About the Project

Learn more about the motivation, approach and impact of the VECTOR project.

Introduction

Approach

Impact

FAQs

Project introduction

The EU set out its goals for decarbonisation in the EU Green Deal, which include achieving Net Zero by 2050, and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels).

Ensuring that the supply of renewable energy needed to achieve these goals is met will require a sharp increase in production, and a more responsible use, of critical raw materials. Whilst recycling can provide an increasing portion of these materials, recycling alone cannot meet the projected demand, which implies that further mining will be required if the EU is to meet its climate goals.

Sourcing raw materials from inside the EU, where suitable environmental, social, and political regulations could be implemented, may be instrumental in securing an ethical provision of metals. However, mineral projects face complex challenges in the EU.

These challenges include the:

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Technical

for example, we need a precise knowledge of the whereabouts of subsurface mineral deposits on the continent.

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Environmental

for example, we need to develop the least invasive forms of exploration to minimise impacts to the environment.
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Social

for example, there is a lack of social acceptance of mineral exploration across Europe.

The purpose of the VECTOR project is to explore these challenges. The consortium of 18 partners aims to understand the origin, connections, and complexities of the challenges, and consequently to develop solutions that may be used to address them. A major objective is to include all stakeholders, including the often overlooked and underappreciated general public, in a dialogue about the sourcing of critical raw materials within Europe.

The project partners will investigate potential solutions that incorporate as many perspectives as possible, address environmental concerns, and solve technical challenges. This will result in pathways towards sustainable, responsible mineral exploration in Europe, which can serve as a reference for the rest of the world.”

Approach

This will result in pathways towards sustainable, responsible mineral exploration in Europe, which can serve as a reference for the rest of the world.

Social science

To move forwards with the EU Green Deal we must understand society’s perception of the extraction of critical raw materials from the Earth. Research within VECTOR will assess how individuals balance the ethical, social, economic, political, and environmental consequences of sourcing critical raw materials. The aim of this is to understand how values impact attitudes, decisions, and acceptance of policy.

Using surveys, VECTOR aims to identify and improve the implementation of these essential values in business to develop long lasting impact that centres on your interests. This will be performed through the development of tools such as a ‘Social Acceptance index’ that can be communicated easily and clearly to decision makers, allowing them to quickly understand the impact of future actions.

Developing continued professional development platforms for geoscientists to better understand wider society’s perception of their work.

Creating curriculum-facing materials to better inform those in education.

Attending science and arts festivals to directly inform and discuss with the public the importance of critical raw materials in the green transition.

Geoscience

We are investigating mineral deposits at three locations across Europe. Each deposit contains a range of critical raw materials needed for the green transition. Our study locations are the Irish Midlands, Kuperschiefer (Germany), and Jadar (Serbia). At each of these locations we will be using non-disruptive technologies to investigate and map the Earth’s subsurface in 3D.

Taken together, these methods will allow scientists to use low-cost, portable and minimally disruptive technologies to analyse the subsurface and determine if they are close to a useful mineral deposit. This represents a marked improvement from traditional exploration techniques, and limits the need for activities such as extensive drilling, which may disrupt both the local environment and communities.

Integration

We understand that very few people are experts in both geoscience and social science – none of the VECTOR team are either, and that is why we have specialists in both fields.

To ensure that our findings are understandable for all, and we can provide information that addresses the full scale of the issue, we aim to integrate both sides of our analyses. Using the data that we collect, we will develop a single interface that allows all of our findings to be accessed by anyone, in one place and in an easy-to-understand format, helping you to become more informed about the current state of affairs.

Impact

We have developed 5 dimensions of impact that will guide our approach to project outcomes and impact
creation. These can be understood as values that will shape the outputs of the project by focusing
the consortium on the impact we want to make.

The dimensions of impact can be understood as values that will shape the outputs of the project by focusing the consortium on the impact we want to make. The dimensions are:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 101058483.

Co-funded by the European Union. 
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

This project has received funding from UK Research and Innovation.

Co-funded by UK Research and Innovation. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of UK Research and Innovation. Neither UK Research and Innovation nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.