Dive into the essentials of raw materials through HERawS interactive videos.
- Engage with expert content and hands-on activities that reveal how metals and minerals drive the green and digital transitions.
- Pay close attention to the interactive elements appearing on screen during the videos — they are key to your self-paced learning.
- Complete the module to earn an official certificate of completion (HERawS digital badge).
Come learn with us: watch, interact, and explore!
Video 1: Materials for Green and Digital Transition
This educational video explores the critical role of materials in the green and digital transition. Discover the fundamentals of energy transformations as Professor Alexandre Nominé guides you through key conversion processes: mechanical to electrical energy, photoenergy to electricity, and chemical energy storage. The presentation illustrates how renewable energy cycles differ from fossil fuel systems, highlighting the essential materials needed for each technology – from magnets and semiconductors to battery components and catalysts. Learn why the shift to renewable energy represents a trade-off between fossil fuels and critical metals, emphasizing the importance of sustainable extraction, consumption patterns, and recycling strategies to support our technological future.
Keywords: green and digital transitions, energy transformation, fossil energy, renewable energy, metal resources
Video 2: Primary Resources for Green and Digital Transitions
This comprehensive video explores the critical raw materials essential for green and digital transitions. Experts Olga Chernoburova and Michel Cathelineau explain key concepts including the critical and strategic raw materials, the difference between resources and reserves, the significance of cut-off grades, and how metal deposits are evaluated. The presentation clarifies how economic factors, including supply-demand dynamics and international pricing, impact metal availability. Discover why critical material challenges stem not only from geological scarcity but from geopolitical concentration, metallurgical processing limitations, and export restrictions.
Keywords: critical raw materials, metal reserves, resources, cut-off grade, metal distribution, economy
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Video 3: Mining’s impact on environment and society: A pathway to sustainable development
This enlightening video explores mining’s complex relationship with environment and society while mapping a pathway toward sustainable development. Associate Professor Tijana Vulević examines how different mining methods impact landscapes, forests, water systems, and air quality, while also analyzing social dimensions from employment benefits to community displacement.
The presentation tracks the evolution of public perception from pre-industrial focus on economic benefits to today’s more nuanced understanding that balances progress with environmental protection. Learn how key stakeholders – including companies, governments, workers, and local communities – can collaborate to transform mining practices. Discover practical strategies for sustainable mining, from water management innovations to effective mine closure and land rehabilitation techniques essential for our resource-dependent future.
Keywords: mining sustainability, environmental impact of mining, social impact of mining, public perception, stakeholder engagement, mine rehabilitation
Video 4: Circular Economy & Critical Resources Recovery
This concise video explores the crucial intersection of circular economy principles and critical resources recovery with Professor Alexandre Chagnes. Discover the circular economy’s definition and essential pillars: supply and economic actors, demand and consumer behaviour and waste management. The presentation highlights the European Passport for batteries as a practical implementation of circularity, tracking everything from material origins to recycling compatibility. Follow the complete battery value chain from raw materials extraction to advanced hydrometallurgical techniques and learn about these processes with a typical example for the lithium-ion batteries recycling.
Keywords: circular economy, resource recovery, battery value chain, extractive metallurgy, hydrometallurgy
Video 5: Towards Sustainable Materials by Design
This insightful lecture explores sustainable solutions to the raw materials equation for the green and digital transition. Learn about three essential approaches: reducing overconsumption, recycling, and developing material substitutions. The presentation reveals the immense potential in materials science, highlighting how only a few of possible materials combinations has been explored. Discover how artificial intelligence can help researchers find new materials by analyzing huge amounts of data and suggesting promising options. Join experts Janez Zavasnik and Alexandre Nominé as they demonstrate why sustainability must become a core parameter in materials selection to address our global resource challenges.
Keywords: raw materials equation, materials sustainability, materials substitution, artificial intelligence in materials science
Thank you for watching the HERawS educational videos!