In recent years, a growing industrial demand in combination with geopolitical shifts have led to an increased attention towards rare and critical elements. These elements are essential for advanced materials and technologies such as communication, renewable energy and transportation. The supply chain and re-use of rare and critical elements is of fundamental importance for the current and future economy.
The ESM foundation offers information and facilitates dialogues and information between relevant stakeholders from industry and academia. Typical activities include:
- Mandating, funding and coordinating relevant research projects, bringing together partners from research organizations, universities, industries, and non-governmental and governmental organizations.
- Initiating and organizing events and surveys, addressing key issues for industry and academia related to rare and critical elements, covering the whole material value chain (from raw material to recycling), but also geopolitical, political, economic, environmental and legal aspects.
- Providing and coordinating continuing education, highlighting the complexity and importance of the topic for various industrial sectors and relevant scientific disciplines.
- Partnering with organizations active in similar fields, providing complementary and extended knowledge and experience.
Apply for Support
The ESM foundation provides support for research projects on different levels. In accordance with its bylaws, it aims to promote research into Critical Raw Materials, particularly their industrial application. Faced with the current challenges involving CRM, those research projects could be about:
- Swiss consumption of precious and rare metals for modern technologies in fields like electromobility, energy production and storage, or information and communication technology and the challenges they represent for our economy;
- What role CRM stocks und flows play for economic questions like concerned Swiss markets and future price scenarios;
- Environmental considerations about the use of CRM in Switzerland using Life Cycle Assessment or other methods; social and legal consideration concerning regulations and standards;
- Potentials of metal recycling in Switzerland from a technological, logistic and econonomic point of view;
- Other sustainable solutions for the future supply of Switzerland with CRM like substitution potentials, cycle models etc.
Projects should also be conforming with the overall goal of ESM Foundation, which is opening up new economic areas in Switzerland. If you apply for financial or other support, please describe your research project, its contribution to the goals of the foundation and the required help in a letter of not more than two pages to the foundation. The board will evaluate your request and contact you as soon as possible.