Making Europe a more circular and climate-neutral society requires responsible utilisation of residues and wastes, as well as large volumes of sustainable fuels for transport sectors like aviation and shipping, where direct electrification is not viable. CIRCULAIR addresses these challenges by developing an advanced biomass conversion pathway for cost-effective fuel production from abundant agricultural residues through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). HTL can convert a wide range of organic feedstocks into fuels and is particularly suitable for wet feedstock. The CIRCULAIR process scheme can reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as air and water pollution issues that result from current manure handling practices.
“CIRCULAIR will pave the road for jet fuel production from abundant agricultural residues”, says project coordinator Valentin Batteiger of Bauhaus Luftfahrt, “the innovative integration of the HTL process with green hydrogen generation enables almost complete feedstock utilisation and yields methanol as a main by-product.” Methanol can be used as marine fuel or as a renewable commodity chemical.
The four-year research and innovation action CIRCULAIR is funded by the EU under the Horizon Europe programme (grant number 101083944). It involves leading European partner institutions from academia and industry. L-up is excited to be part of the CIRCULAIR consortium, supporting project coordination and leading communication and dissemination activities. The project officially started on 1 January 2023. The kick-off meeting was held on 9 February 2023.
Click here to download the official press release (pdf).
Follow CIRCULAIR on LinkedIn and soon at www.project-circulair.eu (website currently under construction).
