R&I in Support of the Clean Industrial Deal: Clean Technologies for Climate Action

Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: Strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability (including biodiversity) and resilience of an innovative clean tech solution by clearly demonstrating the capability to, significantly: increase its circular material use rate, based on a sound and realistic baseline; reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) delivered to end-users - including, where relevant, production, distribution, and storage costs, based on a sound and realistic baseline and considering different geographic scenarios; and contribute to Europe’s industrial leadership and competitiveness, in line with the objectives of Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA)[1] for the EU manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies[2],[3]. Bring this innovative clean tech solution to full technological maturity and close to market-readiness with a view to accelerating its market deployment and/or integration in key industrial sectors in Europe (e.g. manufacturing, energy and transport). Scope: The Clean Industrial Deal aims to secure the EU as an attractive location for manufacturing, including for energy-intensive industries, and to promote clean tech and new circular business models in order to meet Europe’s ambitious decarbonisation and climate neutrality and biodiversity preservation targets. It focuses primarily on the competitive decarbonisation of EU industry and on the production of clean technologies in the EU. This requires notably a considerable increase in electrification of EU energy systems and in all end-use sectors of the European economy (either directly, or via enabling intermediate technologies). The following three clean tech areas have a strong and promising growth potential in Europe. Proposals are expected to address one or several of these areas: Integrated net-zero emissions energy systems (e.g. including energy grids, networks and systems) Enhanced zero-emission power technologies (e.g. including renewable electricity, heat and energy technologies) Storage technologies, renewable fuels, and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) (e.g. including batteries and other energy storage solutions, renewable hydrogen[4], advanced biofuels and synthetic renewable fuels) enabling climate neutrality Proposals should explicitly select one main area but can also address in an integrated way a combination of these three areas. Applicants are free to decide on the specific value chain they wish to strengthen in the above clean tech areas. As part of bringing innovative clean tech solutions closer to the market, proposals may also address step-change in relevant network and infrastructure deployment to facilitate scale up across the trans-European energy and transport networks – e.g. electricity, heat, gas, hydrogen, CO2, batteries, and refuelling networks, etc. Application of advanced innovative materials development, connected process engineering and scale-up, resource efficiency, circularity and recycling may also be addressed as part of the selected value chain, as relevant. Attention should be paid to avoid technologies which may have a negative impact on biodiversity and ecosystems. Proposals are expected to: ensure the development of innovative technological solutions along a specific clean tech value chain. For this, they need to involve an adequate combination of clean tech suppliers, energy users (e.g. manufacturing, energy and transport) and other relevant stakeholders, in order to support a sound business case, taking into account a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach. demonstrate an adequate integration of relevant technological solutions including clean tech and industrial decarbonisation solutions in support of the Clean Industrial Deal, and to ensure a clear and quantifiable impact on competitiveness and reduction of GHG emissions. Reduction or avoidance of harmful pollutants and impact on biodiversity may also be considered, as relevant[5]. The integration... Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal (CC BY 4.0).