Upcoming
Join us in disseminating knowledge and sharing best practice!

IRTC 2023 – Raw Materials for a Sustainable Future
The first IRTC conference in Lille will take place from February 15 – 17, 2023, and will be all about dialogue: moderated keynote conversations with international criticality experts will alternate with sessions comprising talks as well as further in-depth discussions with the presenters. The sessions will be chaired by multidisciplinary teams of experts. We look forward to welcoming a diverse and international mix of participants from a variety of backgrounds! Do you want to contribute with a talk or poster? Abstract submission will open end of August. We welcome your contribution on criticality methodology, stakeholder views, sourcing and trade, ESG and regulation, changing demand, circularity, and applications in policy and industry. Subscribe for updates on the Conference Website We look forward to seeing you in Lille!

Massive Open Online course SusCritMOOC
On 13th of October, our Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) with the name “Critical Raw Materials: Managing Resources for a Sustainable Future” launched officially on edX. The course provides a systemic understanding of CRMs and equips you with tools and strategies for managing them in a sustainable way. The course covers the entire raw materials’ value chain, which help see what actions can be taken at every stage and how you can make informed decisions, and contribute to and benefit from a more sustainable approach to CRMs, regardless of your professional or academic background. Key topics include access to raw materials, environmental and social impacts, geopolitical factors, market dynamics, economics, supply chains, global trends in CRM use, and resource efficiency. You can choose from three different tracks that cover possible solutions from a technical, business or policy perspective. These range from supply risk mitigation, exploration, urban mining and substitution to circularity strategies, business models, responsible sourcing and certification. This course also introduces you to experts, start-ups and projects in the field and inspires you to tackle problems with concrete initiatives. You can register for the upcoming self-paced version of the course on edX.org. For information about SusCritMat in general, you […]
What We Offer
Since its creation more than 65 years ago, ESM has fostered industrial materials research related to critical elements. Over 2 Mio CHF have been granted to projects in fields where less common elements play a crucial role.


Building Networks
We connect knowledge carriers from academia and industry


Generating Knowledge
We fund relevant studies and foster outstanding students


Supporting Industry
We support industry with knowledge and a network of specialists