On the 20th May 2008 the European Commission publsihed official notification of the Council decision from the 29th April 2008 for the adoption of The Research Programme for the Research Fund for Coal and Steel.

The Research Programme shall support the competitiveness of the Community sectors related to the coal and steel industry and shall be consistent with the scientific, technological and political objectives of the Community, and shall complement the activities carried out in the Member States and within the existing Community research programmes, in particular the framework programme for research, technological development and demonstration activities.

Research objectives for coal

Research projects shall aim to reduce the total costs of mining production, improve the quality of the products and reduce the costs of using coal. Research projects shall encompass the entire coal production chain as follows:

• Modern techniques for surveying deposits.
• Integrated mine planning.
• Highly efficient, largely automated excavation and new and existing mining technologies corresponding to the
• geological characteristics of European hard coal deposits.
• Appropriate support technologies.
• Transport systems.
• Power supply services, communication and information,
• transmission, monitoring and process control systems.
• Coal preparation techniques, oriented to the needs of the consumer markets.
• Coal conversion.
• Coal combustion.

Research projects shall also aim to achieve scientific and technological progress with a view to gaining a better understanding of the behaviour and control of deposits in relation to rock pressure, gas emissions, the risk of explosion, ventilation and all other factors affecting mining operations.

Research objectives for steel

Research and technological development (RTD) shall aim to improve steel production processes with a view to enhancing product quality and increasing productivity. Reducing emissions,energy consumption and the environmental impact as well as enhancing the use of raw materials and the conservation of resources shall form an integral part of the improvements sought. Research projects shall address one or more of the following areas:

• New and improved iron-ore reduction processes.
• Ironmaking processes and operations.
• Electric arc furnace processes.
• Steelmaking processes.
• Secondary metallurgy techniques.
• Continuous casting and near net shape-casting techniques with and without direct rolling.
• Rolling, finishing and coating techniques.
• Hot- and cold-rolling techniques, pickling and finishing processes.
• Process instrumentation, control and automation.
• Maintenance and reliability of production lines.