A crucial component of the Government’s plan to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 is a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. The switch to electric vehicles will put pressure on rates of production of minerals such as lithium, cobalt, rare earths and copper. There is an urgent need to investigate additional resources worldwide. The UK, and particularly Cornwall, has expertise and natural resource assets that can play an important role in this transition. The region has active exploration projects for lithium, tin, tungsten and copper and a cluster of companies who work in production of natural resources worldwide.
Building on a rich mining heritage and a renewed national interest in georesources, Deep Digital Cornwall is leveraging the region’s unique research skills, collaborations and SME network, to boost regional economic growth. It will help produce the raw materials needed for the energy transition in ways that are most supportive of sustainable development, in Cornwall and worldwide.
This £4 million pioneering project is creating a world-leading cluster of research-intensive digital businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by conducting research and championing innovation with 40 of the region’s SMEs, many of whom already work globally.
Deep Digital Cornwall is researching digital technologies and developing new digital products, processes and services that will enhance SME offerings to sectors including mining, geothermal, environmental, civil engineering, surveying and water resources, heritage, planning and more.
Our new physical research hub has a state-of-the-art 3D modelling and visualisation suite and is home to a team of dedicated researchers, innovators and business development specialists.
Led by the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) with the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, the project’s three delivery partners are Cornish Lithium, Cornwall Resources Limited (CRL) and the South West Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications (SWCoESA).
Cornwall Resources Limited are providing Redmoor as a field site for acquiring new geochemistry and geophysical data, which will then feed into the Deep Digital Cornwall data centre.
Cornish Lithium are applying their expertise in new data collection and digitising data, as well as identifying and developing opportunities for applying machine learning and artificial intelligence technology.
SWCoESA are helping our SMEs to develop and commercialise space technologies and satellite applications.
“We are delighted to be leading this incredibly exciting and unique project that will leverage our world leading research, natural resources and collaborative partnerships to create a new generation of digital businesses. This ambitious project is extremely timely as the demand for improved understanding of our georesources is critical to so many industries and communities on a global basis.”
Professor Neil Gow, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Impact) at the University of Exeter