RFCS-2022-JT-Big Tickets for Coal

The European Green Deal Communication of the European Commission is the European growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use.

The Communication also states that all Union actions and policies should pull together to help the Union achieve a successful and just transition towards a sustainable future.

Within the European Green Deal objectives, applicants to the RFCS Calls should consider the following elements when preparing their proposals:

• Energy-intensive industries, such as steel [...] are indispensable to Europe’s economy, as they supply several key value chains. The decarbonisation and modernisation of this sector is essential.
• The Commission will support clean steel breakthrough technologies leading to a zero-carbon steel making process by 2030.

The latest (2011-2017) Monitoring and Assessment of the RFCS Programme report highlights the major challenges for the European coal and steel industry: (i) to cut greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) to make sustainable use of energy and resources, and (iii) to develop new competitive, high-performance products and processes.

The RFCS package adopted on 19 July 2021 is in line with the Von der Leyen Commission's objectives and therefore enables the fund to help the sectors to tackle climate and environmental challenges. This means in particular assisting the EU's coal and steel industries to reduce their emissions, thus contributing to the European Green Deal's goals and achieving a Just Transition towards a climate neutral economy.

The Research Fund for Coal and Steel is embedded in the political, scientific, and technological objectives of the Union, and complements the activities carried out in the Member States and within the existing Union Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration activities.

As the European Commission encourages complementarity and sequencing among research programmes and supports the exchange of information between projects financed under different instruments, this Research Programme is meant to be complementary to national and other European financial instruments for research and innovation, including Horizon Europe, ESIF, ERDF, the Innovation Fund and LIFE.

Reference to consolidated Council Decisions (Council Decision of 29 April 2008 2008/376/EC amended by the Council Decision (EU) 2017/955 of 29 May 2017 and Council Decision (EU) 2021/1094 of 28 June 2021).

The RFCS Programme (RFCS Decision 2021/1094) has the following research objectives for the Coal sector:

• Supporting the just transition of the coal sector and regions (Art. 4);
• Improving health and safety (Art. 5);
• Minimising the environmental impacts of coal mines in transition (Art.6).

The call objectives are:

1. Mine water monitoring, management and/or treatment;
2. Land monitoring, modelling, stabilisation and/or restoration;
3. Waste and/or spoil treatment;
4. Energy recovery associated with the mitigation and monitoring of methane emissions from formerly operating coal mines, coal mines identified for eventual closure in Territorial Just Transition Plans or coking coal mines (e.g. ventilation air methane (VAM) or abandoned mine methane (AMM) projects that oxidise methane and produce useful energy) and/or geothermal energy systems;
5. Materials recycling and development of alternative materials, including recovery of critical raw materials;
6. Repurposing of former coal and lignite mines as well as coal-related infrastructure, including power supply services, with projects for energy storage, renewable energy, hydrogen or hybrid solutions that enable sector coupling.

This Call provides support for projects that will support the coal industry diversification through the application of new technologies, especially those technologies that have been developed with RFCS support in the last years. In particular, proposals should focus on repurposing of industrial sites related to the coal industry, specifically the repurposing of closed coal mines or coal mines under closure and/or the reconversion of coal power plants.

Specifically

• Activities are expected to start at TRL 4-6 and achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project.
• Proposals should address the application of innovative technologies related to one or two of the six call objectives listed below. If addressing two call objectives, proposals should clearly identify which Work Packages address which call objective(s).
• Proposals are expected to include an exploitation strategy outlining possible integration of the deliverables of the project (including the pilot/demonstrators) in an industrial environment and a preliminary assessment of their economic viability. When relevant, activities related to economic analysis in the direction of a business case or new business models can also be mentioned.
• Proposals are expected to include activities related to the promotion of the development of efficient reskilling, upskilling and trainings for workers affected by a coal phase-out.

Proposers may submit proposals for either Pilot or Demonstration projects (see Art. 15 and Art. 16 of Council Decision 2008/376/EC).

Proposals should set out clearly the specific impact target that they aim at by the end of the project. They should clearly describe their foreseen impact of the transition of the coal regions towards a carbon-neutral Europe in 2050 in line with the principles of the Just Transition Mechanism.

Each proposal shall include an assessment of anticipated industrial, economic, social and environmental benefits (Art. 26 of Council Decision 2008/376/EC, “Content of proposals”).