The European Union's efforts to enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions require significant participation from process industries, which account for approximately 26.1% of total energy consumption and 23% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To drive sustainable, green, and digital transformations in industrial processes, the EU has launched various initiatives, including collaborations such as Processes4Planet. Recognizing the importance of improving energy efficiency and cutting carbon emissions, the United Nations (UN) has integrated these objectives into Sustainable Development Goals 7, 8, 9, and 13.

The European Commission's REPowerEU plan aims to achieve energy independence from Russian fossil fuels by 2030 while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions. According to REPowerEU estimates, increasing electrification, improving energy efficiency, and integrating renewable energy into industrial processes could save up to 35 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas by 2030.

The Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan outlines key research and innovation priorities, particularly focusing on improving energy efficiency in industries. The EU's overarching goal is to achieve climate neutrality in the industrial sector by 2050 while also cutting other harmful emissions and reducing reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2030. This transition requires industries to adopt cleaner, more efficient, and sustainable solutions, including shifting to renewable and low-carbon energy sources for thermal energy generation and optimizing energy consumption.

The EU co-funded FLEXHYON (Flexible Hybrid Electrical Systems for Sustainable Process Intensification On-Demand and Where Required – GA 101192990 - HORIZON-CL5-2024-D4-01-03) accepts these challenges and proposes an innovative combination of fully electrified heating systems - microwave, heat pumps, and ultrasound - to address three specific industrial processes: ultrafast drying of compact materials, drying of granular materials, and distillation/extraction of ground materials. This initiative aims to facilitate the urgent transition from fossil energy to renewable and low-carbon energy sources.

Three optimized prototypes will be developed and demonstrated in industrial environments across the ceramics, feed production, and biomass sectors. The project's impact on product quality and economics will be assessed through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC), while environmental and technical performance, health protection, and safety aspects will be validated through in-field testing. Strategic market approaches will be established, providing clear insights into scalability, transferability, and replicability across various industrial sectors. Commercialization and deployment will be supported by developing and validating tailored business models for the three target industries.

The FLEXHYON solutions will offer significantly higher energy efficiency than conventional fossil fuel-based heating technologies, leading to reduced GHG emissions, maximized primary energy savings, and enhanced production flexibility (e.g., on-demand and on-site production). Their scalability - both upscaling and downscaling - will better align with market demands and enable more agile production processes.

The project started in January 2025 and will end in June 2028. It is driven by a strong European consortium, covering the entire technical value chain necessary for developing and validating alternative electrified heating systems: Politecnico di Milano (Italy) – Project Coordinator, ASM - Market Research and Analysis Centre (Poland), Università Politecnica delle Marche (Italy), CIEMAT (Spain), Keraben (Spain), INNCEINNMAT SL (Spain), Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), AGRO INNOVATION INTERNATIONAL (France), and EL JARPIL SL (Spain). These partners will work intensively to develop solutions that significantly enhance energy efficiency compared to traditional fossil fuel-based heating technologies, leading to a reduction in GHG emissions, maximizing primary energy savings, and enabling greater production flexibility.

A breakthrough project representing a significant step toward sustainability in energy-intensive industrial sectors!