The Mining and Associated Services Cluster of the Iberian Peninsula (ISMC) was a key guest at an event that provided a crucial platform for interregional collaboration, with the attendance of 150 representatives from European clusters, local, regional, national, and European public authorities, such as Elsi Katainen, Member of the European Parliament, and Jakub Boratynski, Director-General of Networks and Governance within the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs of the European Commission.
The ISMC Cluster, represented by its General Director, Santiago Cuesta López, presented its strategy for the sustainability of raw materials focused on the circular industrial economy and digitalization, as part of a project led by Cuesta to connect regions, creating a network of innovation valleys highly specialized in raw materials to achieve a resilient Europe with a strengthened industry and no supply issues. The Plan will involve Castilla y León and Andalucía in a Network aligned with the ‘raw materials club’ announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on March 16.
Cuesta López led the interventions and also gave an inspirational talk, at the request of the European Commission, on how to encourage regions to develop innovation ecosystems in the sector, arguing that “a more integrated approach to the industrial value chain must be created in strategic EU policy initiatives, leveraging new socio-economic challenges and opportunities,” he emphasized.
ISMC also led a roundtable discussion, generating dialogue in which industry and civil society shared their experience and contributed ideas on the role of clusters in increasing the responsible use of raw materials, where ISMC played a prominent role as an example of best practices and as the Spanish representative of the sector at the international level.
A place to boost SMEs in technology for a sustainable and resilient Europe along the strategic raw materials and minerals supply chain.
The European Cluster Collaboration Platform, on behalf of the European Commission and in partnership with East & North Finland and MINE.THE.GAP H2020, a project led by the ICAMCYL Foundation, organized a satellite event that encompassed various business synergy sessions and the promotion of commercial and business relations. More than 30 companies participated, exchanging best practices and business opportunities, aligned with the challenges launched by the project to drive new sustainable mining of strategic resources and the recovery of mining areas in Castilla y León.