October 21, 2020 - Brussels - From 1st to 5th September 2020, the H2020 funded project RETROFFED took part in the 15th SDEWES online conference, that this year should have been held in Cologne, Germany. The conference brought together around 300 scientists, researchers, and experts in the field of sustainable development from 55 countries. More than 300 presentations were held in the virtual conference platform, including seven special sessions, four invited lectures, and a panel on climate neutrality in cities.
In this context, the RETROFEED project was presented in a special session about “Improving manufacturing processes by fostering sustainable innovation strategies” by the project coordinator Ana González.
The authors of scientific paper, Ana González, Martina del Cerro, Jorge Barrio, Andrea Hernández and Diego Redondo, all from the CIRCE Foundation, outlining the main objectives of the project and its overall concept, showcased the retrofitting technology solution process and highlighting how the RETROFFED project can boost the resource and energy-intensive industries (REIIs). The project directly addresses the REIIs, which require large quantities of material and energy inputs to meet the demands of their production processes. To reduce the environmental footprint resulting from these operations, RETROFEED targets at modifying the core process equipment in REIIs to boost energy and material utilisation efficiencies, reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and replace traditional feedstock with biobased and recycled alternatives.
Moreover, the session explored the effects and results of the retrofitting technology for each of the main targeted end-user and goals of the following core equipment: frits furnace, rotary kiln, melting furnace, electrical arc furnace, phosphorous reactor. As a result of the synergies and complementarities found among the different users, the expected results of the project will make the industry production more flexible and resource-efficient as well as facilitate the EU’s industries the transition to more sustainable and responsible production practices incorporating bio-based and circular economy concepts.
RETROFEED Consortium Partners
The consortium is multidisciplinary, well-balanced and gathers expertise from 10 different European countries, therefore satisfying the ability to guarantee wide dissemination of the project outcomes as well as to maximise the opportunities for replication of the solutions developed. Project partners boast, in fact, years of experience in European projects and the development of innovative industrial solutions.
The consortium consists of 4 RTD performers (Coordinator: CIRCE Foundation; AIMEN Technology Centre; Instytut Energetyki; Rina Consulting – Centro Sviluppo Materiali) that will focus on the characterisation and validation of the demo-sites and the development of the preliminary design of some solutions; 4 engineering and technology companies (Optit Srl; Odys Srl; Sistem Teknik Endüstriyel Fırınlar LTD; HTT ENGINEERING, Spol. S.r.o) in charge of the manufacturing and implementation of the RETROFEED solutions making use of the developments of the RTDs; 6 end-users (Torrecid SA; Secil-Companhia Geral de Cal e Cimento SA; Asas Aluminyum Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS; Ferriere Nord Spa; Fertiberia SA; Silcotub SA) that will act as data providers and support the development of the process by integrating the solutions developed in their facilities; and 4 horizontal partners (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute; Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes ASBL; Geonardo Environmental Technologies Ltd; Rina Consulting Spa) working in the area of results validation, project business exploitations, dissemination and knowledge transfer.
For more information
Dr Ana Isabel González Espinosa (CIRCE – Project Coordinator) aigonzalez ( @ ) fcirce dot es
Dr Diego Redondo Taberner (CIRCE – Project Manager) dredondo ( @ ) fcirce dot es
Ms Marianna Santavenere (EEIP – Communication and Dissemination) marianna.santavenere ( @ ) ee-ip dot org
Additional resources
Project website www.retrofeed.eu
Twitter ( @ ) retrofeedEU
LinkedIn RETROFEED EU project
Disclaimer
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 869939. The responsibility for the information and the views set out in this press release lies entirely with the authors. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Contact Information
Marianna Santavenere
Eeip - Energy Efficiency In Industrial Processes
