NEWS
General Information
Processes4Planet is a unique cross-sectorial R&I partnership, gathering process industry companies and sector associations (cement, ceramics, chemicals, engineering, minerals, non-ferrous metals, pulp&paper, steel, refining and water), small and medium-sized enterprises, research and technology organisations, NGOs, regions, and others.
In full consistency with the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, Processes4Planet aims at developing and deploying the innovations we need for a profound transformation of the European process industries to make them circular and achieve overall climate neutrality at EU level by 2050, while enhancing their global competitiveness. The innovations will have an integrated approach on climate and environmental issues.
Through cross-sectorial technological and non-technological innovation efforts, Processes4Planet will achieve three general objectives:
- Developing and deploying climate-neutral solutions,
- Closing the energy and feedstock loops,
- Achieving a global leadership in climate-neutral and circular solutions, accelerating innovation and unlocking public and private investment (competitiveness).
Processes4Planet will work on emerging technologies and on the scaling up of technologies already developed at higher TRLs to deliver expected CO2 emission reductions by 2030 and to achieve its full impact by 2050. Processes4Planet will implement its cross-sectorial R&I roadmap based on four transformation levers:
- Process innovation, with four core drivers: energy mix (including H2), energy and resources flexibility/efficiency, electrification of industrial processes and Carbon
- Capture and Use (CO2),
- Industrial-urban symbiosis,
- Digitalisation,
- Non-technological innovation.
14 Innovation Areas have been identified in Processes4Planet’s roadmap that will lead to the achievement of the partnership objectives (see Column 1 of Table 1).
A total of 36 Innovation Programmes have been identified in P4Planet’s roadmap as the pathways of the different innovation areas to reach all the objectives (See Column 2 of Table 1)
Table 1: Processes4Planet’s Innovation Areas and Innovation Programmes
| Innovation Area | Innovation Programme |
| 1. Renewable Energy integration | 1a. Integration of Renewable heat and electricity 1b. Integration of bioenergy, waste and other new fuels 1c. Hybrid fuel transition Technologies 1d. Flexibility and demand response |
| 2. Heat reuse | 2a. Advanced heat reuse |
| 3. Electirification of thermal processes | 3a. Heat pumps 3b. Electricity-based heating technologies |
| 4. Electrically-driven processes | 4a. Electrochemical conversion 4b. Electrically driven separation |
| 5. Hydrogen integration | 5a. Alternative hydrogen production routes 5b. Using hydrogen in industrial processes 5c. Hydrogen storage |
| 6. CO2 capture for utilisation | 6a. Flexible CO2 capture and purification technologies |
| 7. CO2 utilization in minerals | 7a. CO2 utilisation in concrete production |
| 8. CO2/CO utilisation in chemicals and fuels | 8a. Artificial photosynthesis 8b. Catalytic conversion of CO2 to chemicals or fuels 8c. Utilisation of CO2 and CO as building block in polymers 8d. Utilisation of CO to chemicals or fuels |
| 9. Energy and resource efficiency | 9a. Next-gen catalysis 9b. Breakthrough efficiency improvement |
| 10. Circularity of materials | 10a. Innovative materials of the process industries 10b. Inherent recyclability of materials 10c. Upgrading secondary resources 10d. Wastewater valorisation |
| 11. Industrial-urban symbiosis | 11a. Demonstration of Industrial-Urban Symbiosis |
| 12. Circular regions | 12a. European Community of Practice 12b. Development of Hubs for Circularity |
| 13. Digitalisation | 13a. Digital materials design 13b. Digital process development and engineering 13c. Digital plant operation 13d. Intelligent material and equipment monitoring 13e. Autonomous integrated supply chain management 13f. Digitalisation of industrial-urban symbiosis |
| 14. Non-technological aspects | 14a. Integration of non-technological aspects in calls 14b. Human resources, skills and labour market |
Through its open and cross-sectoral approach, Processes4Planet is uniquely positioned to team-up the whole process innovation eco-system. Through the Association SPIRE, the private side of the partnership, the EU process industry will work together with the public sectors (EU, national and regional levels), other industries including SMEs, civil society, academia, technology and research centres as well as funding and financing bodies to deliver results and maximise impact.
Processes4Planet is open to members from all the European countries which can participate in Horizon Europe. The Association SPIRE, the private side, was created in 2012 with 28 founding members with headquarters based in nine EU countries and has grown to 163 members in 2020 with headquarters based in 22 EU countries. However, many of the partnership industries have industrial sites across Europe so P4Planet covers the full EU-27 and other countries, for example, Turkey.
Current members of Association SPIRE, the private side of the partnership, from Turkey: Arçelik, Borçelik, Hayat Kimya, IKMIB, TALSAD, TÜPRAŞ
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