The strategic objective of the IE-E project is to develop a new heat-to-power engine in low-temperature ranges so that to recover and convert heat to power in a cost effective manner. This will be implemented by using an isothermal, scroll type expander that will replace the conventional (close to) isentropic one that is exclusively included in conventional ORC engines. This configuration can lead to much higher cycle thermal efficiency than the existing ORC units. The development of such isothermal expander makes it feasible to reach much higher efficiency than that of a conventional ORC, which is up to now the most common technology of heat conversion (e.g. biomass, industrial waste, geothermal and solar energy) into electricity. A first prototype has been designed, manufactured and tested, revealing the potential of this technology. Further work is required to validate and improve this concept and up-scale the expander to 20 kW rated power, with the aim to conclude to a commercial product. The proposal deals with this state of the art expansion machine and configuration, in order to promote this new engine/product to the internal combustion engines market, focusing on the utilization of the heat rejected from the engine cooling systems (for engines up to 500 kWe). This market includes both stationary engines for power production (fuels: diesel, gas, biogas, etc.) and marine engines (auxiliary diesel engines used for electricity production), while an overall power increase up to 10% can be achieved, reducing accordingly the produced specific emissions.

RES4BUILD will develop renewable-eneRRES4BUILD develops renewable energy-based solutions for decarbonising the energy used in buildings. The approach of the project is flexible, so that the solutions are applicable to a wide variety of buildings, new or renovated, tailored to their size, their type and the climatic zones of their location. In the heart of the solution lies an innovative multi-source heat pump with a cascading configuration, including a magnetocaloric (bottom cycle) and a vapour compression heat pump (top cycle). The heat pump will be combined with other technologies in tailored made solutions that suit the specific needs of each building. These technologies will be selected on a case by case basis from a mix of standard equipment available in the market and from innovative components that will be specifically explored within the project. The innovative technologies include innovative collectors that integrate in one panel photovoltaic cells and solar thermal energy collectors (PV/T) and borehole thermal energy storage (BTES). For all solutions, advanced modelling and control approaches will be developed and will be integrated in a Building Energy Management System, allowing the users to select their objectives and to optimise the use of the system accordingly, allowing the activation of demand response and the exploitation of the full value of smart appliances and smart charging of electric vehicles. The project adopts a co-development methodology, where the end-users and other relevant stakeholders are engaged in an interactive process, where a RES$BUILD system is designed for their buildings with their active participation. In parallel, a full life cycle assessment and life cycle costing analysis will be carried out, showing from an early stage the real impact of each proposed design. The diverse consortium and the dedicated exploitation tasks will connect the project with the market, paving the way for wide application of the developed solutions.

The adaptation of RES technologies and machinery and their demonstration at a large-scale on farm level, require supporting measures with respect to spatial planning, infrastructure, different business models and market organisation, trends that are not all under control from a farmers’ perspective. RES4LIVE project will fill these gaps ensuring a wider adoption of RES and energy efficiency technologies, machinery and techniques in livestock farms towards a zero-fossil fuel consumption. A great part of RES4LIVE technical work deals with the adaptation of specific technologies for both renewable energy and biofuels so that to perfectly fit livestock farming and becoming attractive in terms of cost effectiveness, operational flexibility and with low maintenance. The key technologies include PVT systems, modular heat pumps, biogas upgrading to biomethane, and tractors retrofitting to be fuelled by biomethane. Except these technologies, standard RES and other solutions are included in the integrated energy system, such as the use of PV panels, geothermal energy, and electrification of on-farm machinery. The RES4LIVE project emphasises on the demonstration of the selected technologies in 4 pilot farms in Belgium, Italy, Germany and Greece, for a duration of at least 12 months, to serve as the means of de-fossilising evidence and impact generation. The aim is to totally replace the fossil fuel consumption of certain needs in the pilot farms, proving that fossil-free-energy farming is possible to be achieved with a sustainable way. At the same time, the replicability potential is another key activity so that to prepare the commercialization process of the solutions. The overall objective is to provide advanced and cost-effective technologies to the livestock sector that ensure the sustainability of the farms’ operation, and the superior thermal comfort of the animals for increased productivity with minimum climate change impact.

Industrial process heating accounts for 16 % of total final energy demand and 13 % of the greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Decarbonizing industrial process heating through electrification and increased energy efficiency is a key measure for reaching the climate targets in 2030, reducing the dependency on fossil fuels, strengthening the exploitation of local renewable energy sources and increasing the competitiveness of the European industry. While there are highly efficient technologies, such as industrial heat pumps, available for temperatures below 150 °C, there is a clear demand for novel technologies for processes with heat demands at higher temperatures. EEETHOS will fill this technology gap by developing key-enabling technologies for energy efficient, flexible and decarbonized process heating, and demonstrating them in five installations at industrial end-users at a TRL of 7. The technologies comprise among others, two high-temperature heat pump solutions for steam supply at up to 200 °C, a reversed Brayton heat pump with supply temperatures up to 300 °C, an innovative technology for heat pump-based drying and heating of minerals, a highly integrated steam compression-based solution for superheated steam drying and a heat capturing device for radiative waste heat recovery. These key-enabling technologies will be demonstrated in 5 demonstrators at industrial end-users representing EUs energy intensive process industries: asphalt, ceramics, pulp & paper, bricks and steel. These technologies are scalable for plant-wide implementation, allow a complete decarbonization at energy savings between 43 % to 86 %, based on local renewable energy sources. The development, implementation, operation and scaling of these technologies is optimized by use of digital twin-based solutions. The project will be a cornerstone for enabling a decarbonized, efficient and competitive European industry, by developing and demonstrating key-enabling technologies at large scale.

The EU building stock has large potential to increase its energy efficiency with solutions that can be integrated to existing dwellings and through different measures. One of them is optimizing the use and management of thermal energy by allowing it to be stored, levelling demand peaks and increasing use of renewables affected by intermittency such as solar-based heating. The MiniStor project aims at designing and producing a novel compact integrated thermal storage system for achieving sustainable heating, cooling and electricity storage that can be adapted to existing systems in residential buildings. It is based on a high-performing CaCl2/NH3 (calcium chloride/ammonia) thermochemical material reaction combined with parallel hot and cold phase-change materials for flexibility and usage year-round. It also stores electrical energy in a Li-ion battery that responds to grid signals and can sell to the electrical grid. The system is managed by a smart Building Energy Management System that connects to the Internet of Things. The system can have as input energy obtained from a variety of renewable energy sources such as hybrid photovoltaic thermal panels. This arrangement is demonstrated and validated in four demonstration sites (Ireland, France, Greece and Hungary), testing its effectiveness at different local climatic conditions and facilitating market replication. The system provides stability, performance and use of at least 20 years, an estimated compact storage material volume of 0.72 m3, reduced net energy consumption in a building by at least 44% and a return-on-investment period of 6.7 years, using high energy density storage materials that reach storage densities up to 10.6 times higher than water.