Processes4Planet: EU Cross-Sectorial R&I - SPIRE
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Marke ts & Economy
Processes4Planet: EU Cross-Sectorial R&I
Ten Sectors of the European Process Industry Deliver Innovation for Society and the Planet
The European process industry is engaged in a deep transforma- Process Industry: Highly
tion to deliver the green industrial revolution. With climate change Ambitious R&I Agenda
pushing the investment agenda, the urgency to drastically reduce A.SPIRE, representing the EU Process
CO2
emissions will drive process industry decisions in the years Industry, is the private partner of Pro-
cesses4Planet (P4Planet) R&I Part-
ahead. How can the process industry contribute to the very ambitious nership formalized through a Memo-
© A.SPIRE
© A.SPIRE
targets set by the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement? randum of Understanding (MoU) with
the European Commission. The MoU
constitutes an agreement to under- Ludo Diels, Àngels Orduña,
take all efforts n ecessary to jointly A.SPIRE A.SPIRE
Climate change is visible in every in- cond Bretton Woods and he called for develop and finally deliver the requi-
habited region in the world and the the G20 Bali Summit 2022 to be such The process industry is key to
sense of urgency must permeate the a historic breakthrough for humanity: achieving this transition. Reaching a
actions of the entire socio-economic the “Bali One” that can trigger a real “No single technology can net-zero scenario by 2050 and holding
system, according to the Sixth Assess- global green economy. the increase of the earth’s tempera-
reach 100% greenhouse
ment Report 2021 of the Intergovern- Besides climate change, feed- ture well below 2°C will require the
mental Panel on Climate Change stock dependency and resilience gases (GHG) emissions delivery of climate neutral and cir-
(IPCC). Despite the need for wide and will also dominate our future econo- reduction on its own.” cular solutions at an unpreceden-
deep action in the next two decades, mic system. Given the limited time- ted scale and pace. Improvements in
according to Jeffrey Sachs, the fi- frame (only about two investment emissions reduction at materials pro-
nancial system and larger countries cycles are left until 2050), for the red solutions on climate neutrality, cessing plants has a multiplying ef-
have so far failed to capitalize the ten sectors engaged in the Associa- circularity and competitiveness iden- fect across different value chains (au-
hundreds of billions of dollars nee-
tion SPIRE (A.SPIRE), there is only tified in the P4Planet Strategic Re- tomotive, construction, digital devices
ded annually. On June 2021, at the Tri one way: work together to find joint search and Innovation Agenda 2050 et al.). The energy-intensive industries
Hita Karana (THK) Climate Forum, cross-sectorial solutions to common (SRIA), developed by the A.SPIRE also have the capacity to reintroduce
Sachs pointed out that we need a se- problems. community. bulk amounts of waste transformed
into new secondary resources to feed
industrial processes, avoiding land-
filling or incineration. The challenge
for this recycling is to do it with fewer
emissions and less cost compared to
the use of virgin materials to remain
globally competitive.
P4Planet’s Strategic Research and
Innovation Agenda (SRIA) sets three
high ambitions for 2050: 1) net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions; 2) near
Tab. 1: Processes4Planet
innovation areas
Innovation areas
Renewable energy integration
Heat reuse
Electrification of thermal processes
Electrically driven processes
Hydrogen integration
CO2 capture for utilization
CO2 & CO utilization in minerals
CO2 & CO utilization in
chemicals and fuels
©Surasak - stock.adobe.com
Energy and resource efficiency
Circularity of materials
Industrial-Urban symbiosis
Circular regions
Digitalization
Non-technological aspects
4 CHEManager International | 3/2021
Marke ts & Economy
zero landfilling and near zero water
discharge; and 3) a thriving EU pro-
cess industry with gross value added
(GVA) growing quicker than EU gross
domestic product (GDP). The SRIA
identifies 14 Innovation Areas and 36
© A.SPIRE
Innovation Programs to develop the
required solutions (see tab. 1).
To achieve net-zero emissions,
P4Planet’s SRIA includes solutions
Fig. 1: Processes4Planet transformation levers towards the ambitions
“Improvements in emissions alternative resources, reducing energy awareness of the public sector on the projects on these aspects will be key
reduction at materials pro- needs and other disruptive innova- framework conditions for market up- to raising the voice of A.SPIRE mem-
cessing plants has a multi- tions. To achieve the circularity ambi- take will be key to creating a market bers in discussions with the Euro-
tion, we need to move from waste to for climate neutral and circular so- pean Commission, the European Par-
plying effect across different
resources at scale, by keeping resour- lutions. Manufacturing industry, un- liament and EU Member States.
value chains.” ces with the right quality in the indus- der pressure from consumers, will
trial loop as opposed to landfilling or increasingly ask for materials that
incineration. The eco-design of mate- are safe, high-performance and with Sustainable Investments
to move from fossil fuel emissions to rials that are free of toxic elements is lower carbon footprint. And competi- for Impact
the electrification of the process in- important so that, soon, n early 100% tiveness can only be achieved by ha-
dustry through an increased use of of waste can be upcycled. ving the right talent at all levels of an The transition to climate neutra-
renewable energy and the valoriza-
Since competitiveness is at stake, enterprise (from the operational sites lity and a new paradigm of green
tion of process emissions. This will in- non-technological aspects are equally in the plants to the blue-collar jobs
volve adapting processes to cope with relevant. Identifying and raising etc.). The learnings from P4Planet’s Continued Page 6 ▶
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CHEManager International | 3/2021 5
Marke ts & Economy
and circular economy will only be role in testing how to use the mix of
reached when these solutions are The Case of the Chemical industry renewable energies more efficiently
rolled out. This is when impact hap- The chemical industry is one of the largest sectors of the process industries and flexibly, enabling such practices
pens. Two key initiatives are included and one of the higher contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. The chemi- along the whole value chain.
cal sector’s involvement in P4Planet through A.SPIRE is strongly based on the
in P4Planet’s SRIA to reach this im- Digitalization will accelerate faster
cross-sectorial approach. Indeed, by developing together with other sectors,
pact phase. No single technology can development of novel solutions by the
new technologies, expertise and assets can be combined to reach a faster
reach 100% greenhouse gases (GHG) transition in, e.g., the electrification of crackers, furnaces, kilns etc. (all high process industry. A holistic approach
emissions reduction on its own. They energy systems, currently fossil-fueled). Together with the refining industry is needed for a more intelligent ope-
need to be integrated in First-of-a- and the pulp and paper industry, the chemical sector can develop new value ration of installations and all busi-
Kind (FOAK) processing plants, and chains based on renewable or sustainable resources by using waste, resi- ness and industrial processes. It is
FOAK units within existing plants, dues, and biomass as feedstock to produce new molecules and materials in important for the process industries
that can completely transform the in- the future. Industrial symbiosis will combine sectors to use, for example, CO2 to collaborate with key digital com-
dustrial processes. Such integration emissions from steel as chemical building blocks in the chemical industry.
This can only be realized via the establishment of H4Cs based on proximity
and so reducing the costs of logistics and assets. The chemical and refining
industries will also play a crucial role in industrial-urban symbiosis transfor-
“The EU process
“Digitalization will ming domestic waste (and also wastewater) into feedstock for new materials industry estimates at least
accelerate faster develop- via chemical and thermal recycling processes. To make the energy switch, €34.5 billion are needed
strong interaction with renewable energy providers and green hydrogen pro-
ment of novel solutions by ducers (via, for example, hydrogen valleys) is required to reach the CO2 emis- to develop the required
the process industry.” sion goals in time. innovations up to 2050.”
can deliver the next generation of panies that can target digital inno-
the energy intensive industries with vations (artificial intelligence, smart
a drastic reduction of GHG emissions. data, cybersecurity, digital twins, etc.)
Hubs for Circularity (H4Cs) are the to the specific needs of process oper
second initiative focusing on the ge- ations and the various value chains
neration of impact in specific indus (including the full recycling, tracking,
trial sites or regions. The H4Cs aim to and tracing). It is also important to
scale up a new model of circular eco- attract digital talent to the process in-
nomy, enabled by the process indus- dustries to help them accelerate their
try (closing the circle), that makes the transformation. A systemic perspec-
best use of all the resource streams tive will enable the achievement of a
(energy, materials, data etc.) from in- real circular economy paradigm and
© A.SPIRE
dustry and from municipal waste. will require the involvement of the
The EU process industry estima- full value chain.
tes at least €34.5 billion are n eeded Fig. 2: Investment needs for P4Planet’s innovation pipeline. TLR=technology
to develop the required innova- readiness level
tions up to 2050; of which at least Conclusion
€19.8 billion need to be invested has allocated a €1.3 billion fund be regularly discussed with institu-
within the next decade to reach the ing envelope within Horizon Eu- tional funding and financing bodies The energy intensive industries are
EU Green Deal Targets. The P4Pla- rope (2021—2027), the current EU to reach the deployment (impact) highly engaged to pledge for climate
net Partnership will play a key role R&I program, to support projects phase. The estimates for investment action. The challenges they face are
in providing funding and financing that will address the ambitions of for roll-out point to the need for cross-sectorial and some solutions
support to de-risk the required in- the partnership. Horizon Europe hundreds of billions or even trillions are sector specific. Processes4Planet
novations to transform the process supports innovations at pre-compe- of euros. A high sustainable private is an essential tool for A.SPIRE’s ten
S Following the MoU with
industry.OU titive level. Further support to the leverage will be key to achieving the process industry sectors to maintain
R
A.SPIRE, the CEuropean
IN G
Commission FOAKs and H4Cs at scale will also level of investment required. a cross-sectorial dialogue and jointly
develop R&I solutions that can be
transferred from sector to sector to
Enabling the Transition meet these pledges. The process in-
SOURCING to a Green Economy dustry, united, is stronger and can de-
liver higher targets.
Electrifying the process indus-
OGISTIC S
try through renewable energy and References for this article can be re-
L green hydrogen can enable the dras- quested from the authors.
tic abatement of industrial CO2 emis-
UT IO N sions provided there is enough clean Ludo Diels, Chair of Advisory
DI S T R IB energy available at an affordable
price. The success of the energy sec-
Group, and Àngels Orduña,
Executive Director, A.SPIRE,
tor can enable the process industry Brussels, Belgium
SOURCING. HANDLING. DELIVERY.
to achieve its climate ambition. In
turn, electrification of the industrial
BROUGHT TOGETHER BY ONE PARTNER. plants will imply a higher electri-
city demand. This high demand from
Over 20,000 customers worldwide trust us as their the process industry can enable a
single-source partner for the safe and needs-based competitive clean energy transition.
distribution for all their chemical needs.
Find out more at hugohaef fner.com Energy efficiency is also at stake. aor@spire2030.eu
The process industry will play a key www.spire2030.eu/intro
6 CHEManager International | 3/2021
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