Methanol is a crucial commodity in the chemical sector and a potential building block of the future sustainable chemical industry. To date, the majority of methanol is produced from fossil fuels (either natural gas or coal) with associated CO2 emissions of 0.3 Gt/year (about 10% of total chemical sector emissions). Biomass is a sustainable alternative to conventional hydrocarbon feedstocks. However, due to its high carbon and oxygen content, conventional second-generation biomass-to-methanol processes achieve 40-45% of carbon efficiency and result in venting most of the carbon back to the atmosphere as CO2. BeBOP is a 4-year project that aims to develop a novel versatile, disruptive, and multi-product biomass and power to methanol plant, that can transform the methanol industry. Thanks to the integration of an electrolysis cell within the syngas conditioning line, the BeBOP concept can double the methanol productivity ans achieve >95% of total carbon efficiency and recover high value components from biomass gasification residues. The BeBOP project will showcase a first-of-a-kind TRL6 pilot plant ready to be scaled-up and replicated by the European biomass-based industry. BeBOP will enhance market opportunities in the short to medium term bringing the methanol production costs below 250 €/t (with long-term low-cost renewable electricity and including 150 €/tCO2 carbon credits) and shifting the 10% of the production from fossil-based to BeBOP configuration allowing to avoid the emission of more than 30 Mt of CO2 per year (3% of CO2 emissions in chemical industry). Preserving the quality of the end product at competitive costs, decreasing the GHG emissions, decreasing the costs of methanol production and creating new direct and indirect jobs, BeBOP will have a decisive impact in increasing the circularity of the European chemical sector.

At present, energy conservation campaigns provide households with a general awareness but do not provoke large scale behavior changes. The main goal of the STEP_BY_STEP is to maximize the number of households in a given area that significantly change their behaviour at home. Desired behaviour change includes reduced electricity consumption and the investment in energy efficient products and/or high quality renewable energy products. Communication strategies involving direct contact are typically more effective on behavioural change than mass media campaigns. Thus, a system will be put into place to make individual door-to-door contact with 80% of the households in a given area. Contrary to traditional door-to-door canvassing, often seen as a one-shot deal, our project solicits targeted households regularly through email or by phone and accompanies them over a 20 month period towards the adoption of energy-saving practices. To reduce the attitude-behaviour gap, our system uses proven communication techniques that push towards action. Households are regularly encouraged to try new ecological gestures adapted to their level of motivation. Feedback is given and social norms are used. Community-based social marketing strategies will be used to encourage energy-related investment decisions. Households likely to take individual investment decisions will be motivated to take such decisions benefiting from economies of scale and facilitated by other households’ experience. Institutional partners will launch their energy saving interventions amongst 9000 households in 4 European areas that represent diverse populations and communities. French SME E3D will provide a behavioral strategy along with a web based system for behavioral change developed within a research project. Partnered laboratories will analyze household energy saving behavior patterns based on profiles and will define the environmental and economic impact of the project. Power Link will ensure the dissemination.

Currently there are no portable test or biosensors validated for air, soil or water quality control for pathogens, Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs) and Persistent Mobile Chemicals (PMCs), so such devices are much awaited by all stakeholders to ensure successful control and prevention of contamination and infections. Mobiles consortium will develop an interdisciplinary framework of expertise, and tools for monitoring, detection, and consequently mitigation of pollution from pathogens, CECs, PMCs, thus benefiting human and environmental health. Mobiles consortium will work to achieve the following objectives: Develop electronic biosensors for monitoring organic chemicals (pesticides, hormones) and antimicrobial resistance bacteria and pathogens in water, soil and air; Develop organism-based biosensor for detection of organic and inorganic pollution in water and soil; Study environmental performance of developed organisms and devices; Metagenomics analysis of organisms leaving in polluted areas in order to enable searches for diverse functionalities across multiple gene clusters Perform safety tests (e.g., EFSA) to assess the impact of developed organisms on the natural environment. Organism-based biosensor will consist on genetically modified chemiluminescent bacteria able to detect antibiotics, heavy metals, and pesticides in water; genetically modified plants that will change colour when in the soil is present arsenic; and marine diatoms that will be used to detect bioplastic degradation in marine and aquatic environments. Developed devices and organisms will be implemented by using flexible technologies, which can guarantee an easy adaptation to other biotic and abiotic pollutants. Devices and organisms, after proper validation and approval, could be used by consumers, inspection services and industry operators, as well as environmental emergency responders to monitor and detect PMCs, CECs and pathogens in water, air and soil

FRONTSH1P aims at ensuring green and just transition of the Polish Lodzkie Region towards decarbonization and territorial regeneration through demonstration at TRL7 of highly replicable circular systemic models and FRONTSH1P aims is to create a territorial cluster of circular initiatives to accelerate the transition to a more green, resilient economy, able to provide sustainable responses to the need of the involved regions. The proposed model will be implemented and demonstrated in Lodzkie Region, where key territorial partners, and particularly the Regional Institution, the scientific partner, the representative of civil society and Industry Groups, will play a relevant role in promoting, facilitating, and enabling systemics and circular economy at regional scale. The involvement of those relevant actors will allow the promotion of the circular economy and to reach relevant actors, such as municipalities, companies, consumers, and civil society, which will be engaged in a participatory approach to collect needs and perceived constraints. From this activity, the cluster system will identify and define a circular economy strategy, with clear objectives, measurable targets, and a proper monitoring method. Moreover, the cluster will facilitate collaborations and co-operations among relevant actors for boosting circularity. It will mean to: - Identify already available initiatives and policies at local, regional, national, and international level - Create platforms to explore opportunities and to share information, best practices, and successful examples - Activate a strong communication between universities, businesses, and civil society for the technological transfer - Exchange information and experiences with other Regions and Countries The proposal will foresee activities, such as the definition of regulatory instruments aimed at accelerating the transition to a circular economy creating a Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) in which the proposed systemic solution is embedded.

The EU 2050 Long-term Strategy develops scenarios for a climate-neutral EU in 2050 that aim at full deployment of low-carbon technologies or assume increased climate awareness of EU citizens translating into lifestyle changes, consumer choices, and a more circular economy. While these scenarios integrate societal trends, further progress is necessary to enhance the empirical basis for such New Societal Trends and their representation in models. New Societal Trends have potentially a large (increasing or decreasing) impact on energy consumption and might lead to cross-sectoral demand shifts that go beyond extrapolation of presently observed trends (continuous trends) and may speed up when they are embraced by larger parts of the society (disruptive trends). Such trends include in particular: digitalisation of the economy and of private lives, Circular Economy and Low-carbon industry, and Shared Economy, which will be the main focus of the present project. The novelty of our project arises from three perspectives: A thematic perspective identifying and quantifying how New Societal Trends affect energy demand, using trend-evolution pathways. A methodological perspective combining qualitative (foresight methods) with quantitative cross-sectoral modelling and exploring how energy demand models are to be improved to represent New Societal Trends. Several well-established models build the core of this project (INVERT/EE-Lab, FORECAST bottom-up model family, PRIMES energy system model, GEM-E3(-FIT)). All of which have been used extensively in the EU context for long-term projections and will be enhanced in this project. Further, policies will be represented in the demand models that influence such trends in the light of the EE1 Principle. Finally, a data perspective enhancing the empirical basis for modelling the impact of new societal trends through exploitation of new data sources (e.g. smart meter data) and empirical data (e.g. on behavioural changes).