Scope:
Climate change, global warming and water/soil pollution are unprecedented challenges for the planet. To overcome them, it is necessary to develop breakthrough and integrated solutions to disrupt the current production processes and introduce more sustainable consumption habits.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N) flows strongly affect climate change and belong to the cycle of make, use and dispose. To implement CO2/N sustainable cycles there is the need to develop technologies, sustained by renewable energy, able to increase their cycle efficiency introducing novel management and valorisation practices and approaches.
This EIC Pathfinder Challenge aims at developing novel processes and technologies to enable CO2 and N management/valorisation and in turn to reduce:
These technologies could also increase cross sector coupling of energy systems, when renewable energy is required to capture, convert and use carbon and nitrogen streams into added value products.
This Challenge focuses on new biological, chemical, physical routes that integrate the capture and/or recovery of CO2 and N species, storage and their conversion into value-added products, and/or net zero commodities, chemicals, fuels and energy vectors. The processes should focus on the use of renewable energy as input to develop carbon negative or net zero systems. Reaching these objectives requires multidisciplinary competencies and cross-sectorial approaches, with a strong focus on circularity and whole life analysis. The research could address in an integrated manner environmental, industrial, agricultural, socio-economic and logistic issues.
Specific objectives
The proposals, through non-critical raw materials (CRM)-based, systems integrated, life cycle and circular thinking driven approaches, should develop a proof of concept (PoC) or lab-scale validated innovative technology that, will manage and valorise CO2, N, or both at the same time into value-added net zero commodities, chemicals, fuels, or energy vectors. Such technology should produce added-value products optimising input/output energy balances and achieving a carbon negative or net zero process promoting sustainable business models. Besides, the different steps of the CO2/N management and valorisation process could be designed to achieve integration at system or process level, to maximize sector coupling of energy systems such as converting renewable electricity into e-fuels and materials (e.g. power to X).
Expected outcomes and impacts
This Challenge aims at developing:
Specific conditions
Applicants should propose a proof of concept or lab-scale validated innovative technology able to manage and valorise CO2 and/or N by biological, chemical, or physical routes without the use of critical raw materials, using renewable energy as sources and not being harmful to the natural ecosystems.
Projects with multidisciplinary and cross-sectorial approaches, looking for inspiration, ideas and knowledge in a broad range of disciplines are particularly welcome. The safe and sustainable use of non-critical raw materials is mandatory, and the projects should include a full life cycle analysis of the proposed solutions and their impact on Europe’s decarbonisation goals.
For more details, see the EIC Work Programme 2022 and Challenge Guide for this topic (available on call opening).