On 12 January 2026, the administrative kick-off meeting of the BMFTR collaborative project PLING took place. The aim of the project is to build a sensor-based PLING system that supports more efficient, more sustainable and more environmentally responsible raw material extraction.
Together with our project partners from science and industry, we agreed on the organisational framework, the work plan and the next steps for the project start.
Project partners: TU Bergakademie Freiberg (Institute of Mine Surveying and Geodesy), RWTH Aachen University (Institute for Advanced Mining Technologies (AMT) and Institute of Mineral Resources Engineering (MRE)), Knauf, Innomotics.
Associated partners: Zinnwald Lithium GmbH and K+S Group
Many thanks to all attending colleagues: Prof. Jörg Benndorf (TUBAF), Prof. Elisabeth Clausen (AMT), Johannes Emontsbotz (MRE), Dr. Sunny Schoone and Marcel Siegel (Innomotics), Tobias Wendel-Eichholz (Knauf).
The PLING project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) within the “EGARoh” funding programme under grant no. 033R433A.
We very much look forward to the collaboration!