13 projects for sustainability and competitiveness

The strategic innovation program Swedish Mining Innovation is behind the initiative, which is financed by Vinnova, the Swedish governments innovation agency, Formas, a governments research council för sustainable development, and the governments Swedish Energy Agency, responsible for promotion of energy efficiency measures and investments in renewable energy technologies. 

With this year's call, Swedish Mining Innovation wants to strengthen areas such as increased circularity and recycling of metals, and restoration of mining environments. 75 percent of the funding goes to projects led by women. This is unusually high for this type of call, and aims to promote gender equality and inclusion in industrial innovation.

"We are happy and proud of the new projects and to further broaden the impact of Swedish Mining Innovation, from waste to new products, recycling and the environment, as well as higher than usual funding for female project leaders. This is the result of a strong stakeholder engagement and a long-term commitment to inclusive innovation within our program," says Lawrence Hooey, Head of Technology and Innovation at Swedish Mining Innovation.

The largest project aims at restoring waste rock areas to create landscapes that reflect the local nature, so-called "geomorphic rehabilitation", providing long-term benefits for the environment and the communities adjacent to the area.

"The call is an important tool for driving innovation at system level in areas that are critical to Swedish and European competitiveness. For almost ten years, we have been able to see real change thanks to projects that we have funded, and we look forward to following the societal benefits that these 13 new projects create," says Charlotte Andersson, Program Director at Swedish Mining Innovation.

The projects in "Securing sustainable metal and mineral supply" will start in March 2023.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com