DO YOU WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO RENEWABLE FUELS AND BIOENERGY?

DO YOU HAVE AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION FOR PRODUCING RENEWABLE FUELS OR BIOENERGY?

Transform your novel ideas into value adding solutions! Take the chance to participate in the one-year SET4BIO Innovation Challenge to get support for the development of your solution, to meet stakeholders in the sector, and to get the opportunity to be matched with suitable funding opportunities.

The Innovation Challenge is directed towards creating innovations that stimulate increased production and use of bioenergy and renewable fuels.
To selected innovators, the SET4BIO Innovation Challenge will provide the following major opportunities:

• Engaging innovators in developing innovative proposals for solutions that stimulate and increase the possibility of producing and using bioenergy and renewable fuels by also implementing the EU Green Deal Vision.

• Accelerating the development of their solution via 5 virtual events

• Assessing the solution with a final demonstration day

• Matching innovators with innovative solutions with potential funding opportunities.

For the challenge, we invite innovators that with their solutions address at least one of the six + two value chains for bioenergy and advanced renewable fuels.



From mid-November 2020 SET4BIO will enable interested teams of innovators to submit applications for participation in the Challenge.

These submissions will be reviewed using the three criteria of Relevance of the Concept to the Challenge scope, its Potential and the Innovators Capacity. Selected teams will be invited to the SET4BIO Innovation Challenge process, starting end of February 2021.
Between March and November, six Events are provided to support participating teams to develop solutions towards the final.
Each Event is preceded of a preparation phase in which the teams work with their Concepts in association to the theme of the event.

Download here the Rules for Participation.

Additional information about the process, participating stakeholders, benefits of participating and events dates, locations and other details will be posted on SET4BIO webpage.

The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) is a major tool to enable the transition towards a climate neutral energy system in Europe through the development of cost efficient low-carbon technologies. The Integrated SET Plan defines the European R&I targets in 10 key areas, of which one covering renewable fuels and bioenergy defined by "Action 8: Bioenergy and Renewable Fuels for Sustainable Transport". In December 2017, the representatives of the European Commission services, SET Plan countries and stakeholders agreed upon a SET Plan Declaration of Intent (DoI8), and later in June 2018 upon an Implementation Plan for Action 8 (IP8).

The overall objective of SET4BIO is to identify the most promising funding and financing mechanisms to realize the IP8 and to create awareness of funding needs and challenges among key stakeholders. SET4BIO project has set a goal on mapping the most important ongoing and recently finished activities that will enable realizing the IP8. The work during the first 6 months in SET4BIO was focused on acquiring the information about the relevant ongoing and recently finished projects in the IWG8 countries.

Based on the available information up to now, it seems that most nations have ongoing research within the field of biogas, quite many countries have projects on green hydrogen production while the Nordic countries (Sweden and Finland) have thermal gasification activities in addition. The large-scale application research mainly focuses on power and heat generation from biomass and waste as well as valorization of certain waste streams for those. Some of the countries (Cyprus and Poland) do not prioritize their research within IP8.

One task of SET4BIO is the identification of institutional (public) funding opportunities, typically referring to funding that research organizations receive directly from ministries.
This report, by SINTEF Energy, provides an overview of public institutional and competitive funding mechanisms aimed towards the activities prioritized in IP8 and their efficiency in implementing the respective goals.

Results shown here are for one of the SET countries only, Germany, as it was chosen as a showcase due to the ability by the authors to understand information published in German as well as support from FNR as one of three project management organizations in charge of Germany's federal budget for energy research.

Within the context of the SET Plan, Germany is involved in all of the implementation activities and the Energy Research Program is a major tool to support research and innovation in all the SET Implementation Plans.

The currently running 7th edition of the funding program targets the energy transition. In 2019, projects within energy transition in transport have received 17.15 million Euros, gaseous bioenergy conversion 4.88 million Euros, liquid bioenergy conversion 1.12 million Euros, flexible large-scale power plants 17.74 million Euros, hydrogen production 1.13 million Euros and Power-to-X 1.33 million Euros.

PRIVATE FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT THE REALISATION OF THE SET PLAN IP8

This report by CIRCE summarises information related to existing private financing mechanisms that can be of interest to support the development of the projects defined in the Implementation Plan of IP8, releated to bioenergy and renewable fuels.
It aims at being a guide for project developers who are looking for private funds to finance their project.

The report provides a list of private funding instruments that can be relevant to the development of projects in the area of renewable fuels and bioenergy.

SET4BIO project has recently launched a survey to identify potential benefactors for the future opportunities offered by the project.
The strategy of SET4BIO is designed around three pillars: activating stakeholders, mobilizing resources, and stimulating innovation.
Stakeholders of the SET4BIO project will therefore be able to gain:

• First-hand information regarding changes in policy and supporting programmes

• The ability to establish important contacts - To achieve the targets foreseen in the Implementation Plan of Action 8, SET4BIO pursues the direct involvement of both industrial stakeholders and Member States representatives

• Easier access to funding - The project aims to outline a roadmap to fund and finance the bioenergy and renewable fuels projects foreseen in the Implementation Plan of Action 8, giving stakeholders a chance to state their opinions directly.

On behalf of the Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, the 14th Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) Conference 2020 ‘Enabling the SET Plan for the EU Green Recovery‘ Virtual Conference will take place next 23-24 November 2020.

SET4BIO is a collaborative Horizon 2020 project to support the implementation of the SET Plan Action 8 – Renewable Fuels and Bioenergy. SET4BIO will bring together private and public actors in a joint effort to mobilize the resources and to stimulate the investments for the deployment of bioenergy and renewable fuels at large scale in Europe. SET4BIO aims at making a step change in the build-up of a cost-competitive bioenergy and renewable fuels market in Europe and globally, as foreseen by the Energy Union and by the Integrated Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan, endorsed by EU Member States and SET Plan Associated Countries.

Contact us at info@set4bio.eu | www.set4bio.eu

   

This newsletter is produced on behalf of the SET4BIO Project by the SET4BIO project team, funded under Horizon 2020

The SET4BIO project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 884524


Important Disclaimer
The content of this newsletter cannot be considered as the European Commission’s official position and neither the European Commission, SET4BIO, nor any person acting on behalf of these organisation is responsible for the use which might be made of it. Although SET4BIO endeavours to deliver a high level of service, no guarantee can be given on the correctness or completeness of the content of this newsletter and neither the European Commission, SET4BIO are responsible or may be held accountable for any loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the content of this newsletter.