Among the solutions to achieve a net-zero emissions economy in the EU by 2050, advanced biofuels have the potential to decarbonise the transport sector by saving several gigatonnes of CO2 emissions per year. In particular, ambitious targets have been set for the green transition in aviation and maritime transport by 2050, with a 63% blending mandate for sustainable aviation fuels and a 70% reduction in emissions from ships.
However, the development of advanced biofuels is hampered by a combination of factors: the complex conversion of biomass feedstocks, the massive investment required for each new refinery unit, the lack of certification for market uptake and social acceptance in relation to biofuel production itself.
REFOLUTION is a new 4-year project funded by Horizon Europe that will address these constraints by enabling cost-effective production of advanced biofuels for the aviation and marine sectors via a process that can be implemented in existing European refineries.
The aim is to overcome the three main obstacles to achieving the climate targets for the transport sector: creating pathways to sustainable biofuels for aviation and marine fuels that are difficult to decarbonise, expanding production routes to pre-commercial volumes and taking the first steps towards certification for safe use in commercial engines. In addition, the implementation of this technology is expected to reduce investment costs by 50% and operating costs by 45%.
This Horizon Europe innovation action will provide a comprehensive toolbox of models, standards, social assessment and utilisation pathways for linking to current refinery models and available documentation for further application in other existing refineries.
Project website:www.refolution.eu
Funding organisation: EU project (Horizon Europe grant agreement no. 101096780)
Project duration: 01.01.2023 to 31.12.2026
Funding volume: 737,358 €
Responsible Colleague: Fanny Langschwager
Project partners:
SINTEF (Norway)
VTT,
NESTE (Finland),
OMV (Austria),
University of Rostock,
DLR,
GRACE (Germany),
BTG Biomass Technology Group,
BTG Bioliquids,
BTG-NeXt,
University of Groningen (Netherlands),
CNRS (France),
ETA Florence Renewable Energies (Italy),
CEPSA (Spain).