TERRAVISION: The EU project aiming to enhance the life cycle of critical raw materials is launched

On the 29^th of February and March 1^st, the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS), organized a Kick-off meeting held in Athens, for TERRAVISION; the new Horizon Europe project. The project consortium is coordinated by ICCS and invloves 15 partners from 7 countries of the EU and EEA, that have come together with the mission to create an integrated earth-observation based platform, for novel services to enhance the entire critical raw materials value chain towards more sustainable mining practices.

Raw materials serve as the backbone of the European Union’s digital and green economy, underpinning industrial operations and aligning with the objectives of Europe’s Green Deal. Recognizing the imperative to enhance resource accessibility, efficiency, and circularity, the EU emphasizes resilience in the raw materials sector as a cornerstone of sustainable development; and advocates for the utilization of Earth Observation (EO) technologies.

TERRAVISION’s EO Mining Services Platform will leverage four key innovation pillars to enhance the entire raw materials life cycle:

1. Data Ecosystem: Harnessing data from diverse sources to monitor the raw materials life cycle.
2. Analysis Ready Data and Raw Materials Spectral Library: Standardizing EO data for seamless integration with in-situ data, facilitating comprehensive spectral analysis
3. EO Services for the Mining Industry: Developing essential services critical to the supply chain (i.e., mapping of critical raw materials, mineral exploration, extraction rates in opencast mines and volume estimation) and enabling dynamic hazard mapping for proactive risk management
4. Green & Resilience Accountability: Quantifying the environmental and socio-economic impact of mining activities to promote sustainability and resilience in the supply chain

Through extensive validation campaigns across EU mining sites, TERRAVISION will demonstrate the efficacy of its platform, paving the way for widespread adoption of sustainable mining practices.

TERRAVISION is an ambitious project, spanning over a time period of 48 months, and being allocated a budget of 6,688,246.24€; and as Dr Amditis, Project coordinator, Research & Development Director of ICCS stated during the meeting “it represents a significant step forward in advancing the EU’s vision for a resilient and sustainable raw materials sector, aligning with its commitment to environmental stewardship and socio-economic well-being”.