Demonstration of solid biofuel supply and conversion to high efficiency CHP from fully sustainable regional value chains

This Destination includes activities targeting a sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply. In line with the scope of cluster 5, this includes activities in the areas of renewable energy; energy system, grids and storage; as well as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS).

This Destination contributes directly to the Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations ‘Green transition’, ‘Digital transition’ and ‘A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe’.

In line with the Strategic Plan, the overall expected impact of this Destination is to contribute to the ‘Ensuring more sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply through solutions for smart energy systems based on renewable energy solutions’.

This destination contributes to the activities of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) and its implementation working groups.

The main impacts to be generated by topics under this Destination are:

Renewable energy

1. Energy producers have access to efficient and competitive European renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies with a solid knowledge base and are able to deploy them to enhance the EU’s energy security and reach its climate neutrality objectives, in a sustainable way in environmental (e.g., biodiversity, multiple uses of land and water, natural resources, pollution) and socioeconomic terms, and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
2. Technology providers have access to European, competitive, resilient, reliable, sustainable, and affordable value chains of renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies including emerging ones, and with strong export potential to supply both the EU internal and global markets. They benefit also from circular renewable energy technologies that are safe and sustainable by design with reduced and diversified external dependence on critical raw materials^[1].
3. Economic sectors benefit from better integration of renewable energy and renewable fuel-based solutions that are, among others, competitive, cost-effective, efficient, flexible, reliable, and sustainable. Such integration is facilitated through digitalisation and integration of artificial intelligence of renewable energy technologies that provide network stability and reliability.
4. European industries benefit from a reinforced export potential of renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies, also through international partnerships, and become more competitive in innovative renewable energy technologies in Europe and globally.
5. European researchers benefit from a stronger community and from a reinforced scientific basis on renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies including emerging ones, also through international collaborations.
6. European citizens have access to an energy market that is fair and equitable, more resilient, uses all different types of local renewable energy resources, and is less dependent on fossil fuels imports. Citizens experience less fuel and energy poverty, and also benefit from new employment and upskilling opportunities. Local communities benefit from a more decentralized, affordable, and secure energy system and from multiple uses of land and water.

Energy systems, grids and storage

1. R&I actions will support the just digital and green transformation of the energy system through advanced solutions for accelerating the energy systems integration and decarbonisation. The developed clean, sustainable solutions will contribute to making the energy system work better for actors and supply more reliable, resilient and secure energy – even under increasingly more frequent extreme climate events.
2. The solutions developed will contribute to increase flexibility and grid hosting capacity for renewables through optimizing cross sector integration and grid scale storage as well as cover off-grid situations. They will improve the preparedness of the electricity system to support the EU's binding target for 2030 of minimum of 42.5% renewables in the gross final energy consumption (with the aspiration to reach 45%), and full decarbonisation by 2050. They will enable further electrification of demand and will enhance the competitiveness of the European value chain, reduce pressure on resources (also by making technologies ‘circular by design’) and decrease dependencies. Such solutions would also enable a better EU resilience to climate risks.
3. The solutions will improve consumer awareness and engagement in the energy transition, via innovative offers and services (e.g. demand response, energy communities) and will target different types of consumers, including “hard to reach” population groups (such as energy poor or low-income households). This will result in increased trust in, and uptake of the new products and services entering the energy system.

Carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR)

1. Accelerated deployment of carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) as a CO2 emission mitigation option in electricity generation and/or in industry applications, as well as carbon dioxide removal for negative emissions.

Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this destination. For additional information please see “Restrictions on the participation of legal entities established in China” found in General Annex B of the General Annexes.

[1] For an example of a methodology for the assessment of sustainability, circularity and contribution to EU resilience and technological autonomy of clean energy technology in the R&I pipeline, please see Study on circular approaches for a sustainable and affordable clean energy transition

Expected Outcome:

Fully sustainable regional bioenergy value chains and efficient conversion can play an important role in renewable efficient power and heating generation and for reaching the EU climate and energy targets and contribute to European competitiveness and energy security.

Project results are expected to contribute to at all of the following expected outcomes:

• The demonstration of regional value chains for the use of locally to regionally sourced sustainable and cheap solid biofuel from upgraded biogenic residues and wastes in line with the provisions of the Renewable Energy Directive in high efficiency CHP plant creates opportunities for SMs, regional value generation and European knowledge advancement and international competitiveness in the sector.
• Provide flexible renewable power and heat to local industries for their processes and allow for high penetration of renewables in the energy system by ensuring sustainable bioenergy base load capacity.
• Provide replicable solutions, where bioeconomy stakeholders can benefit from the knowledge generated for the development of their strategies aligned with energy and environmental policy objectives and which can contribute to the objective of decreasing the EU’s and Ukraine`s dependence on fossil fuels and increasing energy security.
• Regulatory and permitting authorities as well as investors and important actors of the value chain are in a better position to assess socio-economic and environmental aspects of the value chain, in particular on circularity, industrial resilience biodiversity and soil carbon.

Scope:

Demonstration of a viable regional value chain for the use of locally to regionally sourced sustainable and cheap solid biofuel from upgraded biogenic residues and wastes in line with the provisions of the Renewable Energy Directive in high efficiency CHP plants (between 10 MWe and 30 MWe) for continuous, cost-effective and low emission operation.

Proposals are expected to cover long-term scenarios for base load operation within the energy system network ensuring socio-economic and environmental sustainability and in particular the exclusion of negative impacts on other regional bio-based value chains and biomass uses in line with the provisions of the Renewable Energy Directive (also on cascading use), biodiversity, water balance, air quality and soil carbon stocks and other bioeconomy sectors which should be assessed by a comprehensive life cycle analysis. For this purpose, the extraction of residues should respect locally defined retention thresholds for deadwood extraction and exclude negative impacts on soil quality and soil carbon

To minimise possible local ecosystem interferences, biomass fuels from residues and wastes are expected to be the primary feedstock of the high-efficiency CHP plant. The biomass fuels are expected to be produced with the use of innovative preprocessing and upgrading technologies and through the adoption of advanced supply chains from a mixture of residues and wastes and exclude negative impacts not only overall, but in each individual harvest location, which results in specific operational, economic and logistical and supply chain challenges to be addressed. Proposals should foresee at least one regional value chain demonstration including use of the solid biofuel with verified quality and occurring GHG and air-pollutant reduction in an operational high efficiency CHP plant. Proposals should ensure adequate involvement of feedstock providers (e.g. farmers, foresters, municipalities) to strengthen their position in the value chains relevant for this topic.

Proposals are expected to demonstrate ways for future efficient, cost-effective, robust, resilient and low pollution CHP plants (including retrofitting and excluding co-firing with fossil fuels) in a local industrial context.

Plans for the exploitation and dissemination of results for proposals submitted under this topic are expected to include a strong business case and sound exploitation strategy. In this respect, collaboration with suitable networks like e.g. bioenergy clusters should be envisaged to avoid the development of overly site-specific solutions and to enhance replicability. The exploitation plans are expected to include preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment (feasibility study, business plan) indicating the possible funding sources to be potentially used (in particular the Innovation Fund). Special attention should be paid to estimating the GHG and air pollutant emissions reduction potential; projects will be encouraged to use the methodology in the Innovation Fund. Projects are expected to include at least one relevant local economic business case, outlining local value and supply chains and the expected number of local jobs including the overall industrial ecosystem at the place of deployment. Projects are encouraged to support the reconstruction of Ukraine by covering regional value chains in Ukraine and/or Ukrainian beneficiaries.

This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, SSH research should look specifically at how synergies can be enhanced to achieve the topic’s objective in respect of socioeconomic sustainability. A gender-sensitive and intersectional approach can inform the development of inclusive solutions in solid biofuel supply and CHP, by identifying specific needs, developing solutions that address these needs, and monitoring their impacts on diverse groups.

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