PROJECT TITLE: Artificial Intelligence-Supported Digital Industrial Symbiosis and E-Commerce Platform for the Security of Europe’s Critical and Strategic Raw Material Supply (e-commerceplatformcrm)
PROJECT DURATION: 36 Months
CONTRACTING AUTHORITY: European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)
BUDGET:
EUR 45 Million
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS:
- ERMAKS Engineering Manufacturing, Construction, Machinery, Mining, Industry and Trade Limited Company (Türkiye)
- AYYILDIZ Tunnel Equipment Manufacturing Engineering Industry and Trade Joint Stock Company (Türkiye)
- FATE Defence Engineering Joint Stock Company (Türkiye)
Strategic Framework of the Project
This project aims to establish an integrated physical recycling infrastructure and digital industrial symbiosis ecosystem to reduce Europe’s dependence on external sources for critical and strategic raw materials, strengthen resource security, and support the objectives of the circular economy. The fundamental approach of the project is based on treating waste not merely as material requiring disposal, but as a secondary source of raw materials with high economic and strategic value.
Within the scope of the project, a high-capacity waste sorting and critical raw material recovery facility is planned to collect, classify, sort, separate, and process industrial waste, scrap, and other secondary resources, particularly those containing metals, by using advanced technologies. The facility will enable the recovery of critical and strategic raw materials such as copper, aluminium, nickel, cobalt, and similar materials from waste streams and their reintegration into industrial production processes. This will contribute to reducing the demand for primary raw materials, alleviating pressure on natural resources, decreasing import dependency, and strengthening the resilience of European industry in terms of raw material supply.
The second and complementary component of the project is the development of a Digital Industrial Symbiosis Platform dedicated to critical and strategic raw materials. The platform will bring together waste generators, recycling companies, sorting and processing facilities, refineries, technology manufacturers, industrial enterprises, logistics companies, and other supply-chain stakeholders within a common digital ecosystem. The platform will enable the digital matching of waste and raw material supply and demand data, ensure resource traceability, identify suitable suppliers, and facilitate commercial transactions more efficiently.
This integrated model will combine physical recovery capacity with digital data and market infrastructure, thereby enabling an efficient waste–secondary raw material–production cycle. As a result, the project will provide an innovative and scalable solution that contributes to Europe’s critical raw material supply security while simultaneously supporting resource efficiency, industrial competitiveness, digital transformation, and circular economy practices within a unified ecosystem.
