ASSOCIACAO PORTUGUESA DOS INDUSTRIAIS DE MARMORES E RAMOS AFINS

Their core work

ASSIMAGRA is the Portuguese Association of Marble and Related Industries, representing the natural stone and mineral extraction sector in Portugal. They bring industry perspective and SME network access to EU research projects focused on raw materials, mining innovation, and mineral value chains. Their role in consortia is to bridge research outcomes with the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises in the extractive industries, particularly in the marble and ornamental stone sector centered around Portugal's Porto de Mós region.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ASSIMAGRA's early H2020 involvement (2015–2018) centred on broad international cooperation and policy dialogue around raw materials through INTRAW. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward applied mining innovation and industrial value chain creation — ROBOMINERS brought robotic mining technology, while MINE.THE.GAP addressed SME integration, cluster development, and smart specialisation strategies. The trajectory shows a move from policy-level engagement to hands-on industrial transformation of the mining and raw materials sector.

ASSIMAGRA is moving toward applied industrial innovation — circular economy, advanced manufacturing, and digital tools (ICT) for SMEs in extractive industries, making them a relevant partner for mining modernisation projects.

How they like to work

ASSIMAGRA participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for an industry association bringing sectoral expertise and SME networks rather than leading research. With 63 unique partners across 30 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia. This broad network suggests they are comfortable in multi-stakeholder environments and can mobilise industry contacts across the raw materials value chain.

Despite only 3 projects, ASSIMAGRA has built a remarkably wide network of 63 partners across 30 countries, reflecting the large-scale, internationally diverse consortia typical of raw materials research. Their reach extends well beyond the EU into global raw materials cooperation.

What sets them apart

ASSIMAGRA offers something few research partners can: direct access to the Portuguese natural stone and mineral extraction industry, including hundreds of SMEs in one of Europe's key marble-producing regions. For consortium builders, they provide a credible industry voice and dissemination channel into a sector that is often hard to reach from academia. Their combination of raw materials expertise with SME cluster knowledge and regional smart specialisation experience is particularly valuable for projects needing real industrial validation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MINE.THE.GAP
  Their largest funded project (EUR 111,914) and most ambitious in scope — combining mining, advanced manufacturing, ICT, and circular economy into SME value chain creation across European regions.
• ROBOMINERS
  A technically ambitious project on bio-inspired modular robotic miners, showing ASSIMAGRA's willingness to engage with frontier mining technology beyond traditional stone extraction.