Dr. Lourdes Yurramendiis Chemist Ph. D. by the University of the Basque Country (Spain). At present she develops her professional activity in the Waste Valorisation Dept. integrated in the Energy & Environment Division of TECNALIA, where she has been working as head of projects since 1988. She was also responsible for the Organic Environmental Laboratory for ten years. She has large experience in the management of projects, at national and European level, in activities related to environmental contamination diagnosis, in the development of technologies for waste treatment (valorization of valuable components, desorption of organic contaminants, solidification-stabilization processes, carbonation processes, etc.), and in methodologies for the evaluation of the environmental impact in the reutilization of wastes as secondary raw materials. During the last years she has been involved in several European projects, in some of them as Coordinator, (such as REEcover, HYPERION, COLABATS, REMAGHIC, METGROW PLUS, CROCODILE, TARANTULA, SAMEX, RHINOCEROS, LICORNE) focused on the recovery of strategic and critical elements, including rare earth metals, from different industrial and mining sources by hydro, iono and pyrometallurgical technologies.