Monitoring and supervising system for exploration and future exploitation activities in the deep sea (RIA)
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-02
- Programme
- A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2022
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- October 12, 2021
- Deadline
- March 30, 2022
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €4,500,000
- Keywords
- Mining and mineral processingDigital AgendaOcean sustainability and blue economyOceanographyenvironmental impactbiodiversityecosystemDeep seacritical raw materials
Description
Projects cost-effective outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the destination by increasing access to primary raw materials, in particular critical raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Develop technologies and systems to continuously monitor environmental impacts and mitigation methods of deep sea exploration and future mining;
- Develop multi-scale systems to identify gaps on the relevant available environmental data needed to develop statistically robust baselines that take into account the three-dimensional and temporal natural variability of the marine environment;
- Provide technological and systemic solutions for forecasting potential environmental impacts of using the developed monitoring and mitigation methods.
The global economic interest in deep-sea mineral resources has been growing and so are the concerns with the negative impacts on the deep sea ecosystems if mining activities start. The expected increase of the global demand for metals needed for the energy transition might become a driver to initiate commercial deep sea mining, paved by the technological advancements. However, before any deep-sea mining activities start, the environmental impacts, and how to mitigate them, need to be well understood; a robust legal framework needs to be in place and a reliable and transparent monitoring and supervising system for the activities taking place in the deep-sea has to be ready. For the sake of transparency and to properly assess the environmental consequences of the activities taking place in the deep sea over time, it is crucial to develop and to put in place a system capable of continuous monitoring, of the exploration and exploration activities, so the permitting and supervising authorities can access it remotely and at any moment.
The actions should design and develop a reliable and robust monitoring and inspection system for the exploration and future exploitation activities in the deep-sea. Before the monitoring and inspection systems are used a forecasting of the impact on the environment of these activities should be performed. Therefore, projects should deliver appropriate technological and systemic solutions for such forecasting assessments.
A monitoring and inspection system for the activities taking place in the deep sea is very complex because the activities take place in remote areas, in the middle of the ocean, and in an extreme environment, deep water column and consequent pressure and fragile ecosystems. The system needs to be fully transparent and capable of monitoring all relevant environmental parameters and at the same time protect business confidentiality. Due to the complexity of such system, the project has to be developed by a multidisciplinary team, looking at environmental, legal and technological solutions. Any bathymetry, geology, seabed habitats, chemistry, biology and physics marine data collected, in particular at the testing phase, should be INSPIRE[1] compliant and made available through the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet).
For each of the three mineral deposits (polymetallic nodules, manganese crusts and sulphide deposits) found at different depth ranges of the ocean the project will
- Identify all the bio-chemical-physical parameters to be monitored at the bottom of the sea, along the water column and at the surface;
- Identify all technical requirements needed for a real time monitoring of all parameters at the bottom, along the water column and surface, including the use of satellite data (Global Navigation Satellite System and Copernicus’ satellite constellation) and to make it continuously available for remote access;
- Identify existing technological solutions and develop new ones to fulfil the technical requirements;
- Design and develop the architecture of the system in view of incorporating the monitoring parameters, the technical requirements and the legal constrains;
- Develop a trial version of the system and test it.
The project should build on and explore synergies with previous and ongoing EU funded projects on environmental impacts and environmentally friendly technologies for exploration and exploitation of the deep sea. The project should cooperate closely with the International Seabed Authority, notably with its Legal and Technical Commission, and take into account the legal framework for the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. The project should take into account the developments of the international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
Specific Topic Conditions:Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Cross-cutting Priorities:Digital Agenda
Artificial Intelligence
Ocean sustainability and blue economy
[1]Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE)
Destination & Scope
This destination will directly support the following Key Strategic Orientations, as outlined in the Strategic Plan:
- KSO C, ‘Making Europe the first digitally-enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production systems’
- KSO A, ‘Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations’
- KSO D, ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society, prepared and responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing high-quality health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital transitions.
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of Cluster 4:
- Industrial leadership and increased autonomy in key strategic value chains with security of supply in raw materials, achieved through breakthrough technologies in areas of industrial alliances, dynamic industrial innovation ecosystems and advanced solutions for substitution, resource and energy efficiency, effective reuse and recycling and clean primary production of raw materials, including critical raw materials, and leadership in the circular economy.
The COVID-19 crisis has shown that global competitiveness and resilience are two sides of the same coin[[Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021 (COM/2020/575 final)
]]. Resilience is about more than the ability to withstand and cope with shocks; it is an opportunity to undergo transitions in a sustainable and fair way. As the EU gears up to becoming a climate-neutral, circular and competitive economy by 2050, resilience will require paying attention to new vulnerabilities as entire sectors undergo deep transformations while creating opportunities for Europe’s industry to develop its own markets, products and services which boost competitiveness.
Research and innovation will be fundamental to spur industrial leadership and enhanced resilience. It will support the modernisation of traditional industrial models while developing novel technologies, business models and processes. This can enhance the flexibility of the EU’s industrial base, and increase its resilience by reducing EU dependencies on third countries for critical raw materials and technologies.
In the first Work Programme, topics under Destination 2 ‘Increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for resilient industry’ will tackle missing segments in strategic areas and value chains, to strengthen the EU’s industrial base and boost its competitiveness and open strategic autonomy. In addition, it will explore how increased circularity has the potential to increase the open strategic autonomy of EU industry through the more efficient use of resources and secondary raw materials.
This will be achieved through R&I activities focusing on four areas key for the resilience of EU industry:
- Raw materials: The EU is highly dependent on a few third countries for the (critical) raw materials it needs for strategic value chains (including e-mobility, batteries, renewable energies, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, dual-use and digital applications). In a context where demand is set to increase[[ For example, demand for rare earths used in permanent magnets, e.g. for electric vehicles, digital technologies or wind generators, could increase tenfold by 2050. See the Commission Communication “Critical Raw Materials Resilience: Charting a Path towards greater Security and Sustainability”, COM(2020) 474 final.]], these will remain, more than ever, a vital prerequisite for both Europe’s open strategic autonomy and a successful transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy. Responding to the Critical Raw Materials action plan R&I activities will tackle the vulnerabilities in the entire EU raw materials value chain, from sustainable and responsible exploration, extraction, processing, recycling, contributing to building the EU knowledge base of primary and secondary raw materials and ensuring secure, sustainable and responsible access to (critical) raw materials.
- Advanced materials that are sustainable by design are needed to meet the challenges of climate neutrality, transition to a circular economy and a zero-pollution Europe, as well as broader benefits in many different applications. While chemical and related materials production is expected to double globally by 2030, this will largely take place outside Europe[[By 2030, China will likely account for more than half of global production, the EU and US for only one quarter of production (Mid-Century Vision report, Cefic, 2019, and International Energy Agency)]]. To overcome its reliance on imports of basic chemicals and related materials, Europe needs to strengthen its capacity to produce and use chemicals in a sustainable and competitive way. In addition, it is necessary to continue work on an ecosystem, based on open innovation test beds (OITBs), which enables the rapid development, uptake and commercialisation of advanced materials. All actions should be guided by sustainable-by-design principles, i.e. environmental and health safety, circularity and functionality.
- Circular value chains: to complement the circular technologies in Destination 1, further technological and non-technological elements (such as business models and the traceability of products) are necessary in the transition to novel low-emission and circular industrial value chains.
- Preparedness of businesses/smes/startups: European companies, and in particular SMEs, have shown a chronic lagging behind the US and China in the uptake of new, and especially digital, technologies.[[ See ATI reports from US and China about technology performance: China:https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/international-reports/report-china-technological-capacities-and-key-policy-measures; and US: https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/international-reports/report-united-states-america-technological-capacities-and-key-policy ]]
To achieve these wider effects, unprecedented investments in re- and upskilling are central to supporting the green and digital transitions, enhancing innovation and growth potential, fostering economic and social resilience and ensuring quality employment and social inclusion. This is why activities planned under Destination 6 “A human-centred and ethical development of digital and industrial technologies” will also contribute to the objectives of a more resilient industrial base. Further, as industrial leadership and resilience are two sides of the same coin, activities targeting industrial leadership are a key factor in the EU’s long-term industrial resilience. This is why activities supported under Destination 1 ‘Climate neutral, circular and digitised production’ and Destination 3 ‘World leading data and computing technologies’ that further ensure Europe’s productivity growth and competitiveness are also key to safeguarding its open strategic autonomy and resilience.
In addition, activities beyond R&I investments will be needed, in particular in terms of synergies with the European Innovation Council and Pillar III of Horizon Europe given the strong role of SMEs in the development of the innovations planned. Synergies will also be sought to access blended funding and finance from other EU programmes notably under InvestEU; testing and deployment activities under the Digital Europe Programme (DEP); links to the EIT (Raw Materials and Digital KICs); links with the Single Market programme to promote entrepreneurship and the creation and growth of companies and links to the thematic smart specialisation platform on industrial modernisation.
In line with the European Green Deal objectives, research and innovation activities should comply with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle[[as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)]]. Compliance needs to be assessed both for activities carried out during the course of the project as well as the expected life cycle impact of the innovation at a commercialisation stage (where relevant). The robustness of the compliance must be customised to the envisaged TRL of the project. In this regard, the potential harm of Innovation Actions contributing to the European Green Deal will be monitored throughout the project duration.
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for resilience industry, and more specifically to one or several of the following impacts:
- Resilient, sustainable and secure (critical) raw materials value chains for EU industrial ecosystems, in support of the twin green and digital transformations.
- New sustainable-by-design materials with enhanced functionalities and applications in a wide range of industrial processes and consumer products.
- Leadership in producing materials that provide solutions for clean, toxic/pollutant free environment, decarbonising industry, and safeguarding civil infrastructures.
- Leadership in circular economy that strengthens cross-sectorial cooperation along the value chain and enable SMEs to transform their activities and business models.
- Increased adoption of key digital and enabling technologies in industrial value chains and strategic sectors, paying particular attention to SMEs and start-ups.
Much of the research and innovation supported under this Destination may serve as a cradle for the New European Bauhaus: this is about designing sustainable ways of living, situated at the crossroads between art, culture, social inclusion, science and technology. This includes R&I on manufacturing, construction, advanced materials and the circular economy approaches.
Business cases and exploitation strategies for industrialisation: This section applies only to those topics in this Destination, for which proposals should demonstrate the expected impact by including a business case and exploitation strategy for industrialisation.
The business case should demonstrate the expected impact of the proposal in terms of enhanced market opportunities for the participants and enhanced manufacturing capacities in the EU, in the short to medium term. It should describe the targeted market(s); estimated market size in the EU and globally; user and customer needs; and demonstrate that the solutions will match the market and user needs in a cost-effective manner; and describe the expected market position and competitive advantage.
The exploitation strategy should identify obstacles, requirements and necessary actions involved in reaching higher TRLs, for example: matching value chains, enhancing product robustness; securing industrial integrators; and user acceptance.
For TRLs 7-8, a credible strategy to achieve future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the industrial partners after the end of the project.
Activities beyond R&I investments will be needed to realise the expected impacts: these include the further development of skills and competencies (also via the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, in particular EIT Manufacturing); and the use of financial products under the InvestEU Fund for further commercialisation of R&I outcomes.
Where relevant, in the context of skills, it is recommended to develop training material to endow workers with the right skillset in order to support the uptake and deployment of new innovative products, services, and processes developed in the different projects. This material should be tested and be scalable, and can potentially be up-scaled through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). This will help the European labour force to close the skill gaps in the relevant sectors and occupational groups and improve employment and social levels across the EU and associated countries.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5. Evaluation and award:
Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
HE General MGA v1.0
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 13. General Annexes
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
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