The network already gathers together 6 private companies working in the field of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, and 4 public universities.

The Université de Lorraine has been created in 2012 after the merger of Henri Poincaré, Nancy 2 and Paul Verlaine Universities, and the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine (INPL). The university is divided into two main centers, one in Nancy (biological sciences, health care, administration, and management) and one in Metz (material sciences, technology, and management). The University of Lorraine has a student body of over 52,039 and offers 101 accredited research centers organized in 9 research areas and 8 doctoral colleges.
LEMTA is a joint laboratory between CNRS/ Université de Lorraine. The Soil Mechanics Group of LEMTA is specialised in the field of geomechanics and geoenvironmental engineering, with strong experiences in coupled multiphysics issues. It performs fundamental research in hydro-geomechanics of soils with in situ and lab experiments, physical and numerical modelling (http://lemta.univ-lorraine.fr/comp_thmc_sols.html).

Since its creation in 1965, Menard has developed and patented soil Improvement techniques suitable for a large range of soft soils and has worked in more than 40 countries all over the world for a large range of projects. (www.menard-web.com).

Nowadays Menard is a fully integrated ground engineering company able to design, execute and control any of the existing soil improvement technique in order to improve a soil up to any type of performance criteria defined by the client, including remediation of polluted soils. A fundamental objective for the Menard companies is to lead the soil improvement industry by applying accrued efficiency, sustainability and cost-effectiveness to each project.

Ginger CEBTP (www.groupe-cebtp.com) is the leader in France in expertise and studies for the construction sector. CEBTP has a large network of 35 offices in France and subsidiaries in 5 French overseas territories and 2 in North Africa, and employs more than 1000 people, including more than 400 engineers.

CEBTP works in all projects of the construction sector: buildings, roads, civil engineering and environment, and for all actors of the sector: public or private project owners, construction companies, prime contractors, etc, and conducts more than 25000 assignments every year.

The main activity of Ginger CEBTP concerns the geotechnics business, which is roughtly half of the CEBTP turnover. This geotechnics business line covers two major work areas, each one responding to a precise objective during the first stages of a building project:

• Geotechnical survey : assess the possibility of starting a construction according to the soil characteristics,

• Geotechnical analysis and advice: provide recommendations to lay foundations.

The University of Exeter has 3,025 staff members with annual turnover of over €240m. The University was placed 6th nationally amongst ‘full service’ universities in the 2010 National Student Survey. It comprises 3 main sites of study – Streatham Campus and St Luke’s Campus (Exeter) and Cornwall Campus. The University has 6 Colleges, including the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, that are made up of 31 main departments and institutes for learning.

The Computational Geomechanics Group (CGG) at the University of Exeter is actively engaged in development and applications of novel and state-of-the-art numerical modelling techniques and computer models for a wide range of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering applications as well as theoretical and experimental geomechanics. (http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/engineering/research/computational-geomechanics/).

Simpleware (www.simpleware.com)was founded by Prof. Philippe Young as a spin-off company from the University of Exeter, UK. Simpleware develops and provides world-leading software solutions for the conversion of 3D images (as provided by CT, MRI, Micro-CT scanners for example) into high-quality models used for Finite Element Analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Computer Aided Design and Rapid Prototyping. Simpleware software and services are used by industry and academia within a wide range of research areas, including: Bioengineering, Material Science, Oil & Gas, Industrial Reverse Engineering and Natural Sciences.

The team at Simpleware is at the forefront of developments in the area of image-based model generation, and hold several patents and proprietary ‘know-how’ in this field. Simpleware software is specifically designed to provide all the tools required to convert robustly the most complex image data into finite element and finite volume meshes, as well as CAD and STL files. Simpleware will provide support in kind including hosting PhD students at its head office in Exeter and training the students in the fields of numerical modelling and use of meshing techniques in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental applications.

Exeter Environmental Consulting Services (www.exeterenvironmental.co.uk) is a small company located in the School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Exeter. The company was established in 1999 from former university staff who have more than 30 years combined experience in environmental management and surveys, including:

• land development;

• waste management;

• radon gas in soil & water;

• geochemical & geophysical surveys.

Exeter Environmental Consulting Services provides a comprehensive service for all aspects of redevelopment of green-field and brown-field sites for both large and small developers. On-site experience and mentoring will be provided, together with suitable UK study sites and field-derived data.

Luleå University of Technology (http://www.ltu.se) is a leading European mining university. We work with applied projects in collaboration with the mining and mineral industry, metallurgical industry and forest industry, as well as basic environmental research. The research group involved in the ITN hosts over 30 PhD-students and 22 professors and researchers in the field of geosciences, mining and geotechnical engineering.
The department hosts the Centre for Applied Mining and Metallurgy (http://www.camm.se/) established last year by the Swedish government and LTU was designated as a strategic university for mining research. LTU was a leading research unit in the MiMi-project (Mitigating the Environmental Impact of Mining Waste) financed for 8 years by Mistra (The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research) http://www.mistra.org/mimi. Several research projects are done in collaboration with mining companies such as Boliden, LKAB, Northland Ressources and Lappland Gold Miners. The division of geosciences participate to several EU-projects such as the “Northern Sweden Soil Remediation Center”, University of the Artic. The research group of Applied Geology is working with remediation methods for sulphidic mine waste. The main focus is on developpment of cover system to hinder oxygen transport and oxidation. One research topic is the use of rest products (e.g. from the pulp and paper industry) to construct sealing layers. The group cooperates with Boliden, the second largest mining company in Sweden. (http://www.ltu.se/staff/c/chma-1.10302?l=en)

Ramböll (http://www.ramboll.se/) is a leading engineering, design and consultancy company founded in Denmark in 1945. Ramboll employes 10,000 experts and have a significant presence in Northern Europe, India and the Middle East. With close to 200 offices in 21 countries Ramboll emphasises local experience combined with a global knowledge-base. Consultants from Ramboll’s office in Luleå have established a close cooperation with Luleå university of Technology on the topic of mine waste remediation. Ramböll finances an industrial PhD-student at LTU working on the solidification of tailings using cement and ashes.

During the spring of 2014, Ramboll has prepared an application to perform and monitor a demonstration remediation project using green liquor dregs. The project is planned in cooperation with the mining company Boliden, a consultancy Ecoloop and RagnSells a Swedish waste company. The project includes pilot scale mixing of till and green liquor dregs to optimise mixing procedures. The results will be used to perform the full scale remediation of a mine and to prepare guidance for the method.

The University of Cassino and Southern Lazio (http://www.unicas.it/) has 5 departments, 12 undergraduate courses, and 18 masters degrees (among them a dual degree in Civile Engineering with the New York Polytechnic); 10 doctoral degrees, and a number of first and second level postgraduate masters courses.

The Geotechnical Group, as part of the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, is actively engaged in research in the field of theoretical and experimental geomechanics and geoenvironmental engineering. In the laboratory facilities for soil testing at different scale of observation (micro and macro) are available. The experimental activity is currently developed in the field of hydro-mechanical behaviour of compacted and treated soils with reference to saturated and unsaturated states.

Technital (http://www.technital.it/) is an engineering consultancy firm, involved in ports, roads, hydraulic, tunnels design as well as environmental assessment services. The activities usually performed are Master Plan studies, Engineering design at the different stages, Supervision of the works during construction. The total human resources of Technital amount to about 320 professionals, including some 30 managers and approximately 90 experts working permanently abroad. The Engineering Department is split into different areas of specialisation and deals with production activities.

The company has been involved in design of large port infrastructures with major dredging and reclamation volume balances. In few of them, the design has been directed in a way to reuse soft dredged materials by means stabilization with binder, with the final scope of reducing dredging-filling negative balance and counteract lack of proper and more expensive construction materials.