Innovation and R&D Projects and Activities

The ever changing commodity market is constantly generating new challenges to exploration and mining service and technology companies worldwide. Current market conditions have triggered a quest for more cost-reducing exploration and mining technologies and services. DMT, as a leader and driver in the mining technology sector, is actively continuously developing innovative and robust solutions for the commodity market.

DMT is leading and contributing to numerous international innovation projects, including projects funded by the European Union (e.g. Research Fund for Coal and Steel RFCS, EIT Raw Materials, Horizon 2020), the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). We concentrate our innovation activities on the company’s core competences, for instance, sensor-supported monitoring of mining operations, automation of exploration, mining and extraction processes, reactivation and/or remediation of abandoned mine sites, and assessment and certification of mineral resources and ore reserves. DMT also supports education projects and capacity building in the mining sector by supporting and contributing to Masters and Doctoral thesis projects and other training initiatives.

Funding agencies:

EIT RawMaterials

One important pillar of our innovation strategy is currently DMT GmbH & Co. KG’s core membership in the EU-funded EIT RawMaterials. This novel collaboration of stakeholders from industry and academia from various fields of application right across the raw materials value chain is the world’s largest and strongest consortium in the raw materials sector. Initiated by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the consortium of over 100 companies, universities and research institutes strives to boost competitiveness, growth and attractiveness of the European raw materials sector through innovative strength and guided entrepreneurship, as well as delivering increased economic, environmental and social sustainability to European society. DMT, as a core member of this initiative, is active in the strategic target areas of exploration, mining, processing and metallurgy of raw materials from primary and secondary sources, but also in the fields of energy, cokemaking technology, infrastructure and safety.

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

The German government invests heavily in the action areas of education, research and innovation, not only to secure a strong future for the people and economy of Germany, but also to find solutions to global problems and strategies for sustainable growth. DMT has been involved in numerous geotechnical projects supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)

Finding answers to challenges such as globalisation, digitisation, demographic change, the development of Europe and the transformation of energy systems is the central task of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. A future-oriented economic policy will secure lasting prospects for more employment, investment and growth in Germany.

Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS)

The Research Fund for Coal and Steel is a program of the European Commission, which invests over €50 million every year in innovation projects to enhance the safety, efficiency and competitive edge of the EU coal and steel industries. In recent years DMT has contributed to over 20 RFCS projects on topics such as underground coal gasification, management of mine water and a coal weathering study to improve coke properties and protect coke oven operation.

Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation with a budget of 95.5 billion Euros. It aims to tackle climate change, help to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth, providing funding until 2027. The programme facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies. It also supports a better creation and  transfer of know-how and technology. Horizon Europe succeeds the EU funding programme Horizon 2020.

Horizon 2020

Horizon 2020 was the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme until 2020. Its goal was to ensure Europe produces world-class science, removes barriers to innovation and makes it easier for the public and private sectors to work together in delivering innovation. DMT is proud to be part of the the BIOMOre project, which brings together expertise from seven countries and 21 partners at the forefront of innovation in raw materials supply.

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

The European Regional Development Fund is the European Union's main instrument for regional development and aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the EU by combating inequalities between the various regions. A focus of the ERDF is on the strengthening of competitiveness and innovation and the need to ensure sustainable development.

DMT is currently involved in the following projects in a leading or supporting capacity:

 

ProjectDescriptionFunded byDurationDMT contact
AfricaMaValBuilding EU-Africa partnerships on sustainable raw material value chainsHorizon Europe01.06.2022 - 30.11.2025Lukas Förster
AGEnT IIContinuation of the development of mine extensions BMUV

01.07.2023 - 31.08.2025

Andreas Hucke
Aimon5Real-time monitoring of gravitational mass movements for risk management of critical infrastructures with AI-assisted 3D metrologyBMBF

01.09.2023 - 31.08.2025

Daniel Czerwonka-Schröder
DartsJoint project: DARTS - Data-based routing of routes for underground energy transfer infrastructures
infrastructures; sub-project: Underground mapping and digital twin
BMBF01.03.2024 - 28.02.2027Jens Eich
DB MISSEstablishment of a reliable database for the conflict between wind turbines and seismic measuring stations with special consideration of larger plants (over 4 MW)progres.nrw01.05.2022 - 31.08.2025Lorenz Marten
Eurad 2EURAD-2 covers the entire radioactive waste management and disposal (including treatment, conditioning and final disposal) for all radioactive waste classes (very low, low, intermediate and high level radioactive).Horizon Europe01.10.2024 - 30.09.2029Charlotte Bornhöft
GeoTwinsDigital Twin Components for Deep Geothermal Energy Power and Heat GenerationBMBF01.12.2024 - 30.11.2027Simon Kremers
KarboEx 2Carbonate exploration NRW – Exploration for geothermal heat sources for a carbon-free heating marketEFRE01.06.2024 - 28.02.2026Sebastian Thronberens
MaDiTraCeMaterial and digital traceability for the certification of critical raw materialsHorizon Europe01.01.2023 - 31.12.2025Michalis Katapotis
PhosphoGipsAnalysis of the utilization potential of phosphogypsumBMBF01.01.2024 - 31.12.2025Charlotte Bornhöft

 

In the recent past, DMT led or contributed to the following innovation projects:

 

ProjectDescriptionFunded byDurationDMT contact
ANCORELOGANCORELOG - Analytical Core Logging SystemEIT Raw Materials01.01.2018 – 31.03.2021Carlos Pina Garcia
CERACertification of Raw Materials EIT Raw Materials01.04.2017 – 30.06.2021Andreas Hucke
ClosurematicManagement Tool for Continuous Mine Closure - ClosurematicEIT Raw Materials01.01.2018 – 31.12.2021Philip Mittelstädt
DeepSpaceBIMVerbundprojekt: Digitaler Bauassistent zur Handhabung gestörter Bauabläufe mittels Augmented Reality - DeepSpaceBIMBMVI01.08.2018 - 31.08.2021Jörg Niese
DESMEX IIr4 - wirtschaftsstrategische Rohstoffe, Verbundvorhaben DESMEX II - Elektromagnetische Tiefensondierung für die Lagerstättenerkundung, Teilvorhaben 9: kundenspezifische Präsentation des Messverfahrens am Markt und Begleitung von DemontrationsmessungenBMBF01.07.2019 - 30.06.2023Bodo Lehmann / Klaus Limbrock
DGE-RolloutDGE-Rollout faciliates the use of deep geothermal energy as climate friendly energy resource to reduce CO2 emissions and to protect the environment in North-West EuropeEU (INTERREG)25.10.2018 – 24.10.2022Boris Dombrowski
EURADEuropean Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste ManagementHorizon 202001.06.2019 - 31.05.2024Marie Charlotte Bornhöft
FARMINField augmented reality in mineral exploration and miningEIT RawMaterials01.01.2020 - 31.12.2022Florian Lowicki
FloodRisk
 
Investigation of hazards due to mine water flooding for selected German hard coal mining areasBMBF01.01.2020 – 30.12.2022Daniel Schröder
HoloMineMixed reality for underground mine operationsEIT Raw Materials01.01.2019 – 30.06.2022Benedikt Wolters
HOWAMANSustainable strategies and technologies for flood risk management in arid and semiarid areasBMBF01.03.2020 –  28.02.2023 Oliver Stoschek
I2MonIntegrated Impact MONitoring: Development of multi-sensor data logger DMT Safeguard GNSS for point cloud data processing and deformation analysis from UAV laserscan  and radar satellite dataRFCS01.07.2018 – 30.06.2022Karsten Zimmermann
illuMINEationBright concepts for a safe and sustainable digital mining futureHorizon 202001.09.2020 - 31.08.2023Norbert Gomolla
Karbo-ExCarbonate exploration NRW - Tapping a heat source for the carbon-free heat marketERDF01.11.2019 – 31.10.2022Dirk Orlowsky
LowCH4 ModuleLow Methane Micro Steam Engine ModuleERDF.NRW01.01.2019 – 31.12.2023Vitali Kerber
MINETALCBackfill Mining Optimisation for Low- and Medium- Strength DepositsEIT RawMaterials02.03.2020-02.03.2023Bernd Pflüger
MISSReduction of the adverse effects of wind turbines on seismological measuring stationsERDF23.03.2018 – 22.05.2021Simon Kremers
NEMONear-zero-waste recycling of low-grade sulphuric mining waste for critical-metal, mineral and construction raw-material production in a circular economyHORIZON 202001.05.2018 – 31.10.2022Bernd Teigler
NEXTNew Exploration TechnologiesHORIZON 202001.05.2018 – 30.09.2021Torsten Gorka
OdysseusCoal-to-liquids supply chain integration in view of operational, economic and environmental risk assessments under unfavourable geological settingsRFCS01.06.2019 - 31.05.2022Torsten Gorka
PRASS IIIProductivity and safety of shield support RFCS01.07.2017 – 28.02.2021Ulrich Langosh
PREDISPRE-DISposal management of radioactive wasteHorizon 202001.09.2020 - 31.08.2024Marie Charlotte Bornhöft
RESEERVEMineral potential of the ESEE regionEIT Raw Materials01.04.2018 – 30.11.2021Bernd Teigler / Florian Lowicki
SEIGERSeismic monitoring of deep geothermal installations and possible seismic impactsBMWi01.05.2019 – 30.04.2023Simon Kremers
SmartHub2IoT communication hub for mining community to optimize machine, systems and process performanceEIT Raw Materials01.01.2019 – 31.12.2021Norbert Gomolla
TEXMINThe impact of EXtreme weather events on MINing operationsRFCS01.06.2019 - 31.05.2022Christoph Klinger
T-REXTimegated Raman for ExplorationEIT RawMaterials01.01.2020 - 31.12.2021Carlos Garca Pina
UNDROMEDAUnderground Robotic System for Monitoring, Evaluation and Detection ApplicationsEIT Raw Materials01.01.2018 – 31.12.2021Karsten Zimmermann

For older projects, see the Archive section above right.