CTA (Technological Corporation of Andalusia), in collaboration with the Regional Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines of the Government of Andalusia and the International Center for Advanced Materials and Raw Materials of Castile and León (ICAMCYL), it has organized the conference “Andalusia at the Heart of the European Critical Raw Materials Strategy”, held on 10 December in Seville. The event, held within the framework of the European IRMHUB project, of which CTA is a partner, brought together more than 50 international attendees to analyze the development opportunities offered by Andalusia’s mining ecosystem and the region’s role in strategic European projects on critical raw materials.
The event was opened by Jesús Portillo, Director General for Mines of the Government of Andalusia, and Elías Atienza, CEO of Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA), who both highlighted the historic opportunity for Andalusia to position itself as a benchmark in the sustainable management, processing and use of critical raw materials.
Jesús Portillo, Director General for Mines of the Government of Andalusia, highlighted “Andalusia’s leadership role on the national mining scene and the significant weight the region also carries at the European level,” as the second-largest primary producer of copper. He emphasized the “strong support provided by the Government of Andalusia to mining activity as a key foundation for the region’s industrial and energy development,” with the main lines of action set out in the Strategy for Sustainable Mining in Andalusia 2030, approved in July 2023.
Looking ahead, he identified the main challenge as “the need to strengthen the regional mining ecosystem in order to significantly increase the capacity to process and transform minerals within the territory, thereby extending the value chain,” in line with European Union guidelines.
For his part, Elías Atienza, CEO of CTA, underscored that “there is a significant opportunity around critical raw materials driven by the global transition toward decarbonization and digitalization,” and noted that “this situation opens up opportunities for regions with geological potential and industrial capacity such as Andalusia.”
Atienza also emphasized that “territories capable of supplying critical raw materials while meeting high environmental and social standards can position themselves strategically in this new economy based on clean technologies and more secure value chains”.
From a business perspective, Diego Davoise Poto, a member of the Steering Committee of the Center of Excellence and Innovation in Sustainable Mining (CEIMS) and a member of AMINER’s Innovation Committee, reviewed AMINER’s trajectory over the past decade and highlighted the strong momentum Andalusia has given to sustainable metal mining, consolidating its position as a national benchmark in innovation applied to the sector.
The session, focused on Andalusia’s European positioning, brought together expert voices from EU-funded strategic projects. Diana Fernández (EIT RawMaterials Southern Spain Innovation Hub), Antonio Parra Lobato (Project Director of CirCular at Atlantic Copper), and Joaquín Gotor Martínez (Director of Technology, Innovation and Environment at CLC) presented key initiatives aimed at advancing more resilient, circular supply chains aligned with Europe’s strategic autonomy.
In this context, with a particular focus on strengthening European mining and battery value chains, the session also featured contributions from Manuel Vázquez Mora, Technical Advisor at the Directorate General for Mines, who presented the S3P Mining Platform; Marta Macías, Project Manager at CTA, who introduced the European BATMASS project, related to circular processes for battery materials within the framework of the S3P Advanced Materials for Batteries Platform; and Nieves Valenzuela, Director General for the Promotion of Innovation, who outlined the main pillars of the Andalusia S4 Strategy.
Additionally, the international dimension of the event was strengthened by the participation of Ioannis Retsoulis, Project & Scientific Officer at the Joint Research Centre (JRC), who presented the INCITE innovation center and its role as a driver of industrial transformation in Europe.
Regarding the opportunities and support mechanisms offered by the European Commission, the event included a session dedicated to I3 and its interregional funding for strategic critical raw materials value chains, led by Susana Elena-Pérez, Coordinator of the Policy Lab – I3 Support Facility at the EFIS Centre.
Finally, the conference highlighted the importance of interregional cooperation through the contribution of Clara Balbín, Project Manager at ISMC, who presented collaboration between Andalusia and Castile and León in the field of critical raw materials as a pathway to strengthening national positioning and increasing the influence of both regions in European initiatives.
Her participation, within the framework of the IRMHUB consortium, also underscored the value of collaboration between partner organizations such as CTA and ISMC in jointly advancing projects that contribute to strengthening strategic value chains in Europe.
The event was organized with the support of the IRMHUB project, an initiative funded with nearly €2 million through the European Union’s Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) programme. IRMHUB aims to establish the first European meta-hub focused on promoting circularity and strengthening the investment capacity of less developed regions in sustainable supply chains linked to three strategic areas: wind energy and electric mobility, components for battery manufacturing, and essential metals for microchip production.
From the CTA team, participants included Rafael Castillo, Marta Macías, María Alonso and Sandra Gamero, Innovation Consultants; Carla del Cerro, Communication Officer for the IRMHUB project at CTA; and María Cuadrado and José Ignacio Cobos, members of the international area’s team in training.
