ISCRM
ISCRM | 1st Iberian Symposium on Critical Raw Materials
Securing Strategic Autonomy and Sustainability in European Union
29 March 2027
Event Overview
The Iberian Peninsula currently plays a defining leadership role in Europe’s green and digital transitions. Driven by the ambitious targets set by the European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act, the ISCRM | 1st Iberian Symposium on Critical Raw Materials serves as a strategic meeting point to contribute to redefine the supply chains of essential mineral resources.
This inaugural symposium brings together researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and mineral innovation clusters. The primary goal is to debate sovereign solutions for the supply, refining, and recycling of critical raw materials, transforming our region's geological potential into geopolitical resilience for the European.
As a scientific cornerstone of this edition, the symposium will showcase the breakthroughs of the integrated R&D project iChem4M (Innovation in Chemistry for Critical Raw Materials). Funded by NORTE2030 and led by the CIQUP | Chemistry Research Center of the University of Porto, iChem4M.
Key Focus: The iChem4M Project Objectives
The symposium will place a special spotlight on the objectives of the iChem4M consortium, which aims to strengthen R&D in Rare Earth Elements (REEs) essential for emerging technologies through:
Sustainable Extraction of REEs: Developing and optimizing clean chemical-physical techniques for the efficient recovery of rare earths from clay deposits.
Applied Green Chemistry: Creating innovative, low-impact chemical methodologies that minimize the ecological footprint of strategic resource purification.
Advanced Materials for Energy Transition: Investigating more cost-effective and abundant semiconductors (such as thin films processed via ionic liquids in a vacuum).
Responsible Scientific Advancement: Promoting the sustainable and conscientious use of these metallic elements to ensure long-term availability.
TOPICS:
Topic 1: Advanced Exploration and Sustainable Mining
Technologies in deep geological prospecting and deposit mapping.
Eco-efficient extraction techniques, aligned with the clay-processing frameworks of iChem4M.
Environmental management, and impact mitigation in mining regions.
Topic 2: Processing, Refining, and Green Metallurgy
Innovation in chemical processing, hydrometallurgy, and sustainable solvents.
Refining technologies for advanced grade materials.
Novel semiconductors and advanced materials for green energy storage.
Topic 3: Circular Economy and Secondary Raw Materials
Advanced recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) and high-performance permanent magnets.
Recovery of critical minerals and by-products from industrial tailings and legacy sites.
Circular business models applied to the industrial supply chain.
Topic 4: Policy, Geopolitics, and Society
Impact of European critical raw materials legislation
Aligning integrated R&D projects with regional and European funding.
Public communication, trust, and acceptance of mineral projects.
Dates
Symposium Date: 29 March 2027
Abstract Submission Opens: not defined yet
Submission Deadline: not defined yet
Notification of Acceptance: not defined yet