Anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic matter is a robust technology for biogas synthesis from different types of waste (sewage sludge from water treatment, animal slurry, bio-waste, etc.). The main goal of AD is the production of methane, a renewable energy source that can be used to generate electricity, heat or as vehicle fuel. Biogas is a mixture of methane (CH4; 55–70% of the total volume), carbon dioxide (CO2; 30–40%) and traces of other gases. In 2018, EU was the world’s largest producer of biomethane, reaching 2,28 bcm. However, from a purely engineering view, the microbial process underlying methane production is considered to be a black box: it is subjected to a degree of variability and it is an industrial process with a lot of room for improvement in the systematic optimisation of (1) yield, (2) quality, (3) speed and (4) robustness of the process. MICRO4BIOGAS aims to tackle these 4 aspects by integrating, for the first time, the use of microbial consortia that naturally inhabit anaerobic digesters with synthetic microbial consortia with improved capabilities, setting the basis for a user-friendly kit for bioaugmentation of biogas production (activities will be implemented at TRL3 with a TRL target of 5-6). Partners from 6 EU countries will work side by side to make a difference in the European biogas industry, that individually could not be achieved. By improving the biogas production in Europe, this project meets the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and the European Green Deal, helping to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG7: Affordable and clean energy; SDG13: Climate Action) and working towards the circularity, resource efficiency and sustainability of the European countries.

To reach the goals of improving the efficiency of CHP systems while simultaneously widening the biomass feedstock base as well as increasing operational flexibility, the project aims to develop a full scale technology demonstrator of a hybrid power plant using biogas as main fuel in lab environment. A combined hybrid heat and power plant combines a micro gas turbine (MGT) and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The focus of the technology demonstration plant is to prove the functional capability of the plant concept, followed by detailed characterization and optimization of the integration of both subsystems. The main objective is to move the technology beyond the state of the art to TRL 4. Electrical efficiencies of more than 60% and total thermal efficiencies of more than 90% are intended to reach at base load conditions. An operational flexibility ranging from 25% to 100% electric power should be achieved. The emission levels should not exceed 10 ppm NOx and 20 ppm CO (at 15% vol. residual oxygen). The system should allow the use of biogas with methane contents varying from 40-75%, thus covering the biogas qualities from the fermentation of the entire biomass feedstock range. To achieve the objectives the subsystems MGT and SOFC including their subcomponents have to be adjusted and optimized by a multidisciplinary design approach using numerical and experimental measures to ensure a proper balance of plant. In addition an integrated control system has to be developed and implemented to achieve a reliable operation of the coupled subsystems. A detailed analysis of different European markets, economic and technical constraints in terms of biogas production potentials will clarify the regional suitable sizes and attractive performance conditions of the power plant system. To identify cost reduction potentials a thermo-economic analysis will be performed. Here, an internal rate of return (IRR) of the system of higher than 15% should be achieved over a 20 years.

IANOS brings together two Lighthouse (LH) islands (Terceira-PT, Ameland-NL), and three Fellow islands (FI) (Lambedusa-IT, Bora-Bora-FR, Nisyros-GR), all sharing a common vision of decarbonizing their energy systems and be energy independent until 2050. Thirty-four (34) strongly experienced partners from nine (9) European countries, join forces to deliver smart technological, economic and social innovations, providing systemic optimization starting from an Energy Community-centric approach. IANOS adopts an Island Energy Transition Strategy built around three (3) Island Energy Transition Tracks that focus on: a) Energy efficiency and grid support for extremely high RES penetration, b) Decarbonization through electrification and support from non-emitting fuels, c) Empowering Local Energy Communities (LEC). Through IANOS an impressive repository of elements (technologies, tools, methods) will be demonstrated in the two LH islands and within nine (9) carefully defined Use-Cases (UCs) that will lead to: a reduction of fossil fuel consumption by 379.7 GWh/y, an increase in RES utilization by 83.6 GWh/y, increase accuracy of vRES forecasts by >10% and reduce energy bills of end-users by >15%. In total, 900 participants (prosumers/consumers) will be involved in LECs by the end of IANOS. Elements to be demonstrated include: an iVPP operative orchestration toolkit, smart energy routers, hybrid transformers, flywheel storage, biobased batteries, heat batteries, tidal kite, an auto-generative digester and the IANOS Energy Planning and Transition Suite (IEPT). The replication potential of IANOS UCs will be evaluated in the three FIs. Due to their current local energy mix, Terceira and Ameland can particularly act as LHs for geothermal and hydrogen-centered island economies, respectively. To reach all these goals, a total of 121.6M€ will be invested by the 2 LH ecosystems, while another 60.4M€ will be fuelled by the 6 FI ecosystems during IANOS (until 2025).