Canada-UK Critical Minerals: Sustainability and Circularity funding competition
The Canada-UK Critical Minerals: Sustainability and Circularity funding competition, organised by Innovate UK and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), offered up to GBP 5.4 million for collaborative R&D projects between UK and Canadian organisations. The competition ran from November 2023 to April 2024 and aimed to develop and commercialise circular solutions for critical minerals, with a focus on enhancing circularity in battery systems and high-performance permanent magnets, sustainable processing and manufacturing, reduction in the use of critical minerals, and innovations in environmental, societal and governance aspects. Eligible projects must involve UK registered organisations and Canadian SMEs, with funding available up to GBP 400,000 for UK partners and CAD 500,000 for Canadian SMEs per project.
The scope of the competition included five main themes:
- Enhanced Circularity in Critical Minerals - Battery Systems, focusing on improving recovery of critical minerals from battery waste;
- Enhanced Circularity in Critical Minerals - High Performance Permanent Magnets, emphasising safe and economic recovery of rare earth elements;
- Sustainable Use of Critical Minerals – Processing & Manufacturing, targeting novel manufacturing methods to enhance circularity;
- Sustainable Use of Critical Minerals – Reduction in Use, exploring approaches to reduce reliance on existing critical minerals; and
- Innovations in Environmental, Societal, Governance (ESG) for Critical Minerals, including life cycle analysis, sustainability models, and particularly traceability and provenance to ensure responsible sourcing and transparency throughout the supply chain. Projects should span the supply chain and aim to progress innovative technologies from prototypes to industry-ready systems.
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