About the Project

The project Fuels-C will develop an integrated platform of innovative energy-efficient conversion technologies

Know More
mouse

Details

Fuels-C is an International – Horizon Europe project and supported by UK Research and Innovation – UKRI 

HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02

Grant Agreement nº 101147442

Project duration: 42 months

Start date: 01 June 2024

End date: 30 November 2027

Funding: 3.9 million

UK Research and Innovation

UK participants in Horizon Europe Project Fuels-C are supported by UKRI grant number 10111560 (ISLE UTILITIES LTD).

Project Description

Project pillars
road and maritime transports

Advanced Biofuels

Fuels-C aims to contribute to this quest by increasing the availability of two liquid and two gaseous advanced biofuels for maritime and road transports, produced from biogenic organic wastes and CO2.

lab

TRL5

The project will develop an integrated platform of innovative energy-efficient conversion technologies validated at TRL5 including bioelectrochemically assisted CH4 production, bioelectrochemical NH3 production, gasification, microbial electrosynthesis, and electroreduction.
waste

Biogenic Residues

Various biogenic residues (biodegradable and non-biodegradable) will be converted under mild conditions into CH4, NH3, formic acid and ethanol, by two main production routes, using renewable energy, thereby enabling efficient energy surplus storage as chemicals.
energy

Electricity Production

The 4 biofuels can be used as drop-in, but Fuels-C will also test them in Fuel Cells (FC) for electricity production: gaseous NH3 and CH4 in Solid Oxide FCs, liquid ethanol and formic acid in Direct Liquid FCs. 

twin lab

Digital Twin

The technologies will be modelled at process level and at system level, leading to an integrated processes Digital Twin. This second model, together with a feedstocks mapping tool, will facilitate the circularity assessment, cost calculation, benchmarking and replication.

GIS Map

Mapping Tool

Based on the extensive data gathering on feedstocks and necessary renewable energy, a GIS mapping tool will be elaborated, with the aim to analyse the technical, environmental, and economic feasibility of the proposed Fuels-C technologies.

LCA

Techno-economical Assessment & Replication

LCA and LCC assessments will be conducted, including aspects beyond sustainability, including production cost, GHG emissions and overall energy efficiency. Different replication scenarios will be considered, bringing the ability to optimize the scenarios from the sustainability perspective.

Project Impact

Advanced biofuels represent one of the key solutions to reach decarbonisation in sectors that are hard to electrify, including heavy road, maritime and aviation transport. However, the first generation of biofuels presented competition to food and feed production. To solve this, Fuels-C advanced biofuels will only be produced from organic residues considered as “waste”.

The project also aims to improve the conversion efficiency of waste into advanced sustainable biofuels, boosting the uptake of the final products. By achieving this, Fuels-C will contribute to the expected outcomes and impacts under the topic HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02-07:

  • Increase availability of disruptive emerging advanced biofuel technologies
  • Accelerate the readiness of cost-effective and highly performing future technologies of advanced biofuels for all economy sectors
  • Reinforce the European scientific basis and European technology export potential for advanced biofuel technologies

Project Execution

To achieve the proposed objectives, the project is organized into seven working groups (WPs):

WP1 will ensure that the project is executed efficiently and timely, establishing processed for smooth communication flow, risk assessment and management. Furthermore, it ensures that the project is completed within the agreed time schedule and budget. It also includes project data management.

Fuels-C aims to analyze renewable feedstocks in various European regions to create a database and GIS mapping tool. This will assess the technical, environmental, and economic feasibility of producing different biofuels using these feedstocks. New feedstock sources, such as CO₂ streams and microalgae biomass, will also be included in this analysis. To achieve this, several tools will be created: portfolio of renewable biogenic feedstocks for biofuels production; renewable energy supply scenarios definition; technical requirements for fuels productions technologies; and biofuels technical specifications for benchmarking.

The project will produce alternative fuels for road transport. To produce formic acid through electrolysis, Fuels-C will use VITO’s patented carbon-free gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) and move the technology from TRL3 to 5. The project will also produce syngas through gasification, overcoming several challenges: validate the gasification of complex biogenic feedstocks at TRL5 in CEA’s fluidized bed pilot, while reducing costs and addressing technical challenges from impurities. Finally, this pillar includes the conversion of CO2 to ethanol.

In this pillar, Fuels-C will produce 2 different gaseous fuels that are of importance to maritime transport: CH4 and NH3. While biomethane is already commercially produced via Anaerobic digestion (AD), significant innovations made in Fuels-C will make the production more effective, stable and sustainable. On the other hand, the novel N-recovery Bioelectrochemical Systems for NH3 production developed in Fuels-C will allow an alternative production route. This will be achieved through the following tasks: design and manufacturing of lab scale reactors for maritime fuels production; optimization of renewable methane production; optimization of renewable ammonia production; and process modelling, engineering and technologies integration.

Regarding gaseous biofuels in Fuel Cells, the ambition of the project is to test the performances of Solid Oxide FCs with NH3 and CH4 fuels produced for biogenic feedstocks by innovative processes. On the other hand, the project also intends to test liquid biofuels in fuel cells.

This WP will evaluate the technologies’ environmental, economic and social sustainability. A LCA analysis and a predictive environmental assessment will be conducted. On the other hand, a techno-economic assessment tool will evaluate the levelized cost of fuel from 2030 to 2050. Finally, the partners will develop a simulation framework to evaluate and optimize Fuels-C processes design and define 4 replication scenarios for the future of Fuels-C.

The objective of WP7 is to ensure that Fuels-C reaches its stakeholders and to create synergies with them. On the other hand, it aims to understand the market needs, increase the market share and boost uptake of the Fuels-C technologies.