The shift to a low-carbon EU economy raises the challenge of integrating renewable energy (RES) and cutting the CO2 emissions of energy intensive industries (EII). In this context, hydrogen produced from RES will contribute to decarbonize those industries, as feedstock/fuel/energy storage. MULTIPLHY thus aims to install, integrate and operate the world’s first high-temperature electrolyser (HTE) system in multi-megawatt-scale (~2.4 MW), in a renewable products refinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to produce green hydrogen for the refinery’s processes. MULTIPLHY offers the unique opportunity to demonstrate the technological and industrial leadership of the EU in Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cell (SOEC) technology. With its rated electrical connection of ~3.5 MWel,AC,BOL, electrical rated nominal power of ~2.6 MWel,AC and a hydrogen production rate ≥ 670 Nm³/h, this HTE will cover ~40 % of the current average hydrogen demand of the chemical refinery. This leads to GHG emission reductions of ~8,000 tonnes during the planned minimum HTE operation time (16,000 h). MULTIPLHY’s electrical efficiency (85 %el,LHV) will be at least 20 % higher than efficiencies of low temperature electrolysers, enabling the cutting of operational costs and the reduction of the connected load at the refinery and hence the impact on the local power grid. A multidisciplinary consortium gathers NESTE (a Green Refiner as end-user), ENGIE (a global energy system integrator & operator), PaulWurth (Engineering Procurement Construction company for hydrogen processing units), Sunfire (HTE technology provider) and the world-class RTO CEA. They focus on operation under realistic conditions and market frameworks to enable the commercialisation of the HTE technology. By demonstrating reliable system operation with a proven availability of ≥ 98 %, complemented by a benchmark study for stacks in the 10 kW range, critical questions regarding durability, robustness, degradation as well as service and maintenance are addressed

Among aviation’s non-CO2 impacts, the largest radiative forcing value is attributed to contrail cirrus. Recent tests have revealed an opportunity for lowering soot particles emissions and ice crystals -which play a pivotal role in contrail properties- through the use of SAF. However, substantial disparities remain among those test campaigns, involving a large variety of fuels, engine types and combustors. It is therefore not straightforward to compare and reconcile results. In this context, PACIFIC aims to bridge the gap: the project will test an unprecedented set of fuels from lab up to engine/aircraft level with a similarity of hardware and combustion parameters. It will translate the results into modelling efforts, to better correlate: (i) soot formation, based on an improved Yield Soot Index database and prediction model; (ii) particle emissions, depending on fuel composition for the whole engine thrust range via an upgraded ground-to-flight correlation methodology; (iii) the ice forming potential of engine emissions, using advanced measurement methods on ground; (iv) the non-CO2 emission mitigation potential, through the impact assessment of fuel composition and engine cycle on contrail properties and radiative forcing, and longer-term climate impacts (including CO2 emissions fuel production). This will allow to consolidate the cost-benefit assessment of various fuel options and provide valuable inputs to potential future fuel-related measures. By doing so, PACIFIC will pave the way for future fuel specifications minimizing the climate and local air quality impacts, and will provide important inputs to future modelling and testing work. PACIFIC leverages on 11 partners from 4 countries, bringing together a unique combination of engine/aircraft manufacturers, fuel producers, research and academic expertise at the forefront of sustainable aviation, collectively driving advancements to help strengthening the European aeronautics' leadership position.

Sustainability assessment methods are needed to support sustainable technology development and to evaluate the impacts of existing solutions, products and technologies. While there are aspects and indicators that are common to all process industries, sector specific tools are required to address the sector specific features in a fair and transparent way. At the moment, several tools, assessment methods and indicators exist, but they differ in their goal and scope and are intended for different kind of use within companies, by consumers or by authorities to support policy planning and evaluation. Additionally, different tools are focused for different levels of assessment: product, company, industry or society. Thus the problem is not so much the existence of proper tools but rather the lack of understanding and knowledge on how they should be applied and in which context. Furthermore, suitable tools for analysing resource and energy efficiency within the process industries and across the different sectors should be recognized. The aim of the SAMT project is to review and make recommendations about the most potential sustainability assessment methods for evaluating energy and resource efficiency in the process industry. The analysis will focus on the applicability of different methods in industrial settings, the ability of the methods to support decision-making towards sustainable solutions and the suitability of the tools for cross-sectoral analysis. SAMT will evaluate tools that cover either environmental, economic and social aspects, or a combination of these, and apply principles of life cycle thinking. The project will consider demands and make recommendations related to sectorial and cross-sectorial assessment in a wide spectrum of process industries: cement, metal, oil, water, waste and chemical industry. To maximize the impact of the project the work will be supported by active dissemination activities including an implementation strategy as an outcome.

Black Liquor to Fuel (BL2F) process produces drop-in biofuels for aviation and shipping from black liquor, a side stream of chemical pulping industry. 83 % CO2 reduction compared to fossil fuels, and competitive production cost of 0.90 €/l for drop-in sustainable aviation fuel are received. A large deployment, using a variety of biomass, can yield >50 billion liters of advanced biofuels by 2050, then satisfying the EU demand for advanced biofuels for aviation (15 Mtoe) and shipping (30 Mtoe). First-of-a-kind Integrated Hydro Thermal Liquefaction (IHTL) process at pulp mills produces fuel intermediate for further upgrading in oil refineries. Biomass is converted to low oxygen content (85 %. Integrated hydrothermal HydroDeOxygenation (IHDO) will further upgrade HTL-oil to fuel intermediate (< 5 w-% O2), classifying as bunker-like marine fuel or feedstock for high-quality aviation and marine fuels production. The process innovations of BL2F are: 1) combined salt separation and HTL-reactor, enabling direct upgrading of HTL-oil, 2) reforming of the aqueous phase to hydrogen, decreasing the need for external fossil hydrogen in IHDO, 3) integrating the process to pulp mill, offering cost reductions in treating of the gaseous and solid side streams by existing process installations. The BL2F is supported by CEPI, Avinor, and Rolls Royce and covers the whole value chain: The 6th largest producer in the world of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp NVG, the leading biorefinery supplier Valmet, catalyst developer Ranido and Neste, the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel collaborate with excellent research partners; VTT, PSI, SINTEF, Tampere University, KIT, Brunel University London. LGI and industrial partners maximize the impact of the project. The ambitious goals and strong consortium strengthens European leadership in renewable biofuels and climate protection.

The overall objective of REDIFUEL is to enable the utilization of various biomass feedstock for an ultimate renewable EN590 diesel biofuel (drop-in capable at any ratio) in a sustainable manner. REDIFUEL’S ambition is to develop new technologies, solutions and processes to be integrated to reach high conversion efficiencies for renewable fuel production. And, to proof the techno-economic potential to reach a highly competing production cost level of € 0.90 - 1.00 per litre (depending on biomass source) at moderate production plant sizes, e.g. 10-25 kt/a. The proposed drop-in biofuel contains high-cetane C11+ bio-hydrocarbons and C6-C11 bio-alcohols which has exceptional performance with respect to combustion and soot-inhibition properties. The environmental and the society aspects are taken into account by a comprehensive Biomass-to-Wheel performance check of the developed technologies.