Creation of an innovation community for solar fuels and chemicals (CSA) -

Expected Outcome

Creation of an innovation eco-system gathering the various elements necessary to accelerate the development in the area of introduction of solar fuels and chemicals. This will require a strict synergy of actions between all stakeholder components, from R&D to industry and society, in order to foster their introduction. In addition, the development of solar fuels and chemicals requires a full redesign of the current technologies and processes based on fossil fuels, and the technological gap is a main factor limiting their introduction.

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Solar fuels and chemicals constitute those products that are equivalent in terms of functionality to the ones currently in use based on fossil fuels, and thus well integrating within the existing infrastructure, but produced with the aid of renewable energy sources and with a disruptive decrease in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on LCA bases, larger than that based on biomass sources. They will play a crucial role to meet targets for decarbonizing Europe;
• Structuring/developing in the short term the European ecosystem in order to speed up technologies to move from the laboratory to industry;
• Tackle long-term research challenges in the field. This would be done mainly through the RIA & IA topics of the large-scale R&I initiative, as well as with actions at national and regional levels, with overall coordination by the CSA.

Scope

• Coordinating a large scale R&I initiative on storage of renewable (solar) energies in chemical form involving all relevant stakeholders (from academia, RTOs, industry and society) and linked with relevant international, national and local programmes and initiatives;
• Building and updating, a long-term roadmap;
• Building/structuring a gender balanced, inclusive community with all relevant stakeholders across EU;
• Participation of societal stakeholders to the activities of the community and initiative;
• Facilitating cooperation and communication between the stakeholders of the initiative on cross-cutting topics;
• Strengthening the engagement of the European industrial stakeholders in the long term beyond the CSA;
• Creating an innovation eco-system to foster and accelerate the technological, economic and societal impact of the initiative and pave the way to industrial exploitation of the technologies in the field of energy, transport and climate;
• Speeding-up and increasing the positive impacts of technologies on climate change and protection of environment;
• Spreading of S&T excellence across Europe and increase awareness of European activities;
• Addressing international cooperation in particular with other relevant actions (e.g. Mission Innovation);
• Preparing a large-scale research and innovation initiative beyond the CSA, as a partnership or another instrument to be discussed and agreed upon with the Commission and the Member States and Associated countries.

Where synergies are possible with projects from topics HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-14, HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-15, HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-03, and HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-03, cooperation activities are encouraged.

The project partners should make provisions to actively participate in the common activities of the large-scale research initiative on Fossil-free fuels and chemicals for a climate-neutral Europe.

The topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit.

International Cooperation

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