Di-Hydro contributes towards harnessing the full potential of hydro-power (HP) plants and clusters in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement, by development of tailored, optimized digital and smart decision-making tools for use in such plants, at scale. Indeed, Di-Hydro will develop smart devices and pro-active intelligent algorithms that utilize data acquired from static, dynamic, and alternative sources (e.g., satellites) so as to predict the operational and maintenance-related behavior of standalone HP plants and clusters, and we will then incorporate such algorithms in digital twins that can fully interrelate with such HP plants/clusters, yielding, eventually, an intelligent, fully-replicable decision-making tool for optimal coordination of environmentally mindful power generation from such plants/clusters (based on the foreseen market needs and the intended commercial strategy of their owners). Notably, a wide variety of previous plant digitization levels, weather and water flow conditions, biodiversity, environmental and societal issues pertinent to such HP clusters are incorporated in the integrated practical solution developed here, mainly by leveraging innovative sensor technologies, cutting-edge digital adaption for energy production, and optimized operation and maintenance practices based on next-gen information technology. The consortium is comprised of 13 partners, 3 of which are RTOs, 7 SMEs, and 3 large power enterprises (represented here by their hydro-power branches).

Bio-based plastics are now seen as an eco-friendly substitute for traditional fossil-based plastics. Interestingly, aside from their environmentally friendly origins and in some cases, their biodegradability, bio-based plastics present a promising market potential for recycling, particularly through chemical depolymerisation. Nevertheless, before recycling, bio-based plastics must first be separated and isolated from other packaging materials. Achieving effective sorting of bio-based plastics presents a challenge in the market, as bio-based plastics require scale to be sorted and to form a circular economy. Yet, they also need circularity as a sustainability selling point to boost their sales. The PROSPER project brings together three bio-based plastic producers (including PLA and AAPE-blend producers), a major brand owner, an EPR scheme/PRO participant, a supplier of AI-sorting technology, a sorting testing center, four waste management companies, a municipality and a specialised consultant. It is supported by the scientific expertise of three research institutions and universities, as well as a policy-oriented non-profit organisation. The project offers a comprehensive approach by developing policy interventions, EPR fee scenarios and quantifying recycling rates and cost benefits associated with these scenarios. It also focuses on demonstrating technical advancements in sorting and recycling at industrial scale inside four real waste management companies. PROSPER will also evaluate the market potential for recycled bio-based plastic products through consumer studies, engagement with companies and PROs, while also assessing the Life Cycle, Social Life Cycle, material circularity indicators and economic business models. The institutionalisation of a system change by the different stakeholders in the bio-based plastics value chain will be crucial in achieving circularity, improving environmental performance and fostering positive impacts in the bio-based economy.

SENERGY NETS aims at demonstrating the technical and economic capability of multi-energy systems to decarbonize the heating and cooling, power and gas sectors through renewable energy sources produced locally as well as sector integration, by primarily focusing on promising infrastructure and business models. To do so, SENERGY-NETS will develop a set of tools and platforms (up to TRL7/8) aimed to optimise the planning of District Heating and Cooling as well as distribution grids with sector coupling consideration and allow the provision of flexibility services to Distribution and Transmission System Operators. These solutions will be implemented on three pilot sites located in Milan (IT), Ljubljana (SI) and Paris (FR) and their replicability will be tested in two additional real case studies presenting alternative climatic, economic and geographic conditions in Västerås (SW) and Cordoba (ES). The SENERGY NETS solutions will be adapted to the main stakeholders at the different phases of the projects development involving sector coupling: long term planning, design and simulation, operational planning, valorisation, evaluation and replication. The project will evaluate the benefits through a consolidated methodology developed to estimate the overall value created by sector integration, relying on the current economic, regulation and market rules and assess the impacts on the European power system. SENERGY NETS relies on a strong trans-disciplinary consortium involving 17 organisations located in 7 European countries, involving renowned experts from public authorities, infrastructure providers, research institutions, entrepreneurs and consumers associations. Altogether, they will provide the necessary knowledge, expertise and capacities to develop, demonstrate and evaluate developed tools and services enabling the integration of multi-energy systems to provide flexibility to the power system, and ultimately enable the decarbonisation of the energy system.

The AHEAD (AI-informed Holistic Electric Vehicles Integration Approaches for Distribution Grids) project will create a simulation environment capable of predicting the most convenient location to place the electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and optimise both the usage of the power grid resources, and the charging stations located in urban and rural areas. This simulation environment will exploit the unique features of currently available AI models and include two layers: the spatial mapping one (placing the chargers where the people need them to be), and the power grid one (placing the chargers where the grid can support them). Innovative smart charging algorithms will be designed and tested in the model, to minimise the impact of EV charging pools on the network, and ensure the consumers have economic benefits. Moreover, these smart charging algorithms will be tested in three demonstration sites, dedicated to assessing the technical and economic feasibility of smart charging light and heavy-duty EVs, and boats. To this end, AHEAD gathered relevant partners from all the EV value-chain: technology providers who want to test their equipment in the real world, grid operators, who want to optimise the usage of the grid resources and mitigate the EV charging impact, and research institutions, who aim at advancing the knowledge on the topic and producing value for society. Particular attention is going to be placed on the user experience and cybersecurity part of the demonstrators, with specific partners who focus their efforts on understanding how to minimize the impact of smart charging on the user experience and on creating a model to represent cyber-attacks on the chargers to suggest efficient defensive mechanisms for system protection.

HERCCULES aims at defining a first-of-a-kind, integrated and replicable approach for the implementation of the whole CCUS chain to two strategic sectors of the circular economy - Cement and Energy-from-Waste (EfW) – in an area – Italy and Greece – where the industrial promise of CCUS is largely unexplored. Leveraging on the potential of two clusters of emitters in Northern Italy (cement + EfW) and Greece (cement), HERCCULES will pave the way towards the implementation of the first full-scale CCUS chain in Southern Europe. Technological, infrastructural, safety, societal, regulatory and financial issues will be addressed by a multidisciplinary approach to build an “HERCCULES paradigm” comprising nine basic chapters. 1) TRL7-8 demonstration of 2 flexible and retrofittable CO2 capture technologies, to be tested in 2 large-scale cement plants + 1 EfW plant with residual waste/biomass feed to approach nearly zero or negative emissions (>9000 h of tests). 2) Design of the optimal CO2 transport network for utilization and storage under different infrastructural evolution scenarios. 3) TRL8 Geological storage of captured CO2 in the two most advanced CO2 sites in Southern Europe (Prinos and Ravenna). 4) Demonstration in industrial environment of novel CO2 mineralization solutions and re-use technologies for the production of a breakthrough hydraulic binder enabling the industrial production of a carbon-sink concrete (>1000 h of tests). 5) Experimentally-supported, Techno-Economic Analyses with risk assessment to ensure the safety of the full CCUS chain. 6) Advancement of societal readiness through a participative approach. 7) Identification of business models and financial mechanisms tailored to CCUS. 8) TRL8-9 pre-FEED studies on the most promising HERCCULES implementation options. 9) Ad-hoc case studies to verify the replicability of the HERCCULES paradigm. Know-how, data and models will converge into a dedicated exploitation plan to seed CCUS across Europe.