List of Related projects

The EU targets at replacing 10% of all transport fossil fuels with biofuels by 2020 to reduce the dependence on petroleum through the use of nationally, regionally or locally produced biofuels, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the EU is concerned with the questionable sustainability of the conventional biofuels and the unattractive production costs of second and third generation biofuels. The BioMates project aspires to contribute to the drastic increase of non-food/feed biomass utilisation for the production of greener transportation fuels via an effective and sustainable new production pathway. The project will validate the proposed innovative technology which has the potential of over 49 million tons CO2-eq savings, at least 7% crude oil imports reduction which corresponds to over 7 billion € savings for EU, while indicating its socio-economic, environmental and health expected benefits.

The main premise of the BioMates project is the cost-effective and decentralized valorization of residual (straw) and nonfood (Miscanthus) biomass for the production of bio-based products of over 99% bioenergy content. The bio-based products’ targeted market is the EU refining sector, utilizing them as a bio-based co-feed of reliable, standardizable properties for underlying conversion units, yielding high bio-content hybrid fuels which are compatible with conventional combustion systems. The BioMates approach is based on innovative non-food/feed biomass conversion technologies, including ablative fast pyrolysis and mild catalytic hydrotreating, while incorporating state-of-the-art renewable H2-production technology as well as optimal energy integration. The proposed pathway for decarbonizing the transportation fuels will be demonstrated via TRL5 units, allowing the development of an integrated, sustainability-driven business case encompassing commercial and social exploitation strategy.

Decarbonising & reducing aviation dependence on fossil fuel requires biofuels. BIO4A will produce at least kt of sustainable biojet for its use in aviation at commercial scale for accelerating its deployment within the aviation sector, increasing their attractiveness and contributing to the achievement of the EU targets. BIO4A targets HEFA pathway from wastes, aiming to move the full value chain from TLR 6 to 7. BIO4A will demonstrate the full value chain, enabling a production capacity of 2-300 kt/y of biojet in a First Of A Kind new biorefinery in France. The fuel will be distributed using the existing infrastructures and conventional aircraft fuelling systems for commercial flights. Special attention will be directed to the supply of sustainable feedstock, focusing on waste streams (UCO). In parallel, long-term R&D work will address marginal land in EU MED (low ILUC biofuels). Relevant environmental (inc. GHG and energy balance), economic and social data (inc. health and safety issues, impacts and benefits) will be assessed against targets. Since the current main barrier to the commercial production of biojet is the price gap, BIO4A will explicitly address performance and cost targets vs. relevant key performance indicators. The final goal is to prove the business case, identifying potential issues of public acceptance, market or regulatory risks and barriers (feedstock, technological, business, process) along the entire value chain, taking advantage of previous projects and proposing potential mitigation solutions. Offtake agreements have been signed with KLM and Airfrance. Additional off-take agreements could also be signed to open the participation to more airlines. Regulatory framework is also limiting today the development of the sector and an additional goal is recommendations to policies makers. The proposal will be defined at EU/National level, involving the major sector stakeholders and opening with a profitable dialogue with Member States and the EC.

The CONVERGE project will validate an innovative value chain for the production of green biodiesel. The innovative configuration will reduce the total number of unit operations needed to achieve the conversion of secondary biomass and waste streams into green biodiesel, while simultaneously producing additional intermediate green refinery products. The CONVERGE project will demonstrate 5 unit operations in 3 grouped processing steps (pre-processing, valorization & enhanced methanol), taking these new combinations from the discovery stage (TRL3) to development stage (TRL5). The combination of these technologies will increase the biodiesel production from secondary biomass by 12% together with biodiesel production will be reduced by up to 2100 M€ across Europe. In this project, risks are mitigated from the very start; each unit can be implemented as a stand-alone function within a modified state-of-the-art technology chain and thus provide immediate performance and energy efficiency improvements. Moreover, the units when used together have synergies that allow even more efficiency gains. The new units to be taken from discovery to development are: CCT: Catalytic cracking of tars from a gasifier to below green C8, integrated with BITS: Recovery of refinery products including aromatics for green C6-C8 fraction (BTX). Then, SER: Sorption-Enhanced Reforming is adopted for H2 and CO2 separation, integrated with EHC: Highly efficient electrochemical compression of green H2 with by-product fuel EMM: Enhanced Methanol Membrane synthesis to ensure green biodiesel production. The technology will be validated for more than 2000 cumulated hours. The CONVERGE consortium covers the whole value chain from secondary biomass supply to biodiesel production, demonstrating the new unit operations on site within an ambitious 42 month period.

The main objective of the BECOOL (EU) and BioVALUE (Brazil) projects is to strengthen EU-Brazil cooperation on advanced lignocellulosic biofuels. Information alignment, knowledge synchronization, and synergistic activities on lignocellulosic biomass production logistics and conversion technologies are key targets of both projects and will bring mutual benefits. Both projects are structured in 3 main pillars covering in a balanced way the whole range of activities of the biofuels value chain (biomass production, logistics, conversion and exploitation). The BECOOL consortium is composed by 14 partners from universities, research institutes, large industries/SMEs, from 7 EU countries. Together with improved logistics, the establishment of the BECOOL innovative cropping systems will enable to increase biomass feedstock availability by at least 50% without negatively impacting food production, soil quality, and customary land uses. The improvements in gasification process efficiency of new feedstocks will allow to achieve an optimal gas quality from non-conventional sources (e.g. lignocellulosic crops and residues). The use of energy carrier in gasification will allow to overcome a major logistics barriers for low-energy density feedstock, while the valorization of lignin-rich residues will dramatically improve the energy efficiency of the overall value chain. Technological breakthroughs on pre-treatment, hydrolysis and enzymatic saccharification and fermentation steps will increase the competitiveness of biochemical advanced ethanol. The cross-project model benchmarking, carried out between EU and Brazil, will decrease present limitations on growth, logistics and process academic models, making them more reliable, opening opportunities for business, new jobs, reduced land pressure, and enhanced environmental benefits in EU and Brazil.

ABC-SALT will validate at lab scale a novel route to produce sustainable liquid biofuels (middle distillates (MD)) from various lignocellulosic waste streams for the transport industry, both on roads (biodiesel) and in air (jet fuel), targeting a yield over 35 wt% in the middle distillate range, based on the biomass dry input, and a carbon yield of 55 %. ABC-SALT will solve the following technical challenges: liquefaction and subsequent catalytic hydro-pyrolysis of the biomass in a molten salt environment, followed by the catalytic hydro-deoxygenation of the vapour phase using suitable catalysts to obtain a hydrocarbon product suitable for use as a MD biofuel. ABC-SALT will then operate an integrated lab scale reactor during over 100 hours to provide lab-scale validation of the whole process, bringing this technology to TRL 4. The project includes technical aspects (such as substrate flexibility, biomass liquefaction and hydro-pyrolysis in molten salts and subsequent hydro-deoxygenation and their integration), but also a socio- and techno-economic viability study of the technology (substrate availability and supply chain, future end-users and economic sustainability of the process). This will ensure the future deployment of this new technology considering its social related issues, such as acceptance or modification of the perception of transport induced by such sustainable fuels. Such a holistic approach considering the full value chain, combined to communication with stakeholders during the course of the project, will provide valuable input for scale up and industry-oriented research after this project, maximizing the impact, amongst other in the biomass, biofuel and transport industry. To reach its objectives, the project covers the whole value chain, from feedstock supplier to end-users (knowledge users (RUG, UG, AU, NMBU, DLR), technology users (BTG, Innventia), and middle distillates users (through DLR)), as well as an entity dedicated to SSH aspects (CIRPA).

TO-SYN-FUEL will demonstrate the conversion of organic waste biomass (Sewage Sludge) into biofuels. The project implements a new integrated process combining Thermo-Catalytic Reforming (TCR©), with hydrogen separation through pressure swing adsorption (PSA), and hydro deoxygenation (HDO), to produce a fully equivalent gasoline and diesel substitute (compliant with EN228 and EN590 European Standards) and green hydrogen for use in transport . The TO-SYN-FUEL project consortium has undoubtedly bought together the leading researchers, industrial technology providers and renewable energy experts from across Europe, in a combined, committed and dedicated research effort to deliver the overarching ambition. Building and extending from previous framework funding this project is designed to set the benchmark for future sustainable development and growth within Europe and will provide a real example to the rest of the world of how sustainable energy, economic, social and environmental needs can successfully be addressed. This project will be the platform for deployment of a subsequent commercial scale facility. This will be the first of its kind to be built anywhere in the world, processing organic industrial wastes directly into transportation grade biofuels fuels which will be a demonstration showcase for future sustainable investment and economic growth across Europe. This project will mark the first pre-commercial scale deployment of the technology processing up to 2100 tonnes per year of dried sewage sludge into 210,000 litres per year of liquid biofuels and up to 30,000 kg of green hydrogen. The scale up of 100 of such plants installed throughout Europe would be sufficient to convert up to 32 million tonnes per year of organic wastes into sustainable biofuels, contributing towards 35 million tonnes of GHG savings and diversion of organic wastes from landfill. This proposal is responding to the European Innovation Call LCE-19.

EU plans for a low-carbon economy require advanced biofuels for aviation and shipping. The EU-funded BL2F project proposes the pioneering integrated hydrothermal liquefaction process at pulp mills to produce drop-in biofuels for aviation and shipping from black liquor. Black liquor is a by-product of the chemical pulping industry that is used as biofuel feedstock, providing 83 % reduction in CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuels and a very competitive production cost per litre. The project proposes three innovations: allowing direct upgrading of HTL-oil by combining salt separation with the HTL reactor; reforming the aqueous phase to hydrogen, decreasing the need for external fossil hydrogen in integrated hydrothermal hydrodeoxygenation; and integrating the process into the pulp mill, leading to treatment cost reductions.

The FLEXI-GREEN FUEL project will advance the production of next generation biofuels for shipping and aviation by developing and improving integrated technologies for a complete conversion of #1 lignocellulosic residue biomass (LIGN) and #2 the organic fraction of municipal waste (OFMSW)

Project targets are to significantly reduce the cost by improving the performance of the produced biofuels regarding the efficiency, the envronment and society.

Aviation and maritime transport have a direct impact on global greenhouse gas emissions and air quality. One solution to mitigate this issue is sustainable fuels. The EU-funded BioSFerA project will develop a cost-effective technology that will gasify biogenic residues and wastes. The produced syngas will be fermented to produce bio-based triacylglycerides (microbial oil) which, in turn, will be hydrotreated, resulting in drop-in biofuels for aviation and maritime transport. The project will conduct both lab and pilot tests to optimise and validate the process and increase its overall performance with regard to the feedstock flexibility, the final product yield and production cost. It will also carry out an assessment of the related environmental, social, health and safety risks.

FlexJet will build a pre-commercial demonstration plant for the production of advanced aviation biofuel (jet fuel) from waste vegetable oil and organic solid waste biomass (food waste), successfully demonstrating the SABR-TCR technology (traditional transesterification (TRANS) and Thermo-Catalytic Reforming (TCR) combined with hydrogen separation through pressure swing adsorption (PSA), and hydro deoxygenation (HDO) and hydro cracking/ isomerisation (HC)) to produce a fully equivalent jet fuel (compliant with ASTM D7566 Standards). This project will deliver respective environmental and social sustainability mapping and it will validate a comprehensive exploitation business plan, building on already established end user interest with existing offtake agreements already in place with British Airways. The project plant installed at the source of where the waste arises in BIGA Energie at Hohenstein (Germany) will produce 1,200 ton of jet fuel from 3,482 tonnes of dried organic waste and 1,153 tonnes of waste vegetable oil per year. A subsequent scale-up first commercial plant would be constructed immediately after the project end to produce 25,000 tonnes per year of aviation fuel. The FlexJet project consortium has undoubtedly bought together the leading researchers, industrial technology providers including airline off takers and renewable energy experts from across Europe, in a combined, committed and dedicated research effort to deliver the overarching ambition. Building and extending from previous framework funding this project is designed to set the benchmark for future sustainable aviation fuel development and growth within Europe and will provide a real example to the rest of the world of how sustainable aviation biofuels can be produced at both large and decentralised scales economically whilst simultaneously addressing social and environmental needs.

Lignocellulosic biomass is mainly composed of three polymers: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The last can be used as maritime fuel. The EU-funded IDEALFUEL project will study the sustainable use of lignin. It will develop an efficient and low-cost chemical pathway to convert lignocellulosic biomass into a bio heavy fuel oil (bio-HFO) with ultra-low sulfur levels that can be used as drop-in fuel in the existing maritime fleet. The project aims to develop new technologies, solutions and processes, and to demonstrate the performance and compatibility of the bio-HFO in maritime fuel systems and marine engines. The fuel oils that ships usually use can have sulfur content of up to 3.5 % – much higher than the sulfur content of fuels used in trucks, which must not exceed 0.001 %.

Glycerol - an abundant by-product of biodiesel plants - as well as other bio-based feedstocks, can be converted into valuable liquid fuels and reduce the carbon dioxide emissions in aviation and shipping sectors up to 70 %. The EU-funded GLAMOUR project plans to implement two new processes which could produce synthetic paraffin kerosene and marine diesel oil with an energy efficiency of 65 % starting from bio-waste materials. Part of the carbon dioxide generated from the process will be available at high purity for re-use or storage resulting overall in carbon neutrality or negativity. At the end of the project, the GLAMOUR technology will reach a TRL5 level of innovation in the field of material science, process engineering, sustainability and socio-economic studies. This will be possible by combining a multi-disciplinary team from two universities, three research centers and five industries from six different EU countries led by the University of Manchester.

HIGFLY will collaborate with HEREWEAR from which C5 sugar samples from TNO’s biorefinery process of wheat straw will be received.

The EU-funded HEREWEAR project will contribute to the creation of the EU market for locally produced circular textiles and clothing made from bio-based resources. Emerging sustainable technologies for wet and melt spinning of cellulose from waste streams and bio-based polyesters will be developed and piloted at a semi-industrial scale. HEREWEAR will also work on yarn and fabric production as well as coating and colouring with bio-based agents. Further, the project aims to significantly reduce the release of microfibres via measures for the textile manufacturing process, and maximise the sustainability and circularity of clothing through connecting regional microfactories. Guidelines and a database will be provided to support the design of fashion goods, with focus on bio-based materials and reuse/recycling. Finally, garment prototypes will demonstrate the HEREWEAR circular bio-based concept.

EHLCATHOL action aims to completely transform a large volume of Enzymatic Hydrolysis Lignin (EHL) waste of the 2G bioethanol production from lignocellulose biomass, to produce high performance fuel blends, in particular high heating value jet-fuel, high octane gasoline and high cetane number diesel.

The project's target is to develop a novel technology that fully takes the advantage and utilizes the energy of the waste-EHL, transforms it to high quality liquid fuels applicable in hybrid cars, heavy-duty transport vehicles, ships and jet airplanes, thus, doubling the energy efficiency of the 2G bioethanol production chain and contributing to achieve the targeted carbon neutral EU by 2050.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is critical to reducing emissions from the aviation sector. The European Commission Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and the legislative initiative ReFuelEU Aviation set ambitious targets on the path to net-zero emissions for the aviation industry. The EU-funded FLITE project consortium plans to build the first-of-its-kind alcohol-to-jet facility in Europe. The 30 000 tonnes per annum pre-commercial scale facility will convert waste-based ethanol to SAF. Led by SkyNRG, a global market leader for SAF solutions, the project considers ethanol the ideal SAF feedstock since it can be produced from diverse and abundant resources (including residues from agriculture, forestry, industry and even municipal waste).

The EU-funded EBIO project develops electrochemical technologies for upgrading Kraft lignin and fast pyrolysis liquids. These crude bio liquids are industrial representatives for a wide spectrum of feedstock qualities. A two-step approach pairing oxidation and reduction will be applied to depolymerise polymers and convert instable oxygenates into energy dense intermediates. Screening tests will be the basis for process design, cell and electrode optimisation at bench scale. Product validation will be performed by co-processing with refinery feeds to transport fuels. EBIO's vision covers the entire value chain, from feedstock suppliers to chemicals and refinery end-users. The process potential will be validated with respect to integration into (bio)refineries, market potential, climate footprint, energy storage capacity and social impact in rural areas.

TAKE-OFF is an industrially driven project that aims to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from CO2 and hydrogen, in a cost effective way. The TAKE-OFF technology is based on conversion of CO2 and H2 to SAF via ethylene as intermediate.

The aim of the project is to deliver a highly innovative process which produces SAF at lower costs, higher energy efficiency and higher carbon efficiency to crude jet fuel product than the current benchmark Fischer-Tropsch process.