- Public Service of Wallonia Economy, Employment and Research has announced its partnership in the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA).
- The move underlines the importance of the region’s metallurgical industry and the government’s regional circular economy strategy, Circular Wallonia.
Berlin, 27 May 2021 Public Service of Wallonia Economy, Employment and Research has become a partner of the European Raw Materials Alliance. It joins over 500 organisations from industry, government, NGOs and trade unions sharing ERMA’s vision to secure access to critical and strategic raw materials, advanced materials, and processing know-how for EU Industrial Ecosystems. Announced in September 2020 as part of the EU Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, ERMA contributes to ensuring a reliable, secure and sustainable access to raw materials for Europe. ERMA is managed by EIT RawMaterials, a Knowledge and Innovation Community of the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology).
“We are delighted to have the Public Service of Wallonia Economy, Employment and Research on board as the first Belgian governmental authority to join ERMA. This development underlines the important synergies between the high-tech metallurgical industries of Wallonia and the need to secure raw materials to power the green, digital transformation of the European economy, as envisaged in the EU Green Deal. We are looking forward to working together with the Public Service of Wallonia to secure the supply of raw and advanced materials, whilst addressing Circular Economy by boosting the recovery and recycling within relevant ecosystems.”
Through its regional circular economy strategy, Circular Wallonia, adopted by the government in February 2021, Wallonia aims to be a region with an economic and industrial ecosystem committed to the circular economy. This transition will also allow Wallonia to improve its resilience in the face of future crises, by fully integrating the change of course imposed in particular by climate change, and by ensuring greater independence in terms of resources and global supply chains. It will also allow a reduced impact on the environment thanks to the reduction in resource extraction and better consideration of the carrying capacity of the planet.
In this context, a reflection on the relocation of certain sectors, and on the security of supply of Walloon priority sectors, has been initiated, in particular through our smart specialization strategy.
Circular materials are, moreover, one of the areas of strategic innovation in Wallonia. Metals, minerals and advanced materials are at the heart of the region’s strategic orientation. Wallonia would like to contribute to the discussions and analyses of ERMA, in order to translate potential projects into real activities and infrastructure with European partners and in particular in synergy with increased Walloon participation in the EIT RawMaterials Community.
Participation in ERMA is part of Wallonia’s ambition to deploy the circular economy, an issue of industrial performance, innovation and territorial attractiveness. The circular economy is moreover at the heart of Wallonia’s smart specialization strategy, with the purpose of strengthening the competitiveness of the region through synergies, interregional complementarities and the activation of European mechanisms.
“This ambition is based on technological expertise and the distinctive Walloon skills in advanced metal processing (the “reverse metallurgy platform”), on our history linked to the steel industry and on the opportunity offered by brownfields to circularize materials, and think about new business models. Walloon recycling expertise is also recognized, ranking among the top regions in Europe. Joining ERMA will help our Region in facilitating key partnerships and relationships throughout the European continent, which will enable Wallonia to confront the green and digital transitions.”
