Concrete is the most widely used man-made material on Earth, with an annual consumption of around 10 billion m³. However, its fabrication is characterized by total CO2 emissions amounting to around 5% of the worldwide anthropogenic GHG emissions. More sustainable cements with lower embodied energy and CO2 footprint are needed. As stated in the European Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings (COM 2010/31/EU), the development of better performing insulation materials and lightweight systems for building envelopes is crucial, playing a significant role in the reduction of buildings operational energy while complying with the load bearing features of existing building structures. The ECO-binder project aims to implement industrial R&D activities on the results of previous research, demonstrating the possibility of replacing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and OPC based concrete products with new ones based on the new Belite-Ye’elimite-Ferrite (BYF) class of low-CO2 binders to develop a new generation of concrete-based construction materials and prefabricated building envelope components with more than 30% lower embodied energy, 20% improved insulation properties and 15% lower cost than the actual solutions based on Portland cement. The new building envelope solutions will integrate multiple functions in a single product package, providing the higher performances in terms of acoustic insulation/absorption, fire resistance, dimensional stability, indoor air quality optimization, at an affordable cost. Demonstration of full-scale retrofitting and construction will be performed prototyping and installing a family of prefabricated concrete systems of different complexity and end-use in four different climatic conditions involving public authorities.. Results will be validated through dedicated LCAs, fostering the construction materials sector progress towards increased performing and eco-sustainable products.

SUNER-C CSA overarching objective is to aggregate fragmented knowledge and develop the framework conditions to overcome scientific, technological, organizational and socioeconomic challenges to accelerate innovation and enable the transition of technologies for solar fuels and chemicals from laboratory and demonstrator level to large-scale industrial and broad societal application. Through a holistic approach, SUNER-C will contribute to circular economy by replacing fossil-derived fuels and chemicals by renewables and carbon recycling as key element towards the EU net-zero emissions target by 2050. SUNER-C will build upon the work of SUNERGY, a pan-European initiative on fossil-free fuels and chemicals from renewable power and solar energy, with to date over 300 supporting organisations across and beyond Europe. SUNER-C specific outcomes during the CSA will be to: develop an inclusive pan-European innovation community and eco-system on solar fuels and chemicals with global outreach, linked to political and societal needs, gathering stakeholders from different fields, sectors and disciplines around a shared vision, and coordinating with existing initiatives to ensure complementarity; develop a roadmap and a blueprint to implement it, as main drivers to identify and tackle long-term research and innovation challenges to de-fossilize society with solar fuels and chemicals; prepare the foundations for a large-scale research and innovation initiative (LSRI), ready to be launched at the end of the CSA, through an instrument to be agreed upon with the European Commission and the Member States. The LSRI will continue developing the eco-system and supporting the implementation of the roadmap, speeding up industrial and societal uptake of technologies for solar fuels and chemicals in the EU and contributing to wider, longer-term impacts, including those on “Increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for resilient industry” outlined in the Horizon Europe Work Programme.

In order to stimulate the rural bioeconomy and industrial competitiveness, achieve climate mitigation and biodiversity targets, and increase the resilience of production systems, the European Union needs forerunners, both in primary production and industry. Despite the widely recognised and urgent need to substitute fossil raw materials with renewables, under-developed biomass processing methods and business models, and poor understanding of the multiple benefits of well-planned, novel applications currently restrict the implementation of sustainable value chains with balanced environmental, economic and social outcomes. Every step in the novel bio-based fibre value chains targeted by FIBSUN need to be optimised, from cultivation practices, industrial processes, and business models, through to understanding the needs of consumers. The use of novel industrial feedstocks must not lead to undesirable land-use changes, such as the conversion of forest or land currently used for food production into land used for fibre biomass production. Instead, the related land use must be designed to alleviate the harmful effects of desertification, contamination, flooding or mining, by using degraded soils and marginal land to cultivate underutilised biomass feedstocks which can restore soil productivity and enhance the provision of diverse ES. FIBSUN will address these challenges using a multidisciplinary and multi-actor approach involving research organisations, companies and a wide range of stakeholders in a co-creational process aiming at outcomes and long-term impacts promoting green transition in the EU.