Solar-to-X devices for the decentralized prosumption of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials as climate change mitigation pathway

Topic updates

18 March 2025

EVALUATION RESULTS

Published: 20.06.2024

Deadline: 16.10.2024

Available budget: EUR 24.000.000

The results of the evaluation are as follows:

Number of proposals submitted: 84
Number of inadmissible proposals: 2
Number of ineligible proposals: 4
Number of above-threshold proposals: 39
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals: EUR 148.234.028,00
Number of proposals retained for funding: 6
Number of proposals in the reserve list: 1
Summary of observer report:

EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2024 Call for proposals for Research and Innovation Actions covered five different Challenges, each targeting a unique area of research and innovation: Solar-to-X Devices; Towards Cement and Concrete as a Carbon Sink; Nature-Inspired Alternatives for Food Packaging and Films for Agriculture; Nanoelectronics for Energy-Efficient Smart Edge Devices; Strengthening the Sustainability and Resilience of EU Space Infrastructures. The evaluation procedures fully conformed with the rules given in the EIC Work Programme 2024, as well as in the Challenge Guides for the five topics of this Call. The evaluation process was streamlined: the schedule of the evaluation process was divided in phases, carefully planned and supported by the appropriate milestones. The deadlines were clearly communicated and fully conformed with, and the planned schedule was accurately kept, resulting with the duration of the evaluation process fully conforming with the Work Programme. A special attention was paid to a comprehensive preparation and training of the experts, accompanied with the possibilities of continuous feedback and interaction with the staff managing the Call evaluation. The experts were guided by the five principles: independence, impartiality, objectivity, accuracy, and consistency. Both the experts and the staff showed their commitment to the principles of impartiality and fairness, preventing any conflicts of interest during the process. The full conformance with the applicable rules, together with the overall positive experience expressed by the experts, testify for the excellent organization and management of the Call.

We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.

For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.

https://commission.europa.eu/research-and-innovation_en

Solar-to-X devices for the decentralized prosumption of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials as climate change mitigation pathway

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-01

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme: Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON)

Call: EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2024 (HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01)

Type of action: HORIZON-EIC HORIZON EIC Grants

Type of MGA: HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]

Status: Open for submission

Deadline model: single-stage

Opening Date: 20 June 2024

Deadline dates: 16 October 2024 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Scope:

Background and scope:

There are currently quite mature technologies tested on industrial pilot scale to provide synthetic fuels and chemicals from renewable energy sources via a sequence of independent energy and chemical conversion steps (Power-to-X or Carbon Capture and Utilization technologies). However, energy losses during the different steps (e.g., electricity production or thermochemical conversion) make the process highly energy intense. Also, the provision of affordable, renewable electricity at the needed scale is challenging. A potential workaround to this bottleneck is the development of devices which directly convert solar energy and abundantly available molecules (such as water or carbon oxides) into liquids and gases – within a single device. These so-called solar-to-X technologies avoid the beforehand conversion of solar energy into electricity and reduce the complexity of the process by a complete integration of the different steps. Solar-to-X technologies, also called artificial photosynthesis or solar fuel technologies, support the vision of a decentralized, local energy and production system with a local provision of the needed resources. In this vision, communities become not only prosumers of electricity, but also of fuels, chemicals and materials.

In this Challenge, solar-to-X technologies must address societal needs not already sufficiently covered by other energy technologies. The developed technologies should demonstrate how they can be embedded in the full functional value chain from generation to use, be self-sustaining in the long-run and provide a win-win opportunity for prosumers and the environment. The objective is to make progress towards synthetic fuels and chemicals technologies which integrate all necessary conversion steps into a single device, and which are solely and directly driven by solar energy. Devices which are driven by electricity or heat are not the focus of this Challenge – except for radically new electrolyzer designs beyond incremental R&D on mature electrolyzer designs. Partially integrated systems, where the overall balance of plant is not significantly simplified (e.g., PV-assisted photoelectrochemical devices) are not within the scope of this Challenge. The use of sacrificial agents has to be avoided and the desired product has to go beyond hydrogen and carbon monoxide. To summarize, this Challenge focusses on: i) Novel electrolyzer designs showing a significantly simplified balance-of-plant compared to mature electrolyzer designs; ii)Fully-integrated PV-EC devices, with electrochemical conversion (EC) and photovoltaic unit (PV) combined in a single device; iii)Photosynthetic devices converting directly sunlight and simple feedstock molecules into a fuel or chemical (e.g., Photoelectrochemical devices, Particulate systems, Biohybrid photosynthetic devices, Thermally-integrated photosynthetic devices, etc.); iv)Solar-driven biological conversion devices (e.g., solar cell factories).

This Challenge is directly relevant to the objectives of the European Green Deal and Repower EU.

Specific objectives:

Project proposals should address one (and only one) of the following three areas:

Area 1: Standalone solar-to-X device development

Projects should address all of the following specific objectives:

• Develop standalone solar-to-X devices, converting sunlight and simple, low-energy molecules such as water, carbon oxides or N₂ (non-exhaustive list) into fuels, chemicals and materials.
• Enable simplified production chains where one directly goes from simple feedstock to complex products, beyond hydrogen or carbon monoxide.
• Design solar-to-X systems that can operate independently, allowing communities and remote areas to have access to reliable and sustainable energy sources and a local production and utilization of chemicals and fuels.
• The developed devices have to reach at least TRL 4 within a 3-4 year project runtime.

Area 2: Benchmarking and common metrics development for solar-to-X devices

Projects should address all of the following specific objectives:

• Develop common metrics, protocols and equipment to enable a fair and standardized comparison between technologies within the same class, as well as between different technology classes in the field of solar-to-X (see Area 1 for the different technology categories).
• Develop a holistic framework by identifying key performance indicators common to the different categories, while considering unique features of each category. It is required to develop metrics, protocols and equipment for multiple solar-to-X device architectures (aligned with Area 1).
• Devices stemming from area 1 should serve as a portfolio-own testbed to validate the developed methodologies, protocols and equipment in practice. Standards for solar-to-X devices can (and should) build on existing ones.
• Acceptance of the developed metrics and protocols by a broad range of stakeholders within the diverse research communities must be ensured from the beginning, by e.g., co-creation workshops, extensive outreach activities, etc.

Area 3: Understanding fundamental mechanisms by means of computational materials science

Projects should address all the following specific objectives:

• Explore fundamental phenomena crucial to multiple device architectures to enable next-generation solar-to-X devices.
• Drive forward the one-to-one comparison between theory at the atomistic level and experiment. Developing more accurate and less resource-demanding quantum mechanical methods is highly encouraged.
• Bridge the scales from describing properties at the atomic, mesoscopic up to the macroscopic device level within a multiscale approach.
• Adopt a holistic approach to exploring phenomena applicable to multiple solar-to-X device architectures (aligned with area 1). Devices stemming from area 1 should serve as a portfolio-own testbed to validate the developed theoretical models.

Expected outcomes and impacts:

This Challenge addresses the development of devices - their enabling technologies and use cases - that store sunlight directly on the long term in the form of fuels and chemicals to enable a decentralized energy, transport and production system.

The portfolio of projects selected under this Challenge is expected to collectively:

• cover Areas 1,2 and 3: There is a strong need to go from the pure concept to next maturity level by developing devices running at elevated timeframes and efficiencies (Area 1). To ensure a fair and honest comparison between the developed devices, common metrics, key performance indicators and standardised protocols must be developed and tested (Area 2). At the same time, fundamental mechanisms that are common to the different device architectures are not fully understood and require dedicated exploration (Area 3). Combining these three aspects in a single portfolio of different projects with close interaction and a commonly developed vision is expected to significantly speed up innovation in the field of solar-to-X.
• identify the most impactful end products and application cases (both on an environmental and economic level): Renewable fuels and chemicals provide the opportunity to couple diverse sectors, including the energy, chemical and transport sector, construction, agriculture or the food and feed sector. By choosing a specific material, chemical or fuel, diverse application scenarios can be addressed by the different projects. Future application scenarios may include remote locations (f. ex. ammonia synthesis for precision farming), single buildings, energy communities in cities or off-grid communities (e.g., devices integrated in architecture), etc.

Concerning environmental and economic impacts:

• The overall system must be cost-efficient and show a simplified balance-of-plant compared to current solutions, e.g., the combination of photovoltaics and an electrolyzer unit.
• The feedstock for the desired product must be sourced locally, preferably valorizing waste streams and solar energy.
• Projects should promote the use of abundant and sustainable resources in the fabrication of solar-to-X devices, minimizing the reliance on rare or expensive materials.
• Proposals should clearly identify a (future) market need and address it with the proposed technology.

Portfolio composition: The applicants of Area 1 should specifically mention to which of the technological areas their technology belongs (Novel electrolyzer designs, Fully-integrated PV-EC, Photosynthetic devices, Solar-driven biological conversion devices).

Specific conditions

Technologies starting from an energy-rich feedstock, such as biomass, and proposals that only address parts of the full solar-to-X chain (e.g., half reactions) will not be considered.

General conditions

1. Admissibility and eligibility conditions:

In order to apply, your proposal must meet the general requirements (see Annex 2) as well as possible specific eligibility requirements for this Challenge (Please see TOPIC DESCRIPTION above).

The EIC Pathfinder Challenges support collaborative or individual research and innovation from consortia or from single legal entities established in a Member State or an Associated Country. In case of a consortium your proposal must be submitted by the coordinator on behalf of the consortium. Consortia of two entities must be comprised of independent legal entities from two different Member States or Associated Countries. Consortia of three or more entities must include as beneficiaries at least three legal entities, independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:

• at least one legal entity established in a Member State; and
• at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.

The legal entities may for example be universities, research organisations, SMEs, start-ups, natural persons. In the case of single beneficiary projects, mid-caps and larger companies will not be permitted.

Your proposal will only be evaluated if it is admissible and eligible. The standard admissibility and eligibility conditions and the eligibility of applicants from third countries are detailed in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2024.

2. Proposal page limits and layout:

Described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

Sections 1 to 3 of the part B of your proposal, corresponding respectively to the evaluation criteria Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation, must consist of a maximum of 30 A4 pages. Excess pages will be automatically made invisible, and will not be taken into consideration by the evaluators. Please also consult Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2024.

3. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion:

Described in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2024.

4. Evaluation and award:

• Submission and evaluation processes: described in Section II.2 of the EIC Work Programme 2024. and the Online Manual.
• Award criteria, scoring and thresholds: described in Section II.2 of the EIC Work Programme 2024.
• Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Section II.2 of the EIC Work Programme 2024.

You will be informed about the outcome of the evaluation within 5 months from the call deadline (indicative), and, if your proposal is accepted for funding, your grant agreement will be signed within 8 months after call deadline (indicative).

5. Legal and financial set-up of the grants:

Please refer to the Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement (Lump Sum MGA) used for Lump Sum EIC actions under Horizon Europe.

6. Specific conditions:Please see TOPIC DESCRIPTION above.

Start submission

To access the Electronic Submission Service, please click on the submission-button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to your proposal. You will then be asked to confirm your choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, you will be linked to the correct entry point.

To access existing draft proposals for this topic, please login to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section.

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