The digital and circular economy (CE) transition of bio-based industries is a critical objective for Europe’s climate ambitions and its economic competitiveness. Given the urgency of these demands, Europe’s bio-based industries need to leapfrog over past digital technologies and implementations, pioneering innovative solutions for creating bio-based products and services that are circular, as well as environmentally and socially sustainable. To realise these ambitions, the bi0SpaCE project will deliver a suite of technologies, services, guidance frameworks, and standards, combined into the open-access bi0S platform, for rapid deployment and scaling of (CE) solutions and services across bio-based industries and their value chains. bi0SpaCE will advance the creation and implementation of Industry 4.0 enhanced Digital Product Passports (DPPs), linked to an International Dataspace (IDS) compliant CE dataspace, enabling the creation of dynamic and decentralised DPPs for secure and trustworthy sharing of CE and sustainability performance data of bio-based products across the value chain, as well as providing transparency of green and CE claims to consumers. bi0SpaCE brings together a consortium consisting of 1 HEI, 4 RTOs, 1 SMEs, 1 industrial assoc., 2 large industries, and 1 startup, across 5 EU and 2 associated countries, over a 36-month project period. The knowledge and technologies created in bi0SpaCE will be demonstrated and validated across 4 complementary bio-based sectors: (i) paperboard production, (ii) eco-industrial parks with bio-based energy and products producers and consumers, (iii) plant-based products and cosmetics, and (iv) bio-derived industrial chemicals.

This project aims to develop and validate (in the relevant environment to reach TRL 5) a novel thermochemically operating technology that can very efficiently, safely, cost-effectively, and sustainably provide waste heat recovery of industrial processes and upgrade them to much higher temperature levels (the target temperature will be 150-250 deg. C, here). The technology is a novel yet outstanding generation of heat transformers (Hydration Heat Transformer), outperforming any other competing technologies including various designs of high-temperature vapor compression heat pumps due to several reasons. That is, TechUPGRADE's solution i) may simply be integrated with any renewable technologies including solar thermal systems, ii) consumes almost no electricity, and presents significantly high energy and exergy efficiencies, iii) can be much more cost-effective than competing technologies due to expected long useful lifespan, the simplicity of the design and operation mechanism, and the way it integrates low-value heat sources, iv) may be employed for a variety of integration possibilities, low-temperature heat sources, and various heat sink temperature levels, and also, v) with simple adjustment, can offer the storage of the recovered waste or renewable heat if there is a mismatch between the heat source availability and the process heating demand. The project consortium consists of 14 partners from the four corners of the EU; including 5 universities, 3 research centers, 4 SMEs, 1 large company, and 1 partner with several industrial end-users, making sure that all the required expertise for a successful accomplishment of the project and future exploitation exist, and also the partners supplement each other in the most optimal manner. The technology will be demonstrated in different specific designs and integrations in two relevant environments in Sweden and Germany in 35 kW and 10 kW high-temperature heat delivery capacities.

The objective of GreenHyScale is to pave the way for large scale deployment of electrolysis both onshore and offshore, in line with the EU hydrogen strategy and offshore renewable energy strategy. GreenHyScale will develop a novel multi-MW alkaline electrolyser platform with factory assembled and pre-tested modules, allowing rapid onsite installation capable of reaching a CAPEX below 400 EUR/kW by the end of the 5-year project. A 6 MW module fitting into a 40-foot container will be demonstrated as the first step in the project, and lead to a minimum 100 MW electrolysis plant located in the ideal hosting environment of GreenLab Skive: a symbiotic, industrial Power-to-X platform capable of replicating across Europe with associated green growth and job creation benefits. The minimum 100 MW electrolysis plant will generate green hydrogen for 2 years from 80 MW directly connected renewables in combination with certified green electricity from a TSO grid connection. GreenLab Skive distributes green electricity from both sources through its unique SymbiosisNet which optimises and exchanges energy in all forms (heat, gas, water, heat) between the industrial park entities and external suppliers and offtakers. The setup enables the electrolysis plant to reach an overall energy efficiency above 90%. The GreenHyScale electrolysis plant will become the world's largest electrolyser system qualified as a TSO balancing services provider, thereby reducing the cost of hydrogen to below 2.85 EUR/kg for an electricity cost of 40 EUR/MWh. Besides, because of the inevitable link between offshore wind and electrolysis, an upgraded high-pressure 7.5 MW electrolysis module suited for offshore applications will be developed. GreenHyScale will form new European green value chains that support the paradigm shift to hydrogen economy and transition to green energy by overcoming both technical upscaling and commercial barriers. GreenHyScale will pave the way towards GW-scale electrolyser plants.

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 environment and society. Semi-continuous organosolv pretreatment is used for the separation of cellulose and hemicellulose fractions from lignin, aiming at optimal conversion of each stream. As lipids are far superior bio-crudes towards hydrocarbon fuels, this project we will develop and optimize three efficient methods to convert sugars to lipids (fungal fermentation, algae dark fermentation and lipid rich larva production), which will be further converted via advanced hydrotreatment (HDO/isomerization) to diesel range (C16-C18) alkanes. We will combine this with the utilization of furans (from pentose/hexose sugars) via condensation (C-C coupling) and hydrodeoxygenation routes to allow production of drop-in aviation fuels. And with utilization of lignin fast pyrolysis via selective fractionation, hydrodeoxygenation and alkylation towards aviation fuels (C8-C17) and/or bunker type fuels (>C18). Whole system analysis assess economic (TEA) and environmental (LCA) performance indicators and benchmark against conventional aviation and shipping fuels.