Three-day international event gathering Europe’s leading raw materials experts to explore innovation, policy and collaboration
Everyone is invited to join the PROMETIA Scientific Seminar 2025, a free public event taking place from 25 to 27 November in Naples, which will become Europe’s capital of raw materials innovation for three days, hosting the seminar at the Unione Industriali di Napoli.
Organised by PROMETIA and ENCO Srl, the three-day event will bring together leading experts, researchers and industry representatives to debate new challenges and emerging technologies that are reshaping the future of critical raw materials in Europe.
The seminar opens on the afternoon of 25 November with welcome remarks from PROMETIA’s leaders President Stéphane Bourg (BRGM), Alexandra Ribeiro (Nova School), Patrick d’Hugues (BRGM) and the highest-ranking authorities of the City of Naples, followed by a spotlight on the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act and on European and national initiatives to secure a sustainable, resilient supply of raw materials.
On 26 November, the focus shifts fully to technological innovation and research–industry collaboration. Taking centre stage are the METNET and LabNET networks, which will present the latest scientific results and scale-up experiences in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy.
The programme concludes on 27 November with the PROMETIA Members’ Meeting, a closed-door session reserved for association members.
What is PROMETIA?
PROMETIA is an international, Brussels-based non-profit association founded in 2014 that champions innovation in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy and recycling for metals and materials production, supporting the shift to a more resource-efficient, circular economy.
Led by the French Geological Survey (BRGM), the association fosters collaboration among industry, research centres and academia, promoting the sharing of knowledge, expertise and infrastructure to accelerate technology transfer and strengthen Europe’s industrial competitiveness.
Through its network, PROMETIA advances new solutions for the recovery and valorisation of raw materials and industrial waste, reinforcing Europe’s strategic resilience in a sector pivotal to the green and digital transitions.
ENCO: Italian expertise linking innovation and EU funding
Organised by ENCO Srl, a Naples-based leader and active PROMETIA member, the event brings to the city the know-how of a company that for more than two decades has bridged local ecosystems and Brussels, turning ideas into high-impact European projects. With 28 R&I projects currently under way, ENCO coordinates and leads work packages on communication, dissemination and exploitation: from editorial strategy to storytelling of results through to valorisation and impact measurement, taking science out of the lab and into value chains and communities.
Collaboration between PROMETIA and ENCO includes SCRREEN, the EU flagship initiative launched in 2016 that supports the European Commission on knowledge and policy for Critical Raw Materials, producing official factsheets and managing the European CRM Knowledge Base (maps, data, deposits, value chains). This information infrastructure is key to the security and independence of European supply chains, a theme reiterated in the State of the Union (SOTEU) address on 10 September 2025 by European Commission President von der Leyen, with a call for a “free and independent” Europe.
Within this framework, implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act and its 2030 targets, at least 10% domestic extraction, 40% processing within the EU, 25% recycling[1], and less than 65% dependence on any single country, sets a concrete path towards strategic autonomy and industrial resilience.
With the Naples edition of the PROMETIA Scientific Seminar, the city cements its role as a crossroads between research, industry and European innovation: a platform to share experience, forge partnerships and co-design a sustainable future for raw materials.
The event is free and open to the public. The agenda and registration details are available at this link.
[1] Source: EU Commission. Available at the following link: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/green-deal-industrial-plan/european-critical-raw-materials-act_en#:~:text=The%20Act%20identifies%20a%20list,in%20research%2C%20innovation%20and%20skills
