JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #143 - November/December 2021 - 28

FEATURE
strategy
EuCIA highlights opportunities for composites
under EU Green Deal energy strategies
DR. CARLOS EDUARDO LIMA DA CUNHA,
Policy Officer at the DirectorateGeneral
(DG) Research & Innovation,
Clean Energy Transition.
Under the European Green Deal the European Commission has set out
a number of strategies that support its ambition of making the EU
climate neutral in 2050, many of which could drive growth in the use
of composite materials. To explore the opportunities, and challenges,
presented by these strategies the European Composites Industry
Association (EuCIA) is organising a series of workshops in association
with the Commission.
T
Renewable
he first event, Opportunities for
the Composites Industry within
the EU Strategies on Offshore
and Hydrogen,
Energy
took place on 29 September, and
connected representatives of the
European composites industry with
EC guest speaker Dr. Carlos Eduardo
Lima da Cunha, Policy Officer at the
Directorate-General (DG) Research &
Innovation, Clean Energy Transition.
" The Green Deal will have a big impact
on industry in the coming 30 years and
for the composites industry there are big
opportunities, but also big challenges,
particularly around the circularity of materials, "
explains Ben Drogt, EuCIA's
Managing Director, who chaired the
workshop. " Both the offshore renewable
energy and hydrogen strategies are important
because they will have direct impact
on the use of composites, requiring vast
increases in production capacities. We,
as EuCIA, want to inform the European
composites industry about these opportunities,
stimulate discussion around the
challenges, and identify sources of research
and innovation support available from the
European Commission. "
28
jec composites magazine / N°
Why an offshore renewable strategy? ©European Commission
€800 billion for offshore energy
Achieving a reduction in net greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions of at least
55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels,
is a crucial milestone for the European
Green Deal and the massive expansions
in offshore wind energy capacity
required to reach this goal. The strategy
calls for 60 GW of offshore wind
capacity in Europe by 2030, rising to
300 GW in 2050. Current capacity is
approximately 12 GW. There are also
ambitious growth targets for ocean
energy: the EC is taking a technology
neutral approach, offering potential for
new markets to develop around emerging
technologies such as floating wind,
direct current technologies, floating
photovoltaic (PV), and algal biofuels.
143 November - December 2021
The Commission estimates that to
achieve its offshore energy goals an
investment of €800 billion is required,
mostly from the private sector, while
the EU will provide 'catalytic' funds. In
addition to promoting development of
renewable energy sources and increasing
capacity of different
renewable
energy sources, the strategy aims
to support research and innovation
in offshore renewable energy and
strengthen Europe's technological
leadership and industrial capacity.
However, this growth must take place
within the context of the circular economy
and improving the sustainability
of composite materials is an important
objective of the Commission's ongoing
work.
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #143 - November/December 2021

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