With CO2 emission at 36% and energy consumption at 40%, building sector is far from sustainability. The need for construction materials to achieve climate neutral buildings reaches 0.2 m3 per m2 of net floor in France, leading to several billions of m3 in Europe by 2050. EASI ZERo proposes a global system to cut the environmental impact by rising the thermal performance of buildings envelope by 20% with bio-sourced and recycled materials. This include grown mycelium, wood fibres, low carbon foam, recycled raw material for spayed renders, multifunctional building bricks, and healthy finishes. This unique portfolio of tailored components results from manufacturing and sourcing with reduced CO2 emission and embodied energy. It will demonstrate cost-efficient and easy installation in green deep renovation and also new construction operations. The re-use of components and the integration of recycled materials enhance circular economy by closing carbon cycle and raise resilience in the construction value chain. Design tools, numerical database and material passport will optimise the materials combination towards maximum sustainability and minimum payback time for any typology of buildings and conditions (climate, aesthetics, specific risk). Projects use-cases will show real buildings reaching durable high environmental performance and carbon emission over more than 40 years and neutral energy balance with integrated PV generation where relevant. A multidisciplinary consortium will support these objectives and benefit from project outcomes, as universities, technology developers, construction material producers and building engineers. Use-cases will especially consider social housing. Outcomes will positively impact i) European competitiveness with manufacturing of sustainable and clean construction materials and easy installation on any building in EU stock ii) raise resilience thanks to circular economy, eco-design and digitization of the EASI ZERo renovation system.

BIOMETHAVERSE (Demonstrating and Connecting Production Innovations in the BIOMETHAne uniVERSE) aims to diversify the technology basis for biomethane production in Europe, to increase its cost-effectiveness, and to contribute both to the uptake of biomethane technologies and to the priorities of the SET Plan Action 8. To this aim five innovative biomethane production pathways will be demonstrated in five European countries: France, Greece, Italy, Sweden, and Ukraine. The project is based on the following founding pillars: Demonstration of innovative biomethane pathways; Technology optimisation and upscaling by technoeconomic flowsheeting; Environmental and social sustainability assessment; Replicability, market penetration, support to planning decisions of other investors and project developers, policy recommendations to policy makers; Dissemination, exploitation and communication of project results. BIOMETHAVERSE relates, within the Work Program 2021-2022 on Climate, Energy and Mobility, to the Call “Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply”, specifically to the topic HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-16: Innovative biomethane production as an energy carrier and a fuel. The project production routes cover one or a combination of the following production pathways: thermochemical, biochemical, electrochemical, and biological. As a starting point, four demonstration plants use conventional anaerobic digestion (AD), and one uses conventional gasification. In the BIOMETHAVERSE demonstrators, CO2 effluents from AD or gasification and other intermediate products are combined with renewable hydrogen or renewable electricity directly to increase the overall biomethane yield. All demonstrated production routes go beyond conventional technologies, with a circular approach for energy and material, while aiming at reducing the overall biomethane production costs and increasing the biomethane production. The demonstrated technologies will reach TRL 6-7 at the end of the project.

Plastic waste outlive us on this planet as they take centuries to break down. Endocrine disruption, land, air and water pollution are only some of the adverse effects of plastic waste on public and environmental health. Still, 70% of plastic waste collected in Europe is landfilled or incinerated. The overall objective of SURPASS project is to lead by example the transition towards more Safe, Sustainable and Recyclable by Design (SSRbD) polymeric materials. The SURPASS consortium of 14 partners consisting of research and technology organizations and industries will: 1. Develop SSRbD alternatives with no potentially hazardous additives through industrially relevant case-studies (TRL3-5) targeting the three sectors representing 70% of the European plastic demand: - Building: bio-sourced polyurethane resins with enhanced vitrimer properties to replace insulating PVC for window frames (? 40% C-Footprint reduction) - Transport: lightweight, therefore less energy-consuming epoxy-vitrimer (? 30% C-Footprint reduction), as alternative to metal for the train structure, anticipating emerging use of non-recyclable composites. - Packaging: MultiNanoLayered films involving no compatibilizers to replace currently non-recyclable multi-layers films (? 60% C-Footprint reduction). 2. Optimize reprocessing technologies adapted to the new SSRbD systems to support achievement of ambitious recyclability targets. 3. Develop a scoring-based assessment that will guide material designers, formulators and recyclers to design SSRbD polymeric materials, operating over the plastic?s entire life cycle, including hazard, health, environmental and economic assessment. 4. Merge all data and relevant methodologies in a digital infrastructure, offering an open-access user-friendly interface for innovators. SURPASS will in particular address its results to SMEs, representing more than 99% of enterprises, and therefore has an outstanding potential to contribute to the transition towards green economy.

To combat global warming, achieving net-zero or net-negative CO2 emissions is imperative. The EU, aligning with the Paris Agreement, aims to reduce emissions by 40% and increase renewables share to 32% by 2030. Another challenge that the globe faces is the massive accumulation of PET plastic waste, prompting the EU to seek innovative recycling solutions. Solar-powered systems offer a clean, cost-effective alternative by converting CO2 into fuels while simultaneously recycling PET waste into high-value products. Moreover, integrating PET oxidation also aims to overcome the substantial overpotential loss associated with conventional reactions, making the process more efficient. The project PHOENIX seeks to facilitate the step-wise conversion of CO2 (initially from CO2 to CO, followed by converting CO into propanol) and simultaneously transform PET plastic waste into glycolic acid through an innovative strategy. The proposed concept stems from designing a multi-reactor CO2 reduction pathway that smoothly integrates photovoltaic-electrolyzer (PV-EC) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) technologies. To facilitate these processes, PHOENIX will develop and integrate an advanced tandem photovoltaic system that generates> 2 V, novel electrocatalysts that convert CO to n-PrOH and PET to glycolic acid and efficient photoelectrodes. Finally, the PHOENIX concept will also be validated to TRL 3-4 through a lab-scale demonstration, identifying and tackling the environmental impact through Life Cycle Assessment and evaluating the materials' recyclability. PHOENIX addresses two pressing global issues in a high-risk/high-return kind of approach, ultimately promoting a breakthrough in the renewable energy sector.