Periodic Reporting for period 2 - INCUBIS (An Industrial Symbiosis Incubator for Maximizing Waste Heat/Cold Efficiency in Industrial Parks and Districts)
Reporting period: 2021-11-01 to 2023-04-30
As of the most recent data available, the European Union (EU) continues to play a significant role in global energy consumption and CO2 emissions. As of 2019, the EU accounted for approximately 9.9% of the world's final energy consumption and 8.7% of the world's total CO2 emissions. The industrial sector remains a substantial contributor to the EU's energy consumption and CO2 emissions. In 2019, the industrial sector accounted for around 22.8% of the EU's energy consumption and 19.7% of its total CO2 emissions.
Within the industrial sector, process heating and cooling still represent a considerable portion of the total energy demand, comprising approximately 60% of the sector's final energy consumption. Regarding waste heat potential, it is estimated that the European industry produces a significant theoretical waste heat potential, amounting to around 380 TWh per year. Energy Intensive Industries (EEIs) are still prominent heat emitters in this context.
Yet, the potential for district heating networks to serve EU households more efficiently remains significant. It is estimated that at least 50-70% of EU households could be supplied more cost-effectively through thermal infrastructure such as district heating networks. However, as of the latest data, district heating only fulfils around 12% of the heating demand in Europe. Recognizing the potential of industrial symbiosis (Energy Symbiosis or ES) in valorising energy loss streams and contributing to energy efficiency and decarbonization, initiatives such as the INCUBIS project are being undertaken. With the overall goal of contributing to the effort of decarbonising European industry by 2050, INCUBIS aimed at unlocking the market potential of Energy Symbiosis by establishing five Energy Symbiosis Incubators across Europe, as well as developing a digital enabler in the shape of a Cloud-based Virtual Incubator.
The INCUBIS project was underpinned by a workplan designed to achieve the following key objectives:
1. Defining an operational framework to address gaps in the energy symbiosis ecosystem.
2. Establishing tools and services to overcome barriers and support energy symbiosis implementation.
3. Developing a Cloud Platform to facilitate energy symbiosis support services through a "Virtual Incubator" model.
4. Rolling out the energy symbiosis incubator to different regions, fostering energy synergies across Europe.
5. Capacity-building and training for energy symbiosis at individual, organizational, and institutional levels.
6. Verifying the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the INCUBIS project.
7. Developing a sustainable business model for the Energy Symbiosis Incubator and a post-project commercialization plan.
8. Maximizing project impact through effective communication, dissemination, and collaboration with other initiatives across Europe.
Within the industrial sector, process heating and cooling still represent a considerable portion of the total energy demand, comprising approximately 60% of the sector's final energy consumption. Regarding waste heat potential, it is estimated that the European industry produces a significant theoretical waste heat potential, amounting to around 380 TWh per year. Energy Intensive Industries (EEIs) are still prominent heat emitters in this context.
Yet, the potential for district heating networks to serve EU households more efficiently remains significant. It is estimated that at least 50-70% of EU households could be supplied more cost-effectively through thermal infrastructure such as district heating networks. However, as of the latest data, district heating only fulfils around 12% of the heating demand in Europe. Recognizing the potential of industrial symbiosis (Energy Symbiosis or ES) in valorising energy loss streams and contributing to energy efficiency and decarbonization, initiatives such as the INCUBIS project are being undertaken. With the overall goal of contributing to the effort of decarbonising European industry by 2050, INCUBIS aimed at unlocking the market potential of Energy Symbiosis by establishing five Energy Symbiosis Incubators across Europe, as well as developing a digital enabler in the shape of a Cloud-based Virtual Incubator.
The INCUBIS project was underpinned by a workplan designed to achieve the following key objectives:
1. Defining an operational framework to address gaps in the energy symbiosis ecosystem.
2. Establishing tools and services to overcome barriers and support energy symbiosis implementation.
3. Developing a Cloud Platform to facilitate energy symbiosis support services through a "Virtual Incubator" model.
4. Rolling out the energy symbiosis incubator to different regions, fostering energy synergies across Europe.
5. Capacity-building and training for energy symbiosis at individual, organizational, and institutional levels.
6. Verifying the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the INCUBIS project.
7. Developing a sustainable business model for the Energy Symbiosis Incubator and a post-project commercialization plan.
8. Maximizing project impact through effective communication, dissemination, and collaboration with other initiatives across Europe.
In order to prove the operational framework defined in WP2 during the first 18 months of the project, the consortium partners have deployed this methodology in WP4 in each of the participating regions in order to start the deployment of energy symbiosis projects. This methodology has been publicly disseminated through the Deliverable 4.3 Handbook of Energy Symbiosis Implementation, which is downloadable via the project website.
This handbook enables the decoupling of economic growth from non-renewable resource exploitation, by dealing with the usage of wasted energetic resources of an industry or industrial process as a substitute to the traditionally used by another industrial process.
To establish the necessary methodology and services, this has been addressed principally through activities carried out in WP3, which involved the development of the INCUBIS digital cloud platform, that enables the provision of energy symbiosis support services under the “Virtual Incubator” delivery model in each of the 5 region participants. The platform is fully operational and publicly accessible to the core target audiences of: Energy symbiosis facilitators; Industrial Park managers; Industrial companies/factories that manage thermal waste; Public agents that promote industrial symbiosis programs, as well as Investors, via www.incubis.org
WP5 has focussed on the delivery of public information material that allows any potential stakeholder to get familiarised within the main needs and challenges that should be considered nowadays for energy symbiosis projects, at a policy level or even at a training level. A public training module has been deployed and is accessible through the project website and digital cloud platform, moreover, policy recommendation documents have been published in the Documents section of the project website in order to disseminate all the insights from the current stakeholders and relevant partner experts in energy symbiosis projects.
The regional leaders have redefined and selected the energy symbiosis projects to be supported based on success and impact criteria and more accurate KPIs.
Thanks to this effort, 15 industrial parks committed to receive services from the regional leaders and to engage within the project framework to activate energy symbiosis projects.
Finally, actions to maximize the impacts of the project through effective communication and dissemination have been performed principally through activities carried out in WP6, which have intensified in this latter part of the project to promote and raise awareness about the project brand, its results, to engage stakeholders, and to strengthen the projects’ communication channels (website, social media channels). These efforts have been supported with a variety of communication and dissemination materials (Video, Poster, Brochure/Leaflet, One-pager for 5 regions, Documents which have been edited and branded for public dissemination). All the tools and materials, are available from the project website serving as a very useful knowledge repository of the knowledge generated, the overall success stories and lessons learned throughout the project.
This handbook enables the decoupling of economic growth from non-renewable resource exploitation, by dealing with the usage of wasted energetic resources of an industry or industrial process as a substitute to the traditionally used by another industrial process.
To establish the necessary methodology and services, this has been addressed principally through activities carried out in WP3, which involved the development of the INCUBIS digital cloud platform, that enables the provision of energy symbiosis support services under the “Virtual Incubator” delivery model in each of the 5 region participants. The platform is fully operational and publicly accessible to the core target audiences of: Energy symbiosis facilitators; Industrial Park managers; Industrial companies/factories that manage thermal waste; Public agents that promote industrial symbiosis programs, as well as Investors, via www.incubis.org
WP5 has focussed on the delivery of public information material that allows any potential stakeholder to get familiarised within the main needs and challenges that should be considered nowadays for energy symbiosis projects, at a policy level or even at a training level. A public training module has been deployed and is accessible through the project website and digital cloud platform, moreover, policy recommendation documents have been published in the Documents section of the project website in order to disseminate all the insights from the current stakeholders and relevant partner experts in energy symbiosis projects.
The regional leaders have redefined and selected the energy symbiosis projects to be supported based on success and impact criteria and more accurate KPIs.
Thanks to this effort, 15 industrial parks committed to receive services from the regional leaders and to engage within the project framework to activate energy symbiosis projects.
Finally, actions to maximize the impacts of the project through effective communication and dissemination have been performed principally through activities carried out in WP6, which have intensified in this latter part of the project to promote and raise awareness about the project brand, its results, to engage stakeholders, and to strengthen the projects’ communication channels (website, social media channels). These efforts have been supported with a variety of communication and dissemination materials (Video, Poster, Brochure/Leaflet, One-pager for 5 regions, Documents which have been edited and branded for public dissemination). All the tools and materials, are available from the project website serving as a very useful knowledge repository of the knowledge generated, the overall success stories and lessons learned throughout the project.
The INCUBIS project has achieved the following impacts and achievements, supporting the Energy Symbiosis for Maximizing Energy Efficiency in Industrial Parks and Districts.
The project has managed to save 431 GWh/Year of primary energy savings, with 15 industrial parks committed across 5 European regions, with more than 29 plant involved and 1170 stakeholders involved.
Thanks to the experience gathered over the course of the 4 year project, it has been concluded that the main critical success factors for implementing Energy Symbiosis projects are:
• Minimal bulk data for ES preliminary estimates
• A trust-based environment
• Participatory methodologies
• Gaining visibility
• Confidentiality
• Securing coordination teams and governance
The INCUBIS Project has focused on addressing the following barriers:
Barrier 1: Lack of a unified ecosystem of industry players: no agreed set of best practices, standard materials and processes, and regular exchange of information across the energy efficiency financing value chain.
Barrier 2: Lack of access to training on use of standardised material: even if materials are well-maintained, project developers may not have the internal knowledge or capacity to access training to learn how to apply these materials.
Barrier 3: Estimating the potential impact of a region or industrial park
The project has managed to save 431 GWh/Year of primary energy savings, with 15 industrial parks committed across 5 European regions, with more than 29 plant involved and 1170 stakeholders involved.
Thanks to the experience gathered over the course of the 4 year project, it has been concluded that the main critical success factors for implementing Energy Symbiosis projects are:
• Minimal bulk data for ES preliminary estimates
• A trust-based environment
• Participatory methodologies
• Gaining visibility
• Confidentiality
• Securing coordination teams and governance
The INCUBIS Project has focused on addressing the following barriers:
Barrier 1: Lack of a unified ecosystem of industry players: no agreed set of best practices, standard materials and processes, and regular exchange of information across the energy efficiency financing value chain.
Barrier 2: Lack of access to training on use of standardised material: even if materials are well-maintained, project developers may not have the internal knowledge or capacity to access training to learn how to apply these materials.
Barrier 3: Estimating the potential impact of a region or industrial park