How can we achieve the EU’s goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050? SUNER-C is the EU-funded project (4M € over 3 years) coordination and  support action on the next generation of energy carriers to replace fossil-fuels. 30 different EU partners gathered together to work on building an ecosystem of companies, researchers, societal actors and policymakers, to accelerate the transition of technologies for the generation of solar fuels and chemicals, from the laboratory to large-scale industrial applications.

The European Union is clear to stay on a steady path to climate neutrality through its plan against greenhouse emissions, the ‘Fit for 55’ package, with the EU Green Deal as a blueprint. Unless deep cuts are made in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions, it will be very challenging to reach that goal. Renewable energy based on photovoltaics and wind energy needs to be supplemented with energy carriers to supply fuels to sectors and processes difficult to electrify and to create non-fossil carbon feedstock for the chemical industry. These so-called solar fuels and chemicals are most often analogous to their fossil counterparts and can be incorporated into the existing energy value chains with minimal adjustments to the existing infrastructure. These fuels are based on the transformation of abundant compounds, such as carbon dioxide, water and nitrogen, into synthetic fuels, chemicals and materials by using renewable energy.

SUNER-C is the recent Coordination and Support Action (CSA) powered by SUNERGY Community and funded by the EU programme Horizon Europe (Grant Agreement nr. 101058481). CSAs are projects that convey actions such as dissemination, communication, networking, support services, policy dialogues, studies, strategic plannings, among others.

SUNER-C project, entitled “SUNERGY Community and eco-system for accelerating the development of solar fuels and chemicals”, aims to develop and expand the innovation ecosystem for renewable fuels and base chemicals, uniting science, business, societal and other relevant stakeholders. This aggregation aims at developing a common vision and a technological roadmap for accelerating the scale-up of technologies, as key elements towards the EU 2050 target of net-zero emissions.

The sustainable manufacturing of solar fuels and chemicals at the needed scale using a circular economy approach is in sight, but not yet reach without a concerted action between academia, industry, governments, and societal stakeholders. A large-scale, joint action is urgently needed to speed up innovation, and to further develop existing and future relevant technologies. SUNER-C aims at fulfilling this gap by laying the foundation stone for a Large-Scale Research and Innovation (LRSI) initiative at the European level for a decisive push towards circular economy, EU sovereignty and climate change mitigation.