In mid-June, the 5th Learning Expedition took place as part of the EU IDEALIST project, in which GKZ is a partner. The event was organised by the French cluster ALBATROS Gie,, which hosted the gathering in Nantes. The focus was on advanced manufacturing, composite materials, hybrid manufacturing processes and 3D printing. The aim of the two-day event was to facilitate an exchange with companies, research institutions and clusters from across Europe specialising in the three core areas of the IDEALIST project: energy-intensive industry, mobility, and aerospace. As with previous Learning Expeditions, companies not involved in the project were able to take part in the meeting, thereby gaining insights into current technological developments and industrial applications through site visits and discussions with representatives of the project partners. To this end, the GKZ once again provided travel vouchers worth 500 euros. The Dresden-based company simfacture GmbH took advantage of this opportunity and returned with valuable insights not only into the cooperation partners but also into the European cluster. For us at the Freiberg Geoscience Competence Centre, alongside our member, the Bavarian Chemicals Cluster – which was also present in Nantes – these are important building blocks for identifying new impetus, partnerships and ideas for our cluster work and our members. Many thanks to the IDEALIST consortium and ALBATROS Gie for the excellent organisation and the inspiring discussions!

The webinar, jointly organised by GKZ, the European Digital Innovation Hub Saxony (EDIH Saxony) and the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Chemnitz explored how SMEs and research institutions in Saxony can make practical and responsible use of AI today, including:

  • An introduction to EDIH Saxony as the central contact point for digital innovation in Saxony – with "test before invest" infrastructure, training offers, competence building and access to European networks.
  • Input from Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Chemnitz on what the EU AI Act's competence requirements (Article 4) mean in practice and how companies can build the necessary skills for safe and compliant AI use.
  • A very hands-on legal session on copyright risks when using AI-generated text and images, typical pitfalls in marketing and communication, and how SMEs can protect themselves.
  • A best case from Smart Systems Hub GmbH on AI-based predictive maintenance in semiconductor production in Dresden, showing how more than 800 automated guided vehicles are monitored using sensors, acoustic analysis and AI to increase efficiency, reduce downtimes and stabilise production.

The webinar was organised by GKZ Freiberg as part of the HORIZON EUROPE IDEALIST project, which supports SMEs in three strategic industrial ecosystems – energy-intensive industries, aerospace and mobility/transport – in strengthening their resilience and technological adaptability, including through AI and digitalisation.

In Mid-May we hosted an IDEALIST Horizon Scanning webinar on hydrogen – co-organised by GKZ and its member ChemieCluster Bayern e.V. (CCB) – and the insights are still shaping our work today. Exchanging our minds with representative of Industry, Cluster, Administration, Intermediaries was anything but "business as usual". Together with two strong cluster keynotes from the Saxon HZwo hydrogen cluster and the Zentrum Wasserstoff.Bayern H2.B cluster, we explored early signals for how the hydrogen transition is really unfolding on the ground – beyond strategy papers and headlines.

Among others:

  • Emerging "project realism" in parts of the industry – postponements and down-scaling instead of outright cancellations.
  • Early specialisation of stakeholders in very narrow H₂ niches (import logistics, offshore-linked electrolysis, individual corridors).
  • The role of EU rules (additionality, temporality) in shifting location advantages within Europe.
  • Global "clean hydrogen" growth as a potential export window for specialised German suppliers in plant engineering, measurement and safety technology.

In small group exercises, SMEs worked through three very practical questions for each signal:

  • What would be your first decision or action to adapt?
  • What do you already have that could be optimised?
  • What do you wish your company already had in place but doesn't yet?

This webinar was part of the HORIZON EUROPE IDEALIST project, which supports European innovation clusters and SMEs by using Horizon Scanning to identify early signals, drivers and strategic options in key transition areas such as hydrogen.

The result is a compact set of insights we can now feed back into cluster strategies, project pipelines and risk management – and cross-check against the IEA Global Hydrogen Review 2025.

IDEALIST is an EU-funded Horizon Europe project in which GKZ participates as a partner. It aims to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in three key industrial ecosystems – energy-intensive industries, aerospace & defence, and mobility, transport & automotive – by increasing their resilience and supporting the uptake of advanced technologies. The latest IDEALIST newsletter presents ongoing activities, first results and opportunities for companies and clusters to get involved.

As a partner in the EU IDEALIST Project, we invite GKZ Freiberg e.V. companies and innovative players to work together to solve specific challenges facing the manufacturing industry – quickly, focused and entirely online. On 1–2 April 2026, we will bring together industrial companies with technology-driven start-ups, SMEs, research institutions, technology centres and EDIHs to work in teams on real-world challenges from three key ecosystems: energy-intensive industries, aerospace/defence and mobility/automotive. Whether you are a company with an acute manufacturing problem or an organisation that can offer a solution using advanced technologies, this Hack&Match is your chance to build new partnerships, develop concrete solutions and network across Europe.

How does it work? As a challenge provider, you can submit your challenges until 13 February 2026; as a solution provider, you can apply for the published challenges between 16 February and 20 March 2026. The joint kick-off will take place on 1 April, followed by intensive collaboration sessions and the presentation of all solutions to a jury on 2 April – the best teams will be honoured at an award ceremony on 15 April 2026.

Participation is free of charge for challenge providers and an excellent opportunity for solution providers to showcase their expertise, attract potential customers or partners, and position themselves early on in European value chains.

Interested? You can find more information here.

The EU LEADER 2030 project, in which GKZ is a partner, aims to strengthen the resilience and strategic autonomy of European supply chains for the rail industry, particularly with regard to raw materials, components, and key technologies. Through vulnerability analyses and concrete industry- and policy-oriented recommendations for action, the project aims to establish European rail supply systems that are more robust and capable of innovation. This includes securing raw materials. To this end, the GKZ has already compiled the report “Forecast for autonomy, bottlenecks and gaps for *Europe's Rail 2030 raw material supply.”

 

On this basis, recommendations have now been derived for greater raw material and technology sovereignty. The LEADER 2030 Newsletter #5 informs you about recommendations for greater resilience and strategic autonomy of European supply chains in the report “Intelligence Analysis And Recommendations to Deliver Europe's Rail 2030.” The report is accompanied by an online consultation running until February 28, 2026, during which you can view the report and make further recommendations for greater raw material and technology sovereignty. Since many components and technologies are cross-sectoral, as is raw material security per se, it is worthwhile to review the report and make recommendations for your own portfolio.

 

Click here for the newsletter and online consultation:

https://mailchi.mp/2562edeb835a/news-letter-from-leader-2030-an-eu-rail-project-14200954?e=f75aa70a32

 

*Europe's Rail 2030 Master Plan is a strategic R&I roadmap from the European partnership Europe's Rail for transforming the rail system in line with the EU's climate and digital goals. It specifies which technological, digital, and operational innovations are to be developed and demonstrated on a large scale by 2030 in order to achieve greater capacity, reliability, interoperability, and cost reduction in the European rail system (including doubling high-speed traffic, large-scale automation, and strengthening freight transport).

Over 100 participants of the Raw Materials Week side event co-hosted by EuroGeoSurveys and the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Mineral Resources - GKZ holds membership - , who helped to make it a resounding success. The event brought together geological surveys, industry, research organisations, EU institutions, and financial actors – an audience that reflects the broad community needed to unlock Europe’s mineral raw materials potential. The event concluded with a clear message: Europe can secure a sustainable raw materials future, but this depends on systematic, dramatically increased investment, stronger communication, deeper collaboration, and coordinated knowledge. Financing: The message that echoed throughout the day. From the opening session on financing to the final panel on research and innovation, one message came through consistently: Europe needs to unlock funds to fully develop its raw materials potential. Read full article here.

We are delighted to share the latest Newsletter from the EU HORIZON IDEALIST project with you, in which GKZ is participating as a partner alongside eight other EU clusters. Over the past months, our community has continued to grow, exchange and innovate, generating new momentum across our three industrial ecosystems. In this issue, we look back at the activities that have shaped this period and highlight the progress, collaborations and insights driving the next steps of the IDEALIST journey. IDEALIST strengthens the resilience of SMEs in mining, energy-intensive sectors and the chemical industry, among others, through strategic foresight, B2B and partner finding for concrete problem solving via networked learning formats.

Photo: WACKER Chemie

A webinar hosted by AGORA Talks in collaboration with the Expert-to-expert webinars of the IDEALIST project:

9 December, 11:00-12:00 CET

Registration link: https://agora-eitmanufacturing.eu/meeting/6928167e9d64c1.306238456928167e9d6538.501246436928

 

 

 


Sharing latest advances, technologies and practical use cases to decarbonise European industry, from the factory floor to the supply chain, we will be joined by four expert panelists:

  • Vincent Stepputat, Co-founder and CEO at Plasmotion.
  • Dr. Ruben Alfonso Casillas Pacheco, Founder at Fungarium.
  • Dr. Josef Glass, COO at CO2BioClean.
  • Jasper Koen, COO at Mavarick AI.

The agenda includes four speakers, which will introduce innovative net-zero technologies.

  • Dr. Ruben Alfonso Casillas Pacheco, Founder at Fungarium. Fungarium produces mycelium-based materials from biomass residues to replace styrofoam insulations with carbon-negative material.
  • Dr. Josef Glass, COO at CO2BioClean. CO2BioClean helps CO2- emitting industries searching for technologies to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by turning CO2 into biopolymers.

If you'd like to express your interest in a bilateral meeting with one of the speakers, please fill this form.

Background: The expert-to-expert webinars are part of the IDEALIST project, funded by the EU, supporting SMEs in energy-intensive industries, aerospace, defense, and transport to build resilience.”

MOSAIC INNOVA, a Coordination and Support Action funded by HORIZON Europe, will run for 12 months. Its mission is to strengthen Europe’s innovation ecosystem around deep tech and critical technologies, while fostering sustainability, circularity, and industrial resilience across Europe. Main objectives of MOSAIC INNOVA are to

•  Reduce fragmentation between regional and national innovation ecosystems.

•  Foster cooperation between regions with different levels of innovation performance.

•  Promote the exchange of best practices and knowledge transfer.

•  Engage companies, clusters, research centres, and public administrations through communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities.

The project includes a European consortium committed to sustainable innovation: ISMC the Iberian Sustainable Mining Cluster, the International Center for Advanced Materials and Raw Materials of Castilla y León ICAMCyL Foundation, the Bulgarian Industrial Cluster Srednogorie, and Germany´s Geokompetenzzentrum Freiberg e.V.

 

Aim of MOSAIC INNOVA: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups focused on critical and deep technologies are crucial to enhancing value chains in digital innovation and clean technologies. The project will support them in transitioning to Industry 5.0 and foster an innovation ecosystem. The project will establish an excellence hub for deep-tech innovation, promoting knowledge exchange and technology transfer among partners. It involves local, regional, and national stakeholders to improve coordination and create better synergies between EU funds that promote resilient innovation and a circular economy. The project will summarise ecosystem actions and guide future developments, including stakeholder mapping, selecting four deep-tech companies, and analysing EIC Accelerator-certified entities applying for the Plug-in scheme.

 

GKZ is responsible for the following tasks: identifying, integrating, and supporting the most promising deep-tech enterprises within the MOSAIC project. Its role begins with establishing selection criteria and coordinating the process to identify companies with strong innovation potential, market readiness, and strategic value for the ecosystem. Once the most suitable enterprises are chosen, GKZ oversees their integration into the MOSAIC network, ensuring smooth collaboration and continuous evaluation to strengthen their innovation capacity. In addition, GKZ provides tailored support regarding funding and investment opportunities, helping these companies access suitable financial instruments for their business development. Through these combined efforts, GKZ acts as a central facilitator, ensuring the selected enterprises are effectively connected, supported, and empowered to contribute to the broader goals of the MOSAIC ecosystem.