New Danish research project aims to improve the mapping of raw materials

Danish and international experts are collaborating in a new research project to develop new methods for mapping raw materials that can save society millions and reduce CO2 emissions. Innovation Fund Denmark is investing DKK 14.5 million in the project.

A new Danish research and development project will improve and streamline the mapping of raw materials by combining electromagnetic data and advanced statistical methods. The project will optimize the methods for mapping deposits of raw materials such as sand, gravel and stone, so that these resources can be found deeper and closer to where they are used. This will lead to increased efficiency and sustainability and will have great value for society and the environment. In addition to the financial savings associated with reduced transport costs, the project's results are expected to contribute to less wear and tear on the roads, less noise and traffic concentration and a reduction in CO2 emissions.

- With this ground-breaking project, we will be able to significantly improve the mapping of raw materials and create significant savings for both the economy and the environment. It will strengthen Denmark's position as an international front-runner in the use of electromagnetic methods in mapping the underground and pave the way for new export opportunities for Danish technology, says Mats Lundh Gulbrandsen, project manager and head of sales and geoscientific research at I•GIS.

To make the project a success, a number of national and international partners are working together, including I•GIS, Aarhus University, GEUS, WSP, Region Central Jutland, Region Southern Denmark, the Geological Survey of Sweden and the University of Cagliari. This collaboration ensures that all skills and parties from theoreticians and software developers to consulting engineers and decision-making authorities contribute to the development.

- With the support from Innovation Fund Denmark, this strong partnership will be able to deliver innovative solutions and tools that can create real changes and improvements in the field, says Mats Lundh Gulbrandsen.

Facts

The Innovation Fund's investment: DKK 14,508,913.

Total budget: DKK 20,512,736.

Duration: 3 years

Official title: INTEGRATE – Informative Mapping of Construction Aggregate Resources Through Statistical Data Analysis.

About the partners

I•GIS is a specialist GIS and geoscience software and service provider with an international customer base. They are strongly committed to research and development, both nationally and internationally. I•GIS is very motivated by the prospects of this project, and considers that both the scientific and business potential is great.

Aarhus University, Department of Geoscience (AU) has a strong history in both geology and geophysics with a focus on numerical modelling. AU provides expert skills in quantitative characterization of geology, geophysics and the integration of the two areas, especially in relation to near-surface geology. The project will strengthen AU's position as one of the world's leading universities within the combination of geological and geophysical information.

Region Central Jutland, RM is the authority in the areas of soil pollution and raw materials. The region is also responsible for mapping and planning the raw material resources on land. RM determines the framework for raw material extraction and designates the areas where extraction can take place. The regions are also the authority for issuing permits for the extraction of raw material resources.

The National Geological Surveys for Denmark and Greenland GEUS: An important role for GEUS is the utilization and protection of geological resources in Denmark and Greenland. A central competence in GEUS is the geological interpretation of geophysical (especially electromagnetic) data and the integration of geological knowledge into probabilistic work processes. GEUS is currently working on research in this area with the aim of developing 3D modeling techniques for a national 3D geological model for Denmark.

WSP Denmark is a company with 470 employees who work with consultancy within construction, infrastructure and the environment. One of their key competencies is the combination of geophysical and geological methods when mapping and evaluating raw materials. WSP is known for being one of the leading consultants in Denmark in this field. Recently, WSP invested in the newly developed tTEM system, and WSP sees great potential in this method in mapping raw materials.

The University of Cagliari (UC) is an Italian university with extensive experience in various geophysical methods. They have worked on the development of 3D electromagnetic modeling tools, which are important to be able to measure modeling errors. Furthermore, they have implemented machine learning in electromagnetic inversions and obtained results comparable to state-of-the-art 1D strategies, in real time. UC has also developed processes to integrate geophysical and geological data in a geostatistical manner. The project's goals align well with UC's future development in probabilistic methods and can benefit from their current expertise.

Sweden's Geological Survey (SGU) is a sister organization to GEUS in Sweden and belongs to the Swedish Ministry for Business and Innovation. SGU works to collect and interpret different types of geodata and integrate them to create 3D geological models. In this project, SGU will use the methods that are developed in a Swedish context and contribute to further developing the methods so that they can also be used in other situations, such as mapping of water bodies and groundwater resources.

The Region of Southern Denmark is the authority in the areas of soil pollution and raw materials. The region is also responsible for mapping and planning the raw material resources on land. The region determines the framework for raw material extraction and designates the areas where extraction can take place. The regions are also the authority for issuing permits for the extraction of raw material resources.