply for support and investment as part of a global innovation challenge.

Bernd Schäfer, CEO, EIT RawMaterials: “It is the mandate of EIT RawMaterials’ to drive innovation to decarbonize the raw materials sector, from mining to recycling, but it takes a global village and great industry leadership and collaboration to look beyond their own boundaries to solve solutions for the greater good – that is, to address the challenges of climate change. EIT RawMaterials, Europe’s leading raw materials network is proud to lead this initiative with Anglo American, and by doing so we hope this global Open Innovation Challenge will set a new benchmark for others to persist in finding bold and creative ways to engage with the world’s best innovators to solve our most pressing industry decarbonisation challenges.”

Who should apply?

Innovators with novel technologies are encouraged to apply to this special challenge. Relevant focus areas include:

  • Ore beneficiation for Direct Reduced Iron
  • Altering existing processes such as sintering and induration
  • Advanced Blast Furnace, DRI-Electric Arc Furnace, and alternative iron-making technologies
  • The increased use of scrap metal feedstock in high-quality flat steel production
  • Carbon-capture utilisation or sequestration solutions

Successfully short-listed applicants will be in with the chance of both investment and industry expertise and guidance.

Anglo American’s Decarbonisation Ventures team will assess relevant startups for potential investment as well as provide access to a range of commercial and operational expertise to support them on their scale-up journey. This is in addition to getting access to the EIT RawMaterials network.

EIT RawMaterials, established in 2015 to fuel Europe’s transition into a sustainable economy, aims to support innovation in the raw materials value chain. It is the objective of EIT RawMaterials to secure a sustainable raw materials supply by driving innovation, education, and entrepreneurship across European industrial ecosystems.

Anglo American is supporting this challenge as part of its commitment to reducing the carbon intensity of the steelmaking value chain. The company, which produces premium iron ore products used in steel production, is aiming to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2040.

Benny Oeyen, Executive Head, Market Development, Anglo American: “At Anglo American, we are committed to creating, accelerating and investing in climate-positive startups as part of our purpose of re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives. In this, we are looking not only at how we decarbonise our own operations but also at how we can reduce the emissions of our broader value chain. Building on our track record of supporting promising innovations across a range of emerging technology spaces, we look forward to reviewing the submissions to this challenge and leveraging our expertise, scale and network to identify ideas with potential, and support their growth.” 

Interested in applying? The deadline is May 22, submit your proposal here today

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Source: https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/03/developing-solutions-for-steel-decarbonisation-apply-now-to-eit-rawmaterials-and-anglo-americans-innovation-challenge-sponsored/