Pioneering project in running for prestigious pan-European award

Now, the team are looking for support through a public vote to secure a place in the final stages of the competition.

The IMP@CT project, which includes experts in geology, mining, renewable energy and minerals processing from the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, is a finalist in this year’s Innovation Radar Prize.

The competition is a European Commission initiative to identify high potential innovations and innovators in EU-funded research and innovation projects.

Thirty-six projects have been selected, with the short-listed finalists chosen by a public vote to compete for the main prize.

The IMP@CT project is designed to establish an innovative method of mining - described by the team as “switch on-switch off’ mining - to excavate raw materials that play a crucial role in the production of many household and technological goods.

This “switch on-switch off” mining will also enable miners to respond rapidly to market demands, and excavate materials that are desired most in any given period.

The project, which features 10 partner organisations from the UK, France, Germany and Finland, is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Dr Kathryn Moore, a lecturer in Critical and Green Technology Metals at the Camborne School of Mines and project lead said: ‘We are really honoured to be a part of this competition.

“The IMP@CT project is so important as a way to develop sustainable and ethical mining, and to be recognised in this way is exciting and humbling. We hope that the public get behind the project, and help us reach the final stages.”

To read more about the project or to cast a vote for the team, please visit https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/innovation-radar-prize/women-led-innovation-2019 and click on the ‘vote’ button by the University of Exeter logo.