The IUFRO World Congress is interdisciplinary and integrative in scientific content, a global forum for scientists and stakeholders to discuss technical and societal issues of forest-related research, policy-making, and management.

The opening session included a performance by folk music band Systerpolskan and folk musician Cajsa Ekstav, highlighting the cultural aspects of wood, trees, and forests. Fredrik Ingemarson, Chair of the Organizing Committee, HM King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden, Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren, John Parrota, President of IUFRO, and Maria Knutson Wedel, Vice-Chancellor, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) – the host organization – held opening remarks.

In his welcome address, HM King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden noted that the last time Sweden hosted the event was in 1929, when “my great-grandfather Gustaf V was King. Back then, the forest played a crucial role in fostering stability in rural areas, providing both economic and social security.”

The most recent forest conference was held in Brazil in 2019. The difference between boreal forests and the Amazon might seem big. But this week, many examples of similarities as well as common challenges will be discussed too. To manage forests sustainably, whether they are in boreal forests or the South, we need certain basics in place to create resilient systems. These include stable institutions like government agencies, robust markets, and solid research to help us make smart decisions supporting a greener future, HM King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden said.

HM The King also highlighted the role that conferences like IUFRO 2024 play in “building bridges between continents and people, addressing common challenges, and showcasing forest solutions for a sustainable society.”

This includes the role of “forests as carbon sinks in helping to combat climate change. Protecting and sustainably managing forests is essential to maintaining their role in capturing carbon.”

Sweden has a proud tradition of sustainable forestry. This includes family forestry, where families manage forest lands over generations. It also involves the unique right of public access, allowing everyone to enjoy the forests. Our hunting and wildlife management practices help keep ecosystems balanced and diverse, which is crucial for protecting nature. Sweden has also created a sustainable countryside through long-term ownership and collaboration among forestry stakeholders, industry, and local communities. This has created stable markets for forest products and services, making forestry a vital part of our economy, HM King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden said.

The Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren, echoed the sentiments of HM The King while emphasizing the importance of both regional and global cooperation in forestry research while Maria Knutson Wedel, Vice-Chancellor, SLU emphasized the importance of IUFRO for academia, students, and researchers.

Tree-planting ceremony

Founded in 1892, the first IUFRO congress took place in 1893. Since then, congresses have usually been held every five years in different parts of the world.

A tree-planting ceremony was held on June 23, 2024, at the Skansen Open-Air Museum in Stockholm. This event, a longstanding tradition within IUFRO, symbolized resilience and the enduring connection between generations and continents.

It also provides a platform for the host countries to showcase their regional culture and traditions related to forest and tree usage.

We applaud Skansen for their unwavering commitment to forests. This tree-planting ceremony not only celebrated our rich forestry heritage but also paved the way for future generations to appreciate and protect our natural environment. The Skansen venue was the perfect setting for this ceremony, commented Fredrik Ingemarson, Chair of the Organizing Committee.

Oaks and pines

Two oaks and two pines were ceremoniously planted, representing the rich forest culture of northern Europe.

The event featured a renowned choir “Allmänna sången” performance and included speeches from dignitaries representing the City of Stockholm, IUFRO, and Sweden.

We are proud to host this historic event. It not only highlights the importance of our forests but also strengthens the bond between diverse cultures and communities, said Yvonne Nordlind, CMO of Skansen expressing her pride in hosting the event.

The 27^th IUFRO World Congress is set to take place in Nairobi, Kenya.

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Addressing this issue, a research team at North Carolina State University investigated a potential new textile recycling method.

Led by Dr Sonja Salmon, and funded by EREF, the research has been presented in a Grant Report entitled “Converting Textile Waste to Pumpable Slurry for Biogas Production“.

Deploy enzymatic hydrolysis

By focusing on the transformation of common textile materials like cotton and polyester/cotton blends into biogas through enzymatic hydrolysis, the research delves into a novel approach that not only aims to mitigate the environmental impact of textile waste but also contributes to the generation of sustainable energy resources.

Enzymatic hydrolysis is a biochemical process where enzymes are used to break down complex molecules into simpler ones through the addition of water.

In the context of this research, enzymatic hydrolysis specifically refers to the use of cellulase enzymes to decompose the cellulose in cotton textiles.

By employing enzymatic hydrolysis, the research team successfully separated cotton fibers from polyester fibers and created a pumpable slurry that could be used for biogas production.

Dr. Salmon’s team focused on various cotton and cotton blend textiles, which were processed in different forms to simulate real-world waste.

Effect of dyes and fabric treatments

One of the primary variables studied was the effect of different dye treatments on the hydrolysis process and how they affected the breakdown of cotton fibers into pumpable slurries.

Cotton fabrics were treated with different types of fiber-reactive dyes known for their complex molecular structures that can hinder enzyme activity.

In addition to dyes, the team also explored the impact of other fabric treatments, particularly durable press finishes.

These finishes, commonly applied to textiles to reduce wrinkling, involve the use of cross-linking agents that can significantly impede the enzymatic degradation of cotton.

They assessed the effectiveness of enzymatic hydrolysis in breaking down these chemically treated fibers and explored various pre-treatment methods to enhance the process.

The outcomes demonstrated the necessity of adapting the enzymatic treatment to accommodate the chemical complexity introduced by dyes and finishes.

Several promising findings

The project yielded several promising findings, most notably the capability to convert both dyed and undyed cotton fabrics into slurries under mild conditions (pH 5 and 50°C) within 24 hours.

When tested in lab-scale anaerobic digesters by co-PI Dr. Doug Call’s team, the cotton fiber fragment (CFF) slurries did ultimately produce biogas, although methane production was lower than expected potentially due to a non-acclimated microbial sludge consortium.

This suggests that the method could be viable with more research.

Researchers were able to cleanly separate cotton from cotton blends and synthetic fibers, thereby isolating pure synthetic fibers suitable for recycling.

This not only underscores the efficiency of the process but also its potential to contribute to sustainable textile management.

Another important aspect of the research, led by co-PI Dr Nelson Vinueza, was understanding the fate of dyes and chemicals in the process. The findings indicated that increased enzyme treatments led to higher concentrations of dye-related compounds in the slurries.

However, these levels did not significantly impact the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion process, suggesting the presence of dyes and chemicals will not impede the bioconversion process.

While the initial project’s value proposition focused on biogas generation, a preliminary feasibility assessment suggested that savings from diverting waste from landfills, combined with the value of recycled synthetic fibers or potential value from CFFs, could offer a commercially favorable opportunity for the enzymatic fiber separation process.

Complex problems like textile waste require creative and multidisciplinary solutions. We appreciate the support by EREF that allowed us to form such a team and make tangible progress on new ways to approach solid waste management, said Dr Sonja Salmon.

The implications of this research suggest that future PCTW could be managed by using enzymes to degrade organic fabrics, and the products of that process could be used to generate energy or other manufacturing inputs, and then recover the synthetic fibers for recycling.

This could represent a positive step toward both managing textile waste and generating renewable energy.

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With this experiment, Géométhane, which currently stores fossil gas in salt caverns, seeks to test injecting hydrogen into these same caverns, to study how hydrogen behaves.

The hydrogen was injected into the natural gas system to reach a storage well and will remain there for observation for several weeks, before being extracted and analyzed.

Help balance energy production and usage

Storing hydrogen in salt caverns will contribute to local energy independence by helping to balance the production and use of different energy sources – hydrogen can be extracted on demand to cope with peaks in consumption, or re-injected to store surplus energy supplied by nuclear power stations and renewable energy at times when energy use is lower.

We are proud to be contributing to this trial, which demonstrates the extent of the possibilities offered by hydrogen, not only in terms of decarbonizing mobility and industry but also in terms of energy storage, which is a necessary component of our energy independence. As more and more sites begin to produce green hydrogen, the question of storage will become central. The use of salt caverns is a serious option being considered all over Europe. This trial will provide initial feedback on the subject, commented Matthieu Guesné, Founder and CEO of Lhyfe.

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It is made from renewable ethanol produced by a method called Conventional Alcohol Deoxygenation and Oligomerization (CADO), a technology invented at ORNL.

Energy-dense renewable hydrocarbon

Upgrading ethanol using CADO resulted in a more energy-dense hydrocarbon product that can be blended at higher quantities without changes to car and truck engines.

According to Vertimass, the use of the blendstock could eliminate 560 billion pounds of new carbon dioxide (CO₂) accumulation in the atmosphere as it replaces a portion of the fossil fuels required for conventional gasoline production.

After licensing the technology, Vertimass collaborated with ORNL, DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), and others, to optimize CADO, test it under varying conditions, analyze the techno-economic and life-cycle sustainability of the process, and develop data for commercialization.

Further technology development

Vertimass is also refining the technology to produce renewable propane and chemical feedstocks for other products like plastics, nylon, paints, and detergents.

The company has entered into an agreement with UGI Corporation to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and bioLPG, with a goal of 20 production plants over 15 years.

The project was supported by the BioEnergy Science Center at ORNL, which is funded by BETO, the DOE Biological and Environmental Research program, and ORNL’s Laboratory-Directed Research and Development program.

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Drax Group, the world’s second-largest wood pellet producer, has pellet production in both the US South and Canada.

The company has a longstanding relationship with NBP which transports its pellets to Japan.

These pellets are currently shipped through smaller handysize bulkers, which, due to the limited size of their fuel tanks, have proved challenging to switch to lower emission fuels, such as ammonia.

Through the MoU, signed mid-May at the British Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, the companies will initially start research to develop the new shipping technology, an on-board biomass energy plant required to power a bioship.

Drax aims to be carbon-negative by 2030 and decarbonising our supply chain is critical to reaching this goal. This MoU is an important step in the development of the technology required to power and launch the world’s first bioship, which will support Drax’s decarbonization goals but could also drive the innovation needed to transform shipping and cut carbon emissions and fuel costs in global supply chains. I’m looking forward to working with our partners NYK, NBP, and TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING, to explore the potential this technology has to support global efforts to address the climate crisis. We are also exploring the role of other renewable technologies in delivering greener shipping, said Paul Sheffield, Chief Commercial Officer at Drax Group.

The four companies are exploring how other renewable technologies could be used to reduce emissions and fuel costs of shipping biomass.

This initiative is part of NYK’s long-term target of net-zero emission of greenhouse gas by 2050 for the NYK Group’s oceangoing businesses. The NYK Group is committed to providing its expertise in low-carbon and decarbonized maritime transportation as per this MoU and will utilize the knowledge gained in this research and development to promote initiatives related to various energy-saving technologies. Through our strength in high-quality transportation services, we will continue to co-create value for society with our partners Drax and TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING, said Shinichi Yanagisawa, Executive Officer of NYK Line.

Explore onboard biomass gasification

The onboard energy plant would use a gasifier to gasify pellets at high temperatures and create and contain gases including carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane (synthesis gas – syngas).

The syngas would then be used to power a generator which could propel the bioship and provide a proportion of its internal power.

The installation of a biomass energy plant could see up to a 22 percent reduction in well-to-wake carbon emissions in bioships when compared to using fossil fuels.

TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING focuses on reducing the global environmental impact in the design and construction of our vessels and has declared to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To realize this aim and recognize ourselves as a frontrunner of an environmentally friendly yard, we are driving to develop and construct new fueled vessels that combine environmental impact reduction and economic efficiency. We are very proud to be involved in this project, which aims to achieve the world’s first maritime transport using wood biomass energy, in collaboration with NYK Line, NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers, and Drax Group. This project is an attempt to implement ‘Creating the future, today’ as the TSUNEISHI Group slogan, and TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING will contribute by demonstrating our function as a shipbuilder for the project members, said Kenichi Shibata, Managing Executive Officer of TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING.

If this development is successful, the companies will jointly study the possibility of building a bioship by the end of 2029.

Drax is a leading renewable energy company, and we are honored to be a part of this symbolic project to use its main products as environmentally friendly fuel in the transportation of the products themselves. After a study of the biomass fuel plant and gasifier system, Drax, TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING, NYK, and NBP have concluded an MoU for the feasibility study on the development of the world’s first wood pellets-powered Super Low-Emission Vessel. This is an important step towards a decarbonized society for all concerned parties. NBP will continue to contribute to global decarbonization together with its customers and partners, ended Masashi Suda, President of NBP.

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Compared to a reference Jet A-1 fuel, the number of ice crystals per mass of unblended SAF consumed was reduced by 56 percent, which could significantly reduce the climate-warming effect of condensation trails – also known as contrails.

The results from the ECLIF3 flight experiments show how the use of 100 percent SAF can help us to significantly reduce the climate-warming effect of contrails, in addition to lowering the carbon footprint of flying – a clear sign of the effectiveness of SAF towards climate-compatible aviation, said Markus Fischer, DLR Divisional Board Member for Aeronautics.

Global climate model simulations, conducted by DLR, were used to estimate the change in the energy balance in Earth’s atmosphere – also known as radiative forcing – by contrails.

The impact of contrails was estimated to be reduced by at least 26 percent with 100 percent SAF use compared to the Jet A-1 reference fuel used in ECLIF3.

We already knew that sustainable aviation fuels could reduce the carbon footprint of aviation. Thanks to the ECLIF studies, we now know that SAF can also reduce soot emissions and ice particulate formation that we see as contrails. This is a very encouraging result, based on science, which shows just how crucial sustainable aviation fuels are for decarbonizing air transport, said Mark Bentall, Head of Research & Technology Programme, Airbus.

These results show that using SAF could significantly reduce the climate impact of aviation in the short term by reducing non-carbon dioxide (CO₂) effects such as contrails, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as CO₂ emissions over the life cycle of SAF when compared to using fossil jet fuel.

Using SAF at high blend ratios will form a key part of aviation’s journey to net-zero CO₂. Not only did these tests show that our Trent XWB-84 engine can run on 100 percent SAF, but the results also show how additional value can be unlocked from SAF through reducing non-CO₂ climate effects as well, said Alan Newby, Rolls-Royce, Director Research & Technology.

The research team has reported its findings in a research paper “Powering aircraft with 100 % sustainable aviation fuel reduces ice crystals in contrails” published in the Copernicus journal Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics (ACP) as part of a peer-reviewed scientific process and provides the first in-situ evidence of the climate impact mitigation potential of using pure, 100 percent SAF on a commercial aircraft.

The ECLIF3 program, which includes researchers from the National Research Council of Canada (NRCan) and the University of Manchester, UK conducted in-flight emissions tests and associated ground tests in 2021.

SAF is widely recognized as a crucial solution to mitigate the climate impact of the aviation sector, both in the short term as well as the longer term. The results from the ECLIF3 study confirm a significantly lower climate impact when using 100 percent SAF due to the lack of aromatics in Neste’s SAF used, and provide additional scientific data to support the use of SAF at higher concentrations than currently approved 50 percent, ended Alexander Kueper, VP Renewable Aviation Business at Neste.

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Guillaume Boissonnet, Research Director at the CEA’s I-Tésé Institute, is this year’s General Chairman and the CEA will be well represented alongside IFPEN, INRAE, CIRAD, CNRS, the academic world, ADEME, FranceAgriMer and the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment.

Exploring the full potential

In Europe and France, bioenergy is the most widely used renewable energy making a significant contribution to the defossilization of the energy mix.

Although biomass is mainly used to produce heat and electricity, it has great potential for other applications such as biofuels, biogas, and biomolecules for the chemicals and materials industries.

European policies and those of several countries, including France, show that this resource will play an important role, both in terms of its uses and its carbon storage properties: food, materials, molecules, energy, and negative emissions.

It is also an ambitious component of the National Low Carbon Strategy and the National Biomass Mobilisation Strategy. It is also the subject of several national programs and public-private partnerships for energy transition.

Packed program

The EUBCE 2024 conference program, coordinated by the European Commission Joint Research Center (JRC) with the support of the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking, with nearly 800 presentations, will be an opportunity to discover the latest scientific, technological, and commercial trends, and to review the latest research and developments from institutes, universities and companies around the world, as well as energy policies.

It will be an opportunity to answer the questions that arise now that a large number of technologies have reached technological maturity and the feasibility of industrial processes has been demonstrated:

• How to develop the best use of biomass in sectors that need to be defossilized but are difficult or impossible to decarbonize?
• How can we harmonize the approaches and interests of the various research, industrial, and economic communities at the European and national levels?
• What legislation(s) should be in place to ensure that increased use respects ecosystems and biodiversity and addresses Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) issues?

The opening morning of the conference will take place on the morning of June 24, 2024, and will be attended by scientific, industrial, and institutional leaders.

High-level representatives from the International Energy Agency (IEA), ADEME, the General Secretariat for Ecological Planning, the General Directorate for Energy and Climate, and the Ministries of Research, Agriculture, Environment and Economy will be present.

Representatives of the European Commission Joint Research Center, the European Parliament, and the Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) region will also be present.

The welcome ceremony and speeches by the PACA Region, the City of Marseille, and the host, the University of Aix-Marseille will take place late on June 24, 2024, in Parc Chanot.

It’s time to make it clear that biomass has a key role to play in Europe’s energy future while preserving its role as a carbon store and sink. It’s time to show that biomass can be advantageously combined with other decarbonized energy sources and vectors such as electricity, heat, and hydrogen. It’s time to show that the circular carbon economy is a concept for the future, applicable to both biomass and CO₂, said Guillaume Boissonnet, General Chairman of the Conference, and Research Director at CEA.

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All three companies – Mazda, Subaru, and Toyota – have always been driven by a deep understanding of their customers’ diverse lifestyles.

This understanding has led the three companies to develop signature engines that not only represent their respective brands but also cater to their customer’s unique needs and preferences.

“Carbon as the enemy”

In pursuing decarbonization, all three companies have focused on “carbon as the enemy” and sought to expand options by “acting with passion and purpose.”

This mindset has driven efforts to ensure a future for the supply chains and jobs that underpin engines.

Under the extreme conditions of racing, the companies have worked to broaden powertrain and fuel options by competing with vehicles running on liquid hydrogen and carbon-neutral fuels.

This process has clarified the role that future engines will play in achieving carbon neutrality.

With the next generation of engines, the three companies will seek to not only improve standalone engine performance but also optimize their integration with electric drive units, harnessing the advantages of each.

We will continue to offer customers exciting cars by honing internal combustion engines for the electrification era and expanding the multi-pathway possibilities for achieving carbon neutrality. Given the rotary engine’s compatibility with electrification and carbon-neutral fuels, Mazda will continue to develop the technology through co-creation and competition to ensure it can contribute broadly to society, said Masahiro Moro, Representative Director, President and CEO of Mazda Motor Corporation.

While being highly efficient and powerful, the new engines will also revolutionize vehicle packaging by being more compact than existing models.

Smaller engines will allow for even lower hoods, improving design possibilities and aerodynamic performance while contributing to better fuel efficiency.

The development will also emphasize compliance with increasingly strict emissions regulations.

Achieving a carbon-neutral society is a challenge that must be undertaken by all of Japan’s industries and society as a whole. As we continue to refine electrification technology, we will also enhance our horizontally opposed engines with an aim to use carbon-neutral fuels in the future. Moving forward, the three companies sharing the same aspiration will continue to advance the pursuit of sustainable excellence in Japanese car manufacturing, said Atsushi Osaki, Representative Director, President, and CEO of Subaru Corporation.

Multi-pathway approach

At the same time, the new engines will be made carbon neutral by shifting away from fossil fuels and offering compatibility with various alternatives, including electro-fuels (eFuel or synthetic fuel), biofuels, and liquid hydrogen.

In doing so, these engines will contribute to the broader adoption of carbon-neutral fuels.

Even as Mazda, Subaru, Toyota, and Mazda compete in the product arena with unique engines and cars, the companies have a shared dedication to achieving carbon neutrality through a multi-pathway approach.

Together with like-minded partners similarly skilled and passionate about engines, they will work to create the future of Japan’s auto industry.

In order to provide our customers with diverse options to achieve carbon neutrality, it is necessary to take on the challenge of evolving engines that are in tune with the energy environment of the future. The three companies, which share the same aspirations, will refine engine technologies through friendly competition, said Koji Sato, President, Member of the Board of Directors, and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation.

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Grassland valorisation and emerging grass-based value chains represent a major strategic opportunity for the EU bioeconomy. By improving the efficiency and circularity of our vast European grasslands, we can produce not only forage but also food, high-value materials and energy. Green biorefineries are a key enabling technology which can help rural grassland farmers address challenges such as income diversification, accessing sustainable inputs for their farms, displacing unsustainable products and contributing to our climate and sustainability targets. Rural BioReFarmeries builds on the latest research of various EU countries to optimise green biorefineries by overcoming existing limitations and implementing these business models on the ground with farmers, cooperatives and other industries across multiple sectors, said Project Coordinator James Gaffey, Co-director, CircBio, MTU.

Rural BioReFarmeries brings together 19 partners from eight countries including Munster Technological University (MTU), Aarhus University, Carbery Group, University College Dublin (UCD), Kilpatrick Innovation (Trading as NuaFund), Carbon Harvesters, Barryroe Cooperative, Farm B, Wageningen University, Carhue Piggeries, SEGES Innovation, PaperFoam BV, Alganed BV, Poznan University of Technology, Agricultural University of Plovdiv, Unitelma Sapienza of Rome, MTU Australo Alpha Lab, University of Galway and Trinity College Dublin.

The Rural BioReFarmeries Team at MTU comprises James Gaffey and Helena McMahon of CircBio, and Joanna Tierney of BioPhotonics Group at Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre.

Farms and farmers are central to the bioeconomy. Biorefining on farms will be a critical part of the circular bioeconomy operational systems where both food and non-food products will be produced. On-farm biorefining will help the integration of farmers into new value chains allowing them to diversify their business and promote greater wealth creation for them. Rural BioReFameries is the cooperation of researchers and stakeholders in the value chain to help bring this vision closer to reality, said Kevin O’Connor, Director of BiOrbic Centre at University College Dublin.

Decentralized approach

Rural BioReFarmeries will test a decentralized approach, in which the biorefining activity begins on the farm, combining the smart production and harvesting of sustainable local biomass with decentralized processing close to the farm, and the subsequent transfer centrally of biorefinery co-products to relevant downstream sites for further product development.

To catch the environmental benefits and potential of new green biorefineries, we need to make it a commercial success and implement it at scale. The commercial implementation of green biorefineries is challenged with difficult and expensive logistics as well as limited product revenues. In Rural BioReFarmeries we will develop smart biomass supply chains combining decentral and central processing, lowering total logistic costs while carefully assessing consequences and potentials for product yields and quality. On the product side, we will increase the revenue by establishing new cascading value chains including simultaneous production of both human and animal-grade protein, flavours, biomaterials, fertilisers, and energy. All this is demonstrated close to a commercial scale. We therefore have great expectations for the impact of this new large CBE JU project, said Morten Ambye-Jensen, Head of CBIO Centre at Aarhus University.

The project will work intensively with primary producer partners on the ground, including within the dairy and pig sectors, while also linking these farms to upstream industries (e.g., food and flavour, animal nutrition, packaging, microalgae, fertilisers) creating new value chains and replicable business models and training activities which will be transferred across rural regions of Europe.

We are delighted to be part of this initiative through our flagship project Farm Zero C – which is creating a model for climate-neutral dairy farming. Both initiatives seek to create sustainable futures for Irish and European farmers using scientific advances. A key focus of the Rural BioReFarmeries project is providing farmers with a circular bioeconomy business model that also helps address many of the sustainability challenges they face. In this sense, the project addresses many issues such as feedstock sustainability, sustainable protein alternatives, displacement of fossil-based products, and circular use of process residues, said Enda Buckley, Director of Sustainability at Carbery Group.

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To take concrete actions, the EU has launched the REPowerEU Plan, a part of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

VTT has just launched three strategic research openings and a postdoc program as part of the implementation of the REPowerEU chapter of Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Clean energy R&D

One of the objectives of Finland is to support research and development activities focusing on clean energy solutions.

VTT’s first research opening focuses on electricity storage and accelerating clean energy production, the second on improving industrial energy efficiency and the third on renewable hydrogen economy solutions.

VTT has been granted EUR 22.8 million to develop clean energy solutions.

The research projects of EUR 17.8 million just launched will not only aim at significant reductions of emissions and improvements in energy efficiency but also create opportunities for new types of business and business models. The aim is to develop solutions for both domestic use and export, said Jussi Manninen, EVP of VTT’s Carbon Neutral Solutions business area.

Increasing the production of clean energy goes hand in hand with a fundamental change in heavy industry. Improvements are required in both energy and material efficiency and decarbonization of processes.

This is why the research themes are cross-cutting and cover value chains.

For example, carbon capture and industrial reuse are linked to the hydrogen economy, which in turn is linked to energy storage. The production of raw materials for renewable plastics or fuels requires hydrogen with carbon. Hydrogen, on the other hand, can be produced by electricity when there’s an excess of renewable energy production, remarked Tua Huomo, EVP of VTT’s Sustainable Products and Services business area.

Postdoc program recruits top experts

VTT has already carried out pioneering research and development to promote renewable energy solutions.

The aim is now to increase expertise and develop solutions to address bottlenecks related to the green transition, such as the adequacy of electricity storage capacity, availability of critical materials, and safety challenges in the use of hydrogen.

This requires new expertise and is why the research openings include an extensive postdoc program.

The program is used to hire top experts from both Finland and abroad, and EUR 3.4 million has been reserved for this purpose.

With REPowerEU funding, we deepen our cutting-edge energy research and develop solutions that accelerate the commercial adoption of key clean energy technologies in Finland. The postdoc program also helps us to attract top foreign researchers to Finland, Jussi Manninen said.

Investing in clean energy pilot infrastructure

VTT invests in clean energy pilot infrastructure and builds process development facilities in Bioruukki as well as research and product development services.

The EUR 5 million granted from the REPowerEU envelope to extend the pilot infrastructure is part of VTT’s total investment (EUR 21.3 million) in Bioruukki.

The REPowerEU funding covers part of the hydrogen and emission-free transport infrastructure and research equipment.

The clean energy testing and piloting infrastructure will be used for research and development projects important to the industry, such as hydrogen technologies, reducing industrial carbon footprint, transport, and energy storage.

The three strategic research openings launched are electricity storage and accelerating clean energy, industrial energy efficiency, and low-carbonization, as well as renewable hydrogen economy.

The postdoc program and the development of the Bioruukki piloting infrastructure are part of the additional chapter of the REPowerEU investment and reform program for sustainable growth in Finland prepared by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, for which Finland has reserved EUR 127 million in total.

From the RePowerEU funding allocated to research institutes, a total of EUR 22.8 million has been allocated to VTT’s research openings. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment acts as the ministry responsible for the project towards the European Commission.

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