Eramet Ideas – for Innovation, Development, Engineering for Advanced Solutions – is the Group’s center of innovation. It gathers our experts in extractive metallurgy, from the development of metals from ores to the manufacturing of high-performance alloys. With over 40 years of experience in research and development, the Group has, with Eramet Ideas, a world-class expertise in extractive metallurgy, which comprises geometallurgy (the analysis of samples in order to pilot the exploitation of complex deposits), hydrometallurgy (transforming ore by chemical treatment in solution) and pyrometallurgy (transforming ore by smelting and reduction at very high temperature). Eramet Ideas also studies solutions for recycling industrial residue in order to contribute to the circular economy and to the reduction of the Group’s environmental footprint.
Open innovation: our driving force
Innovation is an essential element in the deployment of our long-term strategy and in our short-term operational challenges. Our research teams are focused the quick development of value-creating solutions, supported by our Open Innovation approach, an R&D approach based on sharing and collaborating which motivated the creation of Eramet Ideas and its five essential missions:
- Promoting innovation focused on people’s safety and the control of the Group’s environmental footprint;
- Creating value through an open innovation approach, thanks to collaborations and partnerships with industrials, universities and European consortiums;
- Testing, developing and improving the best opportunities hand in hand with the business units;
- Ensuring the excellency of Eramet’s industrial equipments through an ISO 9001 certification;
- Practicing regular experience feedback with the operational teams in order to identify the technical and technological elements that can be improved.
Building a reputation as a European centre of excellence
In order to meet the challenges of the energy transition and of the digital transformation, our experts are working on improving the existing industrial processes and on the development of new technologies:
- Engineers and technicians, expert in the exploitation and transformation of metals and alloys, recycling processes…
- High-performing observation tools (such as the first microscope in France with the QEMSCAN mineralogical analysis software), perfected laboratory tools to conduct discontinuous metallurgical tests, and pilot and semi-industrial installations to conduct trial campaigns in the long run.
- R&D teams working in close collaboration with operationals.
Key figures
- 150 experts and technicians
- 24M€ dedicated to innovation
- 10 collaborative projects in Europe
- 1st microscope in France with the QEMSCAN software
Find out about some of Eramet Ideas’ collaborative projects :
- EuGeLi Project: the production of lithium “made in Europe”
- Go-4-0 Project: recycling the manganese in the muds and dust in pyrometallurgical ovens
- ReLieVe Project: recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles
- SPYRO Project: interactive training on pyrometallurgy
