Electrification of high temperature heating systems (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA) -

Expected Outcome

Projects outcomes will enable achieving the objectives of the Processes4Planet partnership, and the transition of the process industry towards climate neutrality, by developing new electrified processes, ensuring process flexibility, and capturing the full potential of renewable energy (related to P4Planet operational objective 1).

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Demonstrate the use of advanced electric heating technologies for high temperature demand systems in the process industry;
• Prove the effectiveness of the technologies towards GHG emission avoidance;
• Reduce process emissions of high temperature heating systems by at least 30% compared to current state of the art levels of the process with fossil-based heating system;
• Enable the integration of renewable electricity in the process industries to substitute fossil fuels for heating, thereby contributing to the independence from fossil fuel and fossil fuel imports as put forward in the REPowerEU Plan[1];
• Showcase the scalability and the cost efficiency of the proposed solutions;
• Enable the economic viability of the entire unit to compete with the existing state of the art of fossil-based heating systems and increase of the competitiveness and resilience of the European process industry.

Scope

High temperature (over 400 °C) industrial heating systems, powered by fossil fuel combustion, are responsible for 20% of process industries GHG emissions. The topic focuses on the sustainable electrification of high temperature heating systems, for example, industrial furnaces, kilns and crackers among others. Electrification of these heating systems with renewable electricity could represent a major reduction of the related GHG emissions.

The proposals should:

• Integrate existing highly efficient technologies, e.g., induction heating, hybrid operation between electric heating and zero-carbon fuel heating microwave and plasma technologies, electric resistances, and/or the combination with digital technologies or hybrid modelling; this may include the development of high temperature heat storage for flexible usage of electricity (load shifting) or renewable electricity production (production fluctuation);
• Take a holistic approach which may include aspects such as advanced materials requirements and appropriate equipment design;
• Improve the process safety, flexibility, and ease of process control;
• Showcase the improved performance through at least one realistic use case that can be replicable in more than one process industry sector with demonstrable economic return.

The inclusion of a GHG avoidance methodology[2] is recommended and should provide detailed descriptions of baselines and projected emissions reduction.

Proposals submitted under this topic should include a strong business case and sound exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. As a project output a more elaborated exploitation plan should be developed including preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment (feasibility study, business plan and financial model) indicating the possible funding sources to be potentially used (e.g., Innovation Fund, InvestEU, ESIF). Societal and environmental impact and implications for the workplace (such as skills, organisational change) should be outlined.

Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Where relevant, interoperability for data sharing should be addressed.

Proposals should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programs and platforms and are encouraged to consider the use of their expected outcomes in a wider approach that might benefit the establishment of Hubs for Circularity.

This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.

Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

[1]COM/2022/230 final

[2]That could follow Innovation Fund methodology: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/innovfund/wp-call/2021/call-annex_c_innovfund-lsc-2021_en.pdf

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