Insights

New EMFF project “BIOGEARS” launched to develop biobased ropes for aquaculture

BIOGEARS is a new innovative project funded by the European Union under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund that is set to develop biobased gear solutions for the creation of an eco-friendly offshore aquaculture sector using a multitrophic approach and new biobased value chains. The project aims to provide the European aquaculture sector with innovative products and a value chain to challenge the existing gap of biobased ropes for offshore aquaculture, nowadays manufactured with 100% non-recyclable plastics. BIOGEARS will foster an eco-friendly aquaculture industry with the results of the project creating a biobased value chain under the EU Bioeconomy Strategy framework. BIOGEARS uses an Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) approach by integrating seaweed with mussel production, which aims to increase aquaculture marketable products. The current use of biobased plastic (produced from biomass renewable resources that can biodegrade in different environmental conditions) only represents about one percent of the 335 million tonnes of plastic produced annually. The BIOGEARS project will develop biobased ropes that though durable and fit-for-purpose, still biodegrade in a shorter time and can be sustainably managed by local composting facilities. The project therefore follows the principles of the EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy and supports forthcoming policy on marine litter and plastic use. It is important to balance the functionality and biodegradation behaviour of the biobased ropes in order to develop the right biobased formulation for the aquaculture sector. The research, prototype development and pilot tests taking place in BIOGEARS will aim to reduce the current technological gaps and extend the current potential use in the sector. As part of the project a BLUE LAB will be created to enhance cooperation between all partners of the project and enable them to track innovation related to the application of their new biobased materials to develop aquaculture ropes. It will be supported by knowledge transfer activities throughout the project to ensure that results and new biobased products will reach relevant end users and transform the aquaculture sector. At the kick-off meeting on 11 December 2019 in AZTI offices in Derio, Spain, we heard from the Project Coordinator Leire Arantzamendi that BIOGEARS hopes to boost more eco-friendly mussel and seaweed production. She said “We will generate three rope prototypes with a highly reduced carbon footprint along the whole value chain. The aim is to develop these as marketable products, whilst minimising the potential of aquaculture to generate marine litter or release plastic to the sea.” As the only project within the EMFF-BlueEconomy-2018 (Blue Labs) call that has a geographical focus on the Atlantic Basin BIOGEARS therefore represents an exciting research area for this region. More information coming soon on www.biogears.eu Follow us on twitter: @BIOGEARS_EU Or contact Project coordinator Leire Arantzamendi (larantzamendi@azti.es), or Communications Officer Jane Maher (info@erinn.eu) The BIOGEARS project will run from 2019 – 2022 with an EU contribution of €945,000, funded by the European Union EASME EMFF programme under the EMFF-0102018 Blue Labs call. ERINN Innovation are leading WP7: Dissemination, communication and outreach activities, and are involved in WP6: Measures for the transferability of project activities and results.

New research project to drive decarbonisation of energy usage in Europe’s buildings

Decarbonising energy consumption in buildings is essential to achieve EU energy and climate goals. While the use of renewable electricity in buildings has grown steadily the uptake of renewable energy solutions for heating and cooling has been slower. The EU Horizon 2020 funded RES4BUILD project will address this challenge by developing integrated renewable energy-based solutions that are tailored to the needs and requirements of users and installers. The consortium’s multidisciplinary experts will work to improve the performance and reduce the cost of the most innovative components of the RES4BUILD solutions – by integrating PV/T collectors, magnetocaloric heat pumps, and a multi-source heat pump which are optimised through advanced control for increased performance in building systems. The various RES4BUILD solutions will be tested and validated in different climates with a thorough life cycle assessment, paving the way for bringing the developed solutions to the market and ensuring wide adoption. Much progress was already shown at the second RES4BUILD General Assembly which took place from 20-21 November 2019 in Vries, the Netherlands. Project partners JIN organised the meeting at one of the case study sites operated by Visio, who provide housing and day-care to clients with visual impairments. The project will feature a co-design process with stakeholders such as Visio. This will enable developers, service providers and end-users to ensure that resulting integrated energy systems meet the needs of the clients. Further case studies will take place across a range of suitable sites across Poland and the Netherlands, including multi-family buildings, primary schools, industrial buildings, home-owner associations and a shopping mall. The project aims to deliver solutions that reduce our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity, heating and cooling in buildings. Through its work, RES4BUILD will devise a best practice approach to renovations of energy systems in a more integrated and systematic way, resulting in more efficient operation and optimised interaction with the grid, and thus a lower energy bill for European consumers. The co-design approach will assist with social inclusion and ultimately contribute to an accelerated energy transition. RES4BUILD have joined forces with eight other H2020 projects working in the field of renewable energy technologies in buildings and have formed a cluster called “Building Energy Horizons” to collectively benefit from collaborative activities at technical and dissemination levels. For more information on the BE Horizons cluster, please see: www.res4build.eu/about/be-horizons. For more information on the project, please visit the newly launched project website at www.res4build.eu or follow the project on Twitter @RES4BUILD. The RES4BUILD project has received funding from the European union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 814865. RES4BUILD – “Renewables for clean energy buildings in a future power system” will run for four years, from 2019 to 2023. ERINN Innovation are leading WP8: Communication, Dissemination, Knowledge Transfer and Exploitation.