The European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program for research and innovation is to support a project called DIGIECOQUARRY, an innovative digital sustainable aggregates systems. A consortium of 24 entities from eight countries, comprising universities, institutions and leading European companies, will be partnering in this project. MAXAM will be part of the DIGIECOQUARRY project.
The 4-year DIGIECOQUARRY project begins this week and represents a significant breakthrough to digitalise and automate the operations of the European aggregate industry to make them safer and more sustainable.
As part of its work in the DIGIECOQUARRY project, MAXAM will develop innovative technologies of its X-Energy platform in a quarry of the Hanson group, a member of the project consortium. X-Energy digitalisation tools like the MAXAM Blast Centre, X-Logger and RIOBLAST, combined with smart explosives and adaptive delivery systems, will enable quarries to leverage data and the use of selective energy to enhance safety, reduce environment impact, and optimise the total cost of ownership.
Vicente Huelamo, MAXAM’s senior technical advisor, explains, “MAXAM is delighted to be part of the DIGIECOQUARRY project. We look forward to developing new technologies of our X-Energy platform specifically for the aggregate industry. Our focus would be to improve rock fragmentation, wall damage, ground vibrations, and airblast overpressure. The work will also help improve the performance of downstream operations like excavation, hauling, conveying, and crushing.”
