In a few weeks, the EU Innovation Fund will receive applications from the 70 innovation projects in Europe that they see have the greatest potential to benefit the climate. One of the selected is Sekab’s planned production facility for making bioethanol and green chemicals from residual products from the forest industry. Monica Normark, CTO, tells us about the work on the application.
The Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. The fund has been created to finance research up-scaling and innovation projects with the greatest potential to reduce the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The EU Emissions Trading System is providing the revenues for the Innovation Fund for investing in the innovation projects that are estimated to have the best conditions to contribute to climate change.
After an initial round where 80 percent of the projects have been screened out, 70 remain and Sekabs is one of them. In June, the final application for investment support must be submitted.
It is obvious that the time is right to scale up our unique technology. An investment from the European Innovation Fund would further demonstrate the importance and create the conditions for us to move forward even faster.
At Sekab, we are now working hard to compile the application. It’s a broad scope: from refining the description of the technology to linking up potential partners. All this is of course included in the feasibility study but is now moving at an increased pace given the successful outcome in the first round by the innovation fund.
A production facility for bioethanol and green chemicals would strengthen the bioeconomic cluster in the area and really take both Sekab and the region to the next level. This is also evident in the support we now receive in the work from actors in business, academia and the public sector.
On June 23, the application will be submitted, and a result is expected towards the end of the year.
If you want to learn more about how the technology works, please watch this film from our demo facility.
Monica Normark
Chief Technology Officer