Brussel, Belgium Oct 20, 2020 (Issuewire.com) - The 14th September 2020 designates the official launch meeting of the newly EU-funded project “RE4Industry”, under the H2020 framework program. The meeting took place online, with 11 partners joining forces in taking the first steps towards the identification, assessment and integration of renewable energy (RE) solutions in energy-intensive industries (EIIs).
The project, coordinated by CIRCE Foundation, the Centre of Research for Energy Resources and Consumption based in Zaragoza (Spain), with the 1 st September 2020 as a starting date, will last until the end of August 2023 (36 months). With a total EU-funded budget of approximately 3 Million Euro, RE4Industry was granted under the umbrella of the Horizon 2020 topic “Market Uptake support” in which “renewable energy technologies have the opportunity to play a crucial role in this transition, leading to an increased share of renewable energy consumed in the EU and to a more active role for the consumers” (EU Commission, 2018).
“The kick-off meeting is always a unique moment to share the first vision and strategy of a project as a whole, but it is also an opportunity to meet new colleagues and strengthen the bond with those you will be working with in the coming months. Despite the virtual format of the meeting, the RE4Industry consortium is demonstrating from the start its commitment and determination to achieve the ambitious goals set for the next 36 months. Now more than ever, the decarbonization of energy-intensive industries has to be one of the main axes of action for the economic recovery of the European industrial sector after the economic and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus. RE4Industry will be there to support the sector and manage to overcome this great challenge.” (Dr. Clara Ángela Jarauta, Fundación CIRCE)
RE4Industry - a breakthrough for renewables in EU industry
The project will aim at determining the most suitable and economically- and technologically-feasible renewable solutions for energy-intensive industries, together with the definition of an action plan for industrial decarbonisation pointing at transforming the EU industrial landscape into a large market niche for the uptake of RE, all the while defining the appropriate framework scenarios for short-term (2030) and long-term (2050) visions.
A comprehensive network of stakeholders and market actors (RE4Industry collaborative network) will be at the core of the project activities, as they will be responsible for the identification of sector needs, appropriate technologies, and barriers that might hinder their application, interacting at the same time with industry representatives for a continuous feedback loop. The effectiveness of this approach relies on a strong engagement strategy that will count with the support of an advisory board and in thematic panels organised in the framework of the collaborative network, whose objective will be to retrieve and share feedback on technology, processes, industry, sector regulation, markets, and societal perceptions. Policy recommendations will thus be elaborated.
The RE4Industry approach will be validated in 3 representative industrial use cases in 3 different sectors: steel, aluminium, and chemical. Partners will then work on the definition of a suitable exploitation strategy as well, to replicate the RE4Industry innovation in additional sectors, all the while initiating cross-border knowledge transfer in multiple EU countries.
RE4Industry partners involvement
Bringing together expertise from 6 countries (ES, NL, GR, DE, BE, AT), RE4Industry consortium is a multidisciplinary and complementary group gathering expertise in energy, social studies, and knowledge transfer activities as well as with links and experience in the energy-intensive sector, retrofitting activities, and renewables.
Composed of 11 partners, the consortium will ensure a wide European geographical coverage in order to guarantee extensive engagement of external stakeholders and wide dissemination of project results. The companies and organisations have carefully selected to cover a specific role: 5 technological and social experts (Fundación CIRCE, BTG Biomass Technology Group, CERTH, WIP Renewable Energies, White Research), 3 renewable energy-oriented associations (Bioenergy Europe, Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes, European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance) and 3 energy-intensive industries (SIDENOR, MYTILINEOS, CORBION).
For more information
– Dr Clara Ángela Jarauta (CIRCE – Project Coordinator) cajarauta@fcirce.es
– Asier Rueda Hernandez (CIRCE – Project Manager) arueda@fcirce.es
– Marianna Santavenere (EEIP – Communication and Dissemination) marianna.santavenere@ee-ip.org
Additional resources
Twitter - @eu_industry
LinkedIn - RE4Industry EU project
Project information (CORDIS) - Link
Project website - www.re4industry.eu
Disclaimer
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 952936. The responsibility for the information and the views set out in this press release lies entirely with the authors. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains
Media Contact
Marianna Santavenere marianna.santavenere@ee-ip.org http://www.ee-ip.org
