We’re contributing to the energy efficiency of European industry

The overall objective of the project named INCUBIS is: To help decarbonise European industry by 2050 by unlocking the market potential of energy symbiosis through developing and deploying Energy Symbiosis Incubators across Europe thus enabling the utilization of waste energy from Energy Intensive Industries.

Five countries are engaged

Research groups from five countries are engaged in the project. 

- I think this it´s an important project which can have a significant impact at the regional level and by being transferrable to our European and Nordic networks, says Christophe Pinck in Eyde Cluster.

Better energy use 

Together with Spanish, British, Polish, Switzerland and German research groups, Eyde Cluster has been engaged the project over a 3 years period. The focus is on how companies can better recycle waste energy and make new business opportunities. INCUBIS is coordinated by the Spanish SME Iris Innovation and includes amongst others, the German Covestro, both are SPIRE partners of EYDE.

The project will promote a method for better energy use and be a door opener for Eyde Innovation Centre for more EU projects. Eyde will be one of five pilot cases.

- Important platforms 

In the project, Eyde Cluster contribution based upon the Roadmap for process industry and the project Industriell symbiose which had its kick off in April 2018.

Pinck points out the importance of having platforms and projects as door openers to other research environments and companies across the borders and industry. 

- Without these platforms for relation building, it would have been even more difficult to engage in such a project. It´s time consuming to build up relations and to get known, says Pinck, who is engaged in Eyde Cluster to develop international connections.

Relations are the foundation

Eyde is also engaged in the EU platforms EIT Raw Materials and SPIRE, which are important arenas to learn more about the others areas of commitments, challenges and access to insights and networks of competence. 

When new calls are coming, it´s important to be there in time to allow for good preparations and meet the deadline. If you know about other actual environments to co-operate with, the preparations for the appliance can be done more efficient and powerful. The relations are the basis to reach the goal.  

Establishing industry parks 

The project lasts until May 2023. Pinck hopes they will develop a method for energy symbiosis, and that the local governments will be more aware of where it´s favorable to establish industry and other business areas who can recycle waste energy from these in the future.  

-Eramet and Stolt Fishfarms in Kvinesdal are a good example. Here the fish farm was built next door to Eramet’s smelter, they get waste energy from Eramet to heat the fish pools where they have the turbot, reducing their energy bills. In other words, this location had a very concrete attractiveness to Stolt.

Synergies with Agder Circular Hub 

The EU project Incubis has significant synergies with Eyde Cluster works in the Agder region, through their development of an Agder Circular Hub,

which will be a regional platform focused on facilitate new industrial activities connected to our industry at Southern Norway, f ex based on accessible energy. Here there are more places which it´s possible to concentrate the industry even more to get a better usage of the energy.  

Mapping the waste energy 

- As one of five European pilots, our main task will be to anchor the project to the region, within the Eyde Cluster and also outside of the cluster. Furthermore, we will create a regional overview over what kind of energy waste is available, says Pinck, updating an overview from 2012 is work in progress.

- The business opportunities are often in other sectors than in the process industry itself. That´s why we need an ecosystem approach for this where we can engage new stakeholders into the process. Here the important factors are trust, dialogue, time, space and experience, says Pinck about the project Incubis.

Background for the project

EU is currently responsible for 11.6% of the world's final energy consumption and for 10.8% of the world's final CO2 emissions with Industry accounting for 25.9% of the energy consumption and for 47.7% of the final CO2 emissions.

Energy in industry is mostly used for process heating and cooling, which represents about 63% of the total industry final energy demand. A rather significant theoretical waste heat potential, accounting to 370.41 TWh (Waste heat) per year, has been estimated in the European industry. Energy Intensive Industries (EEIs) are unsurprisingly the top heat emitters.

On the other hand, it is estimated that at least 50-70% of EU households could be served more cheaply by thermal infrastructure through district heating networks. District heating currently provides only 8% of the heating demand in Europe. There is therefore an opportunity for increasing energy efficiency growth rates and contributing significantly to the decarbonization targets of European Industry by using the large underutilized energy resources found throughout European EEIs to substitute conventional heat sources in the European industrial and urban sector.

The overall objective of INCUBIS is: To help decarbonise European industry by 2050 by unlocking the market potential of ENERGY SYMBIOSIS through developing and deploying five (5) Energy Symbiosis Incubators across Europe, complemented by a digital Cloud Incubator, thus enabling the utilization of waste energy from EEIs. In doing so INCUBIS will achieve total energy savings of 200GWh/year, trigger €6 Million of investments in sustainable energy, generate benefits of €4 Million, achieve GHG reduction of 55k tCO2-eq/year, and convince 1450 business over 40 industrial parks to commit to energy cooperation.