Projects List

A closed-loop Phosphorus (P) management is a main challenge concerning the food value chain. P is considered a critical raw material since its mines are scarce and finite. Large resource streams, typically considered as waste and rich of P (wastewater, sludge and manure), are produced by food industry and can reach the environment, where P is lost. These ‘waste’ streams constitute secondary sources of P, which could be recovered and reused to shift to a circular economy. Several technologies are available on the market to recover P in form of struvite, CaP or organic fertilizers, having a commercial value. Limitations for these solutions are provided by regulatory limits and a poor cost effectiveness.
The increasing demand and price, and the scarce quantity of primary P make the closing of P loop an urgent need. Moreover, the recent EU Fertilizer Directive (27/03/2019) recognizes the market demand of struvite and considers it as a secondary raw material for fertilizers. In this context, it is possible to rethink struvite as a valuable resource for a regenerative economy.
Prosumer aims to explore the potential of P loop closing in Italian food industry. A techno-economic feasibility study will be conducted to: (i) identify the main barriers and the necessary concrete interventions to implement drivers of change in this field; (ii) estimate the economic impact for a single Company and for EU economy reducing P imports; (iii) the environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions comparing the actual and the potential scenarios; (iv) identify requirements for successful activities, tested during following practical applications. Italian food industries and fertilizer producers, which own and use P, will be engaged to provide data for the feasibility study. The partners are active in the European and Italian Sustainable Phosphorus Platforms, allowing the diffusion of good practices about P management and recommendations to overcome the limitations for P loop closing.

Prosumer aims to explore the potential of P loop closing in food industry. The techno-economic and environmental feasibility about the implementation of technologies to recover P (e.g. in form of struvite) and reuse it in fertilizers will be evaluated with the engagement in Italian food sector involving also fertilizer producers. The main expected impact is the awareness that new valuable opportunities exist rethinking what now is considered waste, generating an effective circular economy.

This project aims to further develop and expand the prior first-of-a-kind guidelines for LCA & TEA for CCU produced in the prior project by enhancing the guidance for practitioners (introducing combined eco-enviro indicators, addressing early TRL concerns) and developing guidance for other stakeholders to ensure broader audience engagement and understanding of LCA and TEA studies. CCU offers the potential of reducing GHG emissions alongside the creation of new business opportunities in what is dubbed the “circular economy”. However, the potential benefits of CCU should not be taken for granted, there is a need to assess economic viability (through TEA) and the reduction in environmental impacts (through LCA) to quantify this potential. A standardized approach to assessment is vital to allow for fair comparison of technologies as addressed in guidelines v1, v2 will expand upon this to include the stakeholder in-demand aspects yet to be addressed.

The project aims to develop an instrument to allow stakeholders to credibly assess how their choices can maximize the climate change impacts of forests & forest products. The instrument will help compare different scenarios in terms of carbon absorption and sequestration (the sink function), of carbon storage (the biocarbon stored in wood-based products) and carbon substitution (the fossil carbon emissions avoided).The ‘3S Framework‘ will deliver cutting-edge science-based comparisons and assessments of alternative scenarios of forest management and development of associated value chains. Developed scenarios based on the needs and priorities of the actors is anticipated that options for either specific value chains or for entire landscapes be developed taking into account of the anticipated impacts of climate change on the forest growth and health. Forests have come to the front line of climate change action recently. Yet there are diverging views on their role, which oscillate between forests as carbon sinks that require conservation and restoration, and forests as sources of wood products that store carbon and substitute fossil-based materials. This divide prevents the development of sound forestry policies and results in a lack of clarity for several value chain actors. A holistic perspective is urgently needed to support actors in policy-making, in their investment decisions and in taking action that optimise the balance between the 3s functions of forests and wood products for climate and biodiversity benefits.The first year of the project is devoted to the design the 3S Framework and will be used to (i) collect and organize the latest available knowledge on carbon accounting of forests and associated products as well as on the broader roles of forests for the planet, (ii) specify the demand of different actors and translate it into a set of functional principles for the platform and (iii) prepare an initial business models for making the platform sustainable.

The Circular Kitchen innovation project (CIK) will develop a Circular Kitchen which aims to combine resource and energy efficiency. TU Delft, Chalmers, industry partners and clients will deliver a market-ready product with scaler opportunities which will be implemented in demonstration exemplars, among others as part of deep retrofit projects in the Netherlands. 2021 will focus on (i) testing the developed prototype in occupied dwelling demonstrators of housing associations for further user insight studies and (ii) refining the supporting industrial and business model through larger scale implementation in social housing demonstration exemplars as the final step before introducing the kitchen to the market.

Based on the challenges and barriers identified in the framework of “EIT Climate KIC Healthy Clean Cities Deep Demonstration Programme”, the project’s main goal, in line with EU “Green Deal” and “Renovation Wave” initiatives, is the development of the MTF- 2026, an innovative financing mechanism, to be tested in a specific area of Milan, able to be scaled up and deliver a broad and deep building energy efficiency retrofit program renovating both envelopes and energy systems plus the implementation of green infrastructures and public spaces where appropriate through a blending of public and institutional finance.
The project will be developed through a wide citizens’ engagement process in the selected area, useful for aggregation of demand, aimed at building a common vision for a carbon-neutral “community agenda”
The “pilot” area will be identified around the neighborhood of Porta Romana, which in the next years will be the focus area of several projects and urban transformations, as CLEVER Cities, specialized in NBS projects, and the regeneration of the Scalo Ferroviario of Porta Romana, which will host the Olympic village in 2026. The MTF-2026 represents a great opportunity to regenerate these strategic areas, up to 100.000 homes, and develop new green infrastructure, equally ensuring a “just transition”, avoiding gentrification in the surrounding neighborhoods (as Corvetto, Cailvaiarate, Mazzini) with a disadvantaged socio-economic background able to be scaled up, deliver a “green recovery” of the economy, creating 38,000 jobs, and achieve a people-centered transition.

Our aim is to understand more about how to catalyse a shift to long-term mindsets across society. There is a growing consensus that short-termism is rapidly becoming an existential threat to humanity. Short-term mindsets and structures across business, government and society are threatening to prevent the rapid energy transition we need. In order to have radical transformation in the short term, we need to take a longer view. Given that culture is foundational to technology, politics, economics and social relations, if we want transformational changes in these areas, we need to work with culture to shift the deeper values and narratives that animate our societies. At the Culture Initiative our focus is particularly the role of art and culture in cultivating long-termism. The next phase of our enquiry will focus on action research into two challenge owners that have significant leverage in required system change: (1) policymakers and (2) citizens. Our 2019 work has focused on the UK and we recognise the importance of widening our scope — in 2020, we will conduct deep dive workshops in different international contexts. We want to understand more about how arts and culture can cultivate long-termism with these two groups of challenge-owners by investigating various different positions. We’ll be deepening our research into how arts and culture can enable policy-makers to engage with the long-term in their decision-making. We’ll also be exploring different ways of engaging cultural institutions to build demand amongst citizens for long-termism. 

The impending climate crisis demands bold, radical solutions, and offers reformers everywhere an opportunity to rethink the very foundations of our economies. Any solution, however, is only as solid as the economics behind it. Unfortunately, academic economists seem to have given up on system-level rethinking of the economy. This poses serious limits on how we approach the climate crisis: if we can only make minor tweaks to our economies, it is unlikely we can deploy policies of the scale and ambition we need.

However, there is a group that does try to re-imagine economic systems: a small cadre of science fiction authors. These authors have achieved cult status among the radical intelligentsja and among some of the most creative fringes of the movement for climate action. In summer 2018, we set forth to create a space for science fiction authors and economists to work together. This will help raise the awareness of the climate crisis as a carrier of opportunity and hope, and not just of disruption and dismay; and embolden would-be reformers. Most of the impact would happen through the dissemination of high-quality, inspiring content across the digital media landscape. This space is now called the Sci-Fi Economics Lab.

We propose to take the Lab forward in the context of the Long-Termism Deep Demo. We will position it as a “participatory problem owner”: an open community of economists, SF authors, scientists, artists, civil servants, and anyone who cares about rethinking the economy.

The Lab will do two things. First, it will produce policy papers assessing the advantages and viability of deep economic transformations. For example, what would an economy focused on producing public and common goods look like? What changes in legislation would it require?

Second, it will find, study and support existing “utopian nano-economies”: eco-villages, intentional communities, post-capitalist enterprises, larger-scale experiments like that of Bhutan and so on.

Our proposal is for the 5 cities of south-east Europe along with Bankers without Boundaries and Material Economics to design an innovative solution to finance the cities’ transformation – a Transformation Financial Mechanism. This is rooted in the ambitious mission-oriented approach of the work Healthy clean cities is conducting in the SE, to make SE cities into some of the best possible places in Europe to live, work and visit by 2025, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Achieving the mission will require capital to be deployed at a scale that hasn’t been managed before, especially in the region.
Therefore project proposes to design a flexible mechanism able to rise to the challenge and help cities to achieve their mission. The scale of change needed in the cities involved requires radical urban transformation to happen, which must be accompanied by longterm strategic financial framework, serving as a lever to enable greater values come to life.

This will require resources from BwB and on the ground contracted resources in 5 cities. Material Economics will provide a detailed assessment of the extent of the key actions required to achieve a climate-neutral 2030 mission, and the value case for the aggregate investment. BwB will play an orchestration role ensuring that the design and detailed framework to setup the mechanism are put in place by the end of 2020, so that it is ready to be leveraged in 2021. Financial mechanism could, in time, be transformed into a Fund, which would be tailored to fit the local circumstances in all 5 cities/countries. The 5 cities are Skopje in North Macedonia, Krişevci in Croatia, Maribor in Slovenia, Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Niš in Serbia. Those cities are working with EIT Climate-KIC as part of the Healthy, Clean Cities deep demonstration, and were selected based on their demonstrated commitment to deliver systemic and bold solutions to complex problems in the region.

European cities and regions lack the capacity to tackle climate-related issues. While climate change mitigation is well understood, adaptation, as well as the overall impacts of climate change, is not. Energy Agencies are a proven and successful partner for supporting regions and cities in the low-carbon transformation making them an ideal candidate to tackle climate issues. In order to empower cities to take action, the capacity, scope of work and governance models of the existing Energy Agencies must be upgraded and adequately redesigned. Such an approach will capitalise on the established links and connected governance structures of the local and regional governments and the Agencies as well as the amassed capacity and experienced of the Agencies. This approach will require the implementation of 6 key steps: Development of the EU Master Transformation Strategy; Capacity building of key personnel for the adoption of the Strategy; Adaptation of the Master Strategy to the local conditions; Implementation of the Adapted Transformation Strategy: capacity building and rebranding; Awareness raising of cities and regions; Replication of the transformation to other regions. Due to their direct connection, the newly transformed Energy and Climate Agencies will immediately support cities with the planning and implementation of climate change-related measures resulting in high and wide-reaching impacts. They will be able to holistically and jointly, capitalize on potential synergies between climate change mitigation and adaptation actions with positive overall impacts. Strong cooperation with CKIC and its network of partners will be utilized throughout the implementation process allowing for a systemic and radical change in the processes undertaken in the cities, from planning to actual projects execution. Once tested, the Transformation will be replicated to other regions within the EU.

The Travelviewer app and dashboard focuses on travel data collection across different modes of transport in cities. Travel survey data is at the basis of almost all decisions in the transport sector and there is a clear need for good quality data to support public and private organisations in pinpointing how best to reduce travel and shift travel to more sustainable modes.

This project addresses impact goal 3 “accelerate clean urban mobility”, and particularly the priority regarding improving travel data collection across different modes to support mode shift. Travel survey data is at the basis of almost all decisions in the transport sector. We need good data to support public and private organisations in pinpointing how best to reduce travel and shift travel to more sustainable modes (walking, cycling, public transport, and shared solutions including MaaS) as well as to follow-up and evaluate implemented measures. Reducing individual motorised transport, and shifting to more sustainable modes is at the core of climate change mitigation efforts in the passenger transport sector. But travel survey data supports – at the basis – all of the priorities highlighted in the IG3. Designing MaaS, business cases for modal shift programmes, supporting social innovation, but even supporting social innovation as well as understanding the social impacts of transport measures.

It is particularly important that data collection covers all modes such as is done by Travelviewer. Other data sources often focus on vehicle data (most often private car, but also public transport), which means that less is known about other modes (such as walking, cycling), and the connection between modes. Data on vehicle traffic cannot be used to support mode shift and to support the transport of people (by whatever mode) to reach the goods and services they require, rather than the optimisation of traffic (most often measured in vehicle flows).

Convergent
problems like climate change require convergent solutions. We propose to
bring together the power of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices,
artificial

intelligence (AI), Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), and social
economics to help build a global net-zero emissions economy in a
community-oriented, co-creative

approach. The combined power of these tools lies in their ability to create
trust in data coupled with real-time incentivization of sustainable
behaviours and the

infrastructure to enable evidence-based, long-term decisions. Achieving the
vision of a net-zero future through long-term thinking requires five steps:
1. Measure the

production and consumption of environmental resources in real-time, using
IoT devices like smart meters. 2. Collect, transfer and store the data in a
secure, tamperproof

manner that prevents data manipulation using a Distributed Ledger. 3.
Analyze the collected data to understand the long-term consequences of
economic

actions and analyze trends by leveraging machine learning and artificial
intelligence for evidence-based policy interventions. 4. Reward those
behaviours that

contribute to the conservation or creation of environmental assets or
resource allocations in a net-zero way, based on principles from behavioural
and social

economics to rethink notions of value. 5. Built self-sustaining ecosystems
around new notions of time and value with the corresponding norms, narratives
and social

networks to connect the individual with collective action. In 2020, IOTA
will work with problem owners to identify their key-challenges and facilitate
the exchange with

experts to devise innovative methodologies in tackling them. Together with
our community, we will prototype in an action-based research approach to
further our

understanding before defining the requirements for a joint data fabric to
conduct the Deep Demonstration experiments together with Climate KIC and the
design

group.

Over 30% of energy use in the built environment can be attributed to human behaviour. This project aims to reduce CO2 emissions in office buildings by engaging end users and modelling and demonstrating the benefits of localised heating control by office occupants, while optimising comfort and healthy workspaces. Research shows that by engaging users behavioural changes can be achieved, furthermore localised heating has also be shown to reduce central heating demands and reduce overal energy consumption.

Comfort will be calculated by a comfort index which combines subjective and objective measures. Data will be collected from the three field pilots established in the UCBI 2019 project. By involving the end-users in control of their heating needs, a smart control system can be developed which uses the model, along with occupancy and space activity sensing, to optimise the balance of central and localised heating to reduce CO2 emissions.

UCCRI will deploy services to accelerate the use of weather and climate risk information by populations residing in the informal settlements, as well as by city stakeholder for urban management planning and civil contingency preparedness.



The Unlocking City Climate Risk Information (UCCRI) Project will work to overcome a gulf that has opened between weather and climate risk information generators (catastrophic risk modellers, national weather agencies, flood risk experts) and those who need actionable information. UCCRI will address gaps identified by Resurgence and its partners, meeting the user needs of:  – 10 vulnerable cities in the Africa, Asia and the Caribbean;  – their National Hydromet Services; – 2 Climate-KIC and several UCCRI partners. 



UCCRI will deploy a set of activities, tools and approaches that deliberatively avoid single-point technology innovation, tackling the core problem by engaging multiple stakeholders in the co-design and implementation of solutions, utilising a proven set of approaches, tools and platforms relevant to weather and climate risk information at the city level.                                                                                               



UCCRI will pursue 3 target outcomes by leveraging modelling and communications tactics across 2 highly climate vulnerable cities by: (1) Accelerating the use of weather and climate risk information by city stakeholders, reaching up to 20% of the most climate vulnerable populations residing in the informal settlements of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam with actionable weather and climate risk information; (2) Increasing the use of climate risk information in urban management planning and civil contingency preparedness; (3) Building upon lessons from Nairobi and Dar es Salaam to create a network of up to 10 city actors and UCCRI partners oriented in the sustainable co-creation and communication of climate risk information for urban decision-making. These latter actors will inform the development of a DARAJA City Learning Platform that will house all of the tools and resources developed under UCCRI. 

The Urban Climate Action project seeks to develop 1) an urban starter kit, 2) a youth module on urban adaptation, 3) experiential learning activities and to 4) engage the public on urban climate adaptation.

A current problem in the urban setting is the lack of capacity of citizens and policy makers to access risk information and to act on that information. To that effect, we propose to expand the availability of data and tools and support new users for a maximum uptake at project and market scale. Specifically, we will focus on four areas of intervention:

1. The co-design and development of training materials for an urban starter kit. We aim to expand the availability of current climate data, pertinent to the urban setting, by creating this new tool. This kit will include general capacity building materials for businesses, civil society, academia and government, around the urban theme and the urban / climate nexus. This will support the capacity to understand and act on current and emerging challenges.

2. The co-design of an urban module. We will create a module specifically dedicated to urban risk management to complement an existing global climate risk management curriculum for youth (age 13-25). Since it is expected that by 2030, approximately 60% of all urban dwellers will be under the age of 18 – this is an additional important new user group to engage. In 2019, we will already target 7 European countries (Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Andorra, Monaco and Croatia). The new module will inspire meaningful urban climate action around Europe and beyond.

3. To conduct  a series of experiential urban training activities. We will test two sets of tools with the respective stakeholders and will create urban training activities.

4. To engage in at least 2 tactical urbanism events, raising the profile of issues identified in the training workshops. Tactical urbanism is a type of low-cost, temporary changes to the built environment, usually in cities, intended to improve local neighbourhoods and city gathering places. These activities will raise awareness on solutions to address urban climate risks.

The maritime sector accounts for 90% of global trade and 2.2% of global GHG emissions – a figure projected to increase threefold by 2050. Within the Deep Demonstration Net-zero Emission, Resilient Maritime Hubs (DD) we are working with ambitious partners on the land side (Port of Valencia, Port of Piraeus) and on the sea side (Cyprus Shipping Registry, through the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Shipping) who share an ambition to create a circular, inclusive, net-zero-emissions maritime sector. The partners have been carefully selected to reflect different geographical, economic & social environments and different development stage in their environmental strategies and activities.

In 2019 we have set solid foundation by looking at the current state-of-play and working on a systemic future vision. However, due to the novelty of the DD, it was not possible to finalise all the activities. Therefore, Fundación Valenciaport requested a No-costs extension, which was accepted by EIT Climate-KIC. The new compleetion date of the Intent phase is 29 February 2020.

In 2020 we will finalize this work and continue to define the field of innovation action, building understanding at how innovation might achieve the vision for transformation. These steps will allow us in the following years to develop an experiment portfolio for our prioritized areas to test impactful solutions, support mutual learning and communicate our work to a wider.

The maritime sector accounts for 90% of global trade and 2.2% of global GHG emissions – a figure projected to increase threefold by 2050. Within the Deep Demonstration Net-zero Emission, Resilient Maritime Hubs we are working with ambitious partners on the land side (Port of Valencia, Port of Piraeus) and on the sea side (Cyprus Shipping Registry, through the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Shipping) who share an ambition to create a circular, inclusive, net-zero-emissions maritime sector. The partners have been carefully selected to reflect different geographical, economic & social environments and different development stage in their environmental strategies and activities.

In 2019 we have set solid foundation by looking at the current state-of-play and working on a systemic future vision. In 2020 we will finalize this work and continue to define the field of innovation action, building understanding at how innovation might achieve the vision for transformation. These steps will allow us in the following years to develop an experiment portfolio for our prioritized areas to test impactful solutions, support mutual learning and communicate our work to a wider audience, with the aim to replicate similar transformation globally.

The specific goal of the Port of Valencia DD is to prove that even the largest port in the Mediterranean can achieve zero net emissions in 2030 by defining a thorough action plan (co-design with the main challenge owners of the port of Valencia), investing in innovation together with the C-KIC community, carrying out experiments and incentivising behavioural change and investments by prominent members of the Valenciaport cluster.

After finalising the Intent phase in 2019, we will continue working together with the Valenciaport cluster, C-KIC, co-designers and usual actors on the Frame phase in 2020. As a result, a Portfolio Brief will be designed, allowing us to learn fast and reducing the risks that come with transformation.

The way that cities currently work is through building a climate plan and then identifying isolated solutions to work towards an end goal. The work through the Healthy, Clean Cities Deep Demonstration is starting from the point of the city’s existing climate plan, but then challenging the model of delivery, as well as some of the underlying assumptions within it; the aim of which is to provide for a more aggressive approach to accelerating the route to net zero (this might include new governance models centred around climate transition, new processes to engage citizens or the development of financing models). This KAVA will therefore take some time to work through the intent and frame stages of the Deep Demonstration methodology, avoiding a rush to settle on solutions, but working out what the city is aiming for in the way of outcomes. Once this has been completed then the city cohort will be in a good position to go out to the EIT Climate-KIC community (and the wider market) with a call to action – at this stage we will build a portfolio of experiments with Vienna. We will raise funds to complement the EIT grant and select a portfolio of projects that will produce new products, processes, services, tools, start-ups etc, which will be supplied to the challenge owner, associated customers and other similar stakeholders.

Zero Carbon Lab will provide a knowledge service to UK city and regional authorities on translating their net zero carbon ambitions into action. It responds directly to the need for added support, capacity and capability for these authorities in achieving these ambitions. ZCL brings together a partnership of leading UK practitioners to develop a more holistic and integrated service offering, beyond what each individual partner can provide. The project will test and seed-fund the model with a view to it being a scalable and commercial model.

The maritime sector accounts for 90% of global trade and 2.2% of global GHG emissions – a figure projected to increase threefold by 2050. In the case of Cyprus, shipping constitutes one of the most active and profitable sectors of the economy of Cyprus, contributing an estimated at 7% of the GOP and the wider shipping sector, collectively employ around 9000 persons ashore and more than 55,000 seafarers of various nationalities onboard their vessels.

Within the Deep Demonstration Net-zero Emission, Resilient Maritime Hubs we are working with ambitious partners on land (Port of Valencia, Port of Piraeus) and at sea (Cyprus Shipping Registry (pending board approval) and the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Shipping (approved by Council of Ministers) who share an ambition to create a circular, inclusive, net-zero-emissions maritime sector. The partners have been carefully selected to reflect different geographical, economic & social environments and different development stage in their environmental strategies and activities.

In 2019 we have set solid foundation by looking at the current state-of-play and working on a systemic future vision. In 2020 we will finalize this work and continue to define the field of innovation action, building understanding at how innovation might achieve the vision for transformation. These steps will allow us in the following years to develop an experiment portfolio for our prioritized areas to test impactful solutions, support mutual learning and communicate our work to a wider audience, with the aim to replicate similar transformation globally.

In the case of Cyprus, in addition to the work mentioned above, tools will be developed that will assist us in the bench marking and the hierarchy of the proposed measures/solutions/experiments.