Practical and scientific knowledge related to hydrogeology research and innovation are scattered amongst various actors in Europe. The overall objective of KINDRA is to create an inventory of this knowledge-base and then use the inventory to identify critical research challenges in line with the implementation of the WFD and new innovation areas within integrated water resources management based on the latest research. Project objectives: 1. Create a uniform EU-harmonised categorisation approach / terminology for reporting groundwater research (a Hydrogeological Research Classification System – HRC-SYS). Since such uniform classification does not exist at the moment, ongoing research activities, national/European hydrogeological research activities, agendas and strategies are difficult to report and even more difficult to compare. 2. Carry out EU-wide assessment of existing practical and scientific knowledge (using the developed HRC-SYS) focusing on EU, national, regional, international and EU-third party scientific activities. This assessment will be implemented with the help of the national members of EFG. 3. Create a European Inventory of Groundwater Research and Innovation (EIGR). This register will be supported by a web-service that will be searchable by selected key-words and will support users with query functions for statistics, diagrams, and others concise data elaboration. 4. Use the data in the register and the developed analytical tools (qualitative/quantitative) to assess the performance of key ongoing EU, national, regional, international and EU-third party hydrogeological scientific and innovation activities and results. 5. Compare the results with existing recommendations and position papers on groundwater related research requirements. 6. Define research gaps and corresponding suggestions for research agendas in line with WFD, and WssTP recommendations.

In order to foster more, but sustainable mineral production in the EU, SUMEX (SUstainable Management in EXtractive industries) will establish a sustainability framework for the extractive industry in Europe. It does so by considering the Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal, as well as EU Social License to Operate considerations and will involve stakeholders from industry, government, academia and civil society backgrounds from all across the EU. This framework is then applied across the extractive value chain to analyse the mineral, as well as relevant economic, environmental and social policy frameworks of the EU, member states and selected regions along five focus areas - socio-economic and environmental impact assessments, land use planning, health and safety, reporting official statistics and permitting processes/policy integration-to find, or build, where needed, good practices or tools for an open access toolkit, which will be embedded in a broader Community of Practise (CoP) and which forms the basis for capacity building. This CoP will consider relevant stakeholder groups, with a focus on permitting authorities, across the EU, providing a digital platform and using a series of workshops and webinars. In SUMEX, the experience from other projects like MINGUIDE, MINLAND, MIREU, STRADE builds a powerful foundation for addressing the challenge of how best to implement sustainability considerations into the whole raw materials value chain. What makes SUMEX stand out, is that a) it involves Andalusia as a regional partner to act as 1) a test case and 2) to involve other regions, i.e. those represented in MIREU and the OECD Mining Regions and Cities Initiative, to participate in SUMEX; as well as having access to the informal network of mining authorities and b) by employing two practical use cases, involving industry partners, for two important and completely different raw material groups – construction and battery materials.

CROWDTHERMAL aims to empower the European public to directly participate in the development of geothermal projects with the help of alternative financing schemes (crowdfunding) and social engagement tools. In order to reach this goal, the project will first increase the transparency of geothermal projects and technologies by creating one to one links between geothermal actors and the public so that a Social Licence to Operate (SLO) could be obtained. This will be done by assessing the nature of public concerns for the different types of geothermal technologies, considering deep and shallow geothermal installations separately, as well as various hybrid and emerging technology solutions. CROWDTHERMAL will create a social acceptance model for geothermal energy that will be used as baseline in subsequent actions for inspiring public support for geothermal energy. Parallel and synergetic with this CROWDTHERMAL will work out details of alternative financing and risk mitigation options covering the different types of geothermal resources and various socio-geographical settings. The models will be developed and validated with the help of three Case Studies in Iceland, Hungary and Spain and with the help of a Trans-European survey conducted by EFG Third Parties. Based on these feedbacks, a developers’ toolbox will be created with the aim of promoting new geothermal projects in Europe supported by new forms of financing and investment risk mitigation schemes that will be designed to work hand in hand with current engineering and microeconomic best practices and conventional financial instruments.

CEEGS (CO2 based electrothermal energy and geological storage system) is a cross-sectoral technology for energy transition, with a renewable energy storage system based on the transcritical CO2 cycle, CO2 storage in geological formations and geothermal heat extraction. It is a highly efficient, cost-effective, and scalable (small-to large-scale) concept for large-capacity renewable energy storage. Extended capacity is obtained due to the underground system. It can be integrated into the grid, heating and cooling districts and industries. It also has the capacity for partial CO2 sequestration. The main objective of the project is to provide scientific proof of the techno-economic feasibility of the technology, raising the current low TRL 2 to TRL 4 by addressing gaps in the interface between surface transcritical cycle and the subsurface CO2 storage. CEEGS follows a 3-phase approach: i) From theoretical principles to models, simulations and processes in which advanced numerical simulations integrate reservoir behaviour, wellbore design and surface plant design; ii) From models and simulations to systems/experimental verification addressing CEEGS integration and efficiency in energy systems, with digital functional and laboratory models developed and components validated with results from the CO2 pilot-scale projects and; iii) Social, economic and sustainability assessments where social acceptance studies, LCA and TEA tools evaluate impacts and concept deployment with renewables, hard-to-decarbonise industries, district heating and cooling, or in grid balance. The project is completed with WP1 for coordination and WP7 for results dissemination and exploitation. The project integrates the knowledge and networks for a successful implementation in 3 years with a consortium with partners from 5 EU countries, with multidisciplinary skills on energy systems, energy storage, geology, geothermal systems and CO2 geological storage

The project Towards a World Forum on Raw Materials (FORAM) will develop and set up an EU-based platform of international experts and stakeholders that will advance the idea of a World Forum on Raw Materials (WFRM) and enhance the international cooperation on raw material policies and investments. The global use of mineral resources has drastically increased and supply chains have become ever more complex. A number of global initiatives and organizations have been contributing to knowledge and information transfer, including the EC, UNEP International Resource Panel, the World Resources Forum, the World Material Forum, the OECD and others. It is widely felt that improved international resource transparency and governance would be beneficial for all, since it would lead to stability, predictability, resource-efficiency and hence a better foundation for competitiveness on a sustainable basis. The FORAM project will contribute to consolidate the efforts towards a more joint and coherent approach towards raw materials policies and investments worldwide, by closely working with the relevant stakeholders in industry, European and international organisations, governments, academia and civil society. Synergies with relevant EU Member States initiatives will be explored and fostered. The project will in particular seek to engage the participation of G20 Member countries and other countries active in the mining and other raw materials sectors, so that experiences will be shared and understanding of all aspects of trade in raw materials will be increased. By implementing this project an EU-based platform of international key experts and stakeholders is created, related to the entire raw materials value chain. This platform will work together on making the current complex maze of existing raw material related initiatives more effective. As such, the FORAM project will be the largest collaborative effort for raw materials strategy cooperation on a global level so far.