A collection of 55 technologies have been highlighted that can help the European Union achieve its climate goals, according to a report delivered by French consultancy firm Capgemini.
Renewable Energy
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According to the "Fit For Net-Zero: 55 Tech Quests to Accelerate Europe's Recovery and Pave the Way for Climate Neutrality" green hydrogen, carbon-neutral aviation fuel and electric vehicles are just some of the green energy schemes the European Union can introduce in order to meet their target of the bloc becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.
The goal of the project is to enable EU policymakers and investors to pinpoint and introduce potential technology investments in helping to achieve a more environmentally-friendly recovery from the pandemic using the EU's allotted €750 billion recovery fund, which recently received a €110 billion top-up.
EU member states are due to begin submitting their national recovery and resilience plans on October 15, and questions will be raised as to whether or not their climate and recovery goals align with those of the EU and whether or not they can be achieved by 2050.
The report analyses what it sees as five key economic domains:
- Energy
- Buildings and construction
- Industry
- Transport
- Food and land use
The research looked at projects and chose 55 technologies as "ripe for investment" that could deliver results scaling up to 2030 and 2050.
The "quests" have the potential to create an annual market of net-zero goods and services totalling up to €790 billion annually and reduce carbon emissions by as much as 871 million tonnes and open the potential to create 13 million jobs by 2030.
Going into the future, every €1 invested into the scheme could produce a turnover of €9 for European markets by 2050.
The report claims the projects could help improve air quality, food safety and increase energy independence for Europe.
According to the report, energy projects include building solar gigafactories, large-scale floating offshore wind farms, large-scale green hydrogen production, grid production to allow for 100% renewable power and direct carbon capture.
The industrial sector projects include funding materials to replace concrete, green hydrogen production in refineries, carbon capture for steel manufacturing, and switching to low-carbon fuels for the heating industry.
In terms of projects aimed at the transport sector, the report details initiatives such as giga-scale production facilities for low-carbon field production for the aviation sector, green ammonia-fuelled vessels and infrastructure for shipping, and investment into electric trucks and further investments into EV charging stations for the trucks.
For the food and land-use sector, the report offers solutions such as actions for soil fertilisation and reducing dependence on nitrogenous inputs, scaling up insect production to provide an alternative of fast-grow feedstock protein and capturing methane from cattle.
Cyril Garcia, CEO of Capgemini Invent and member of the Group Executive Board, said, “Our work for Breakthrough Energy, confirms that Europe’s cleantech revolution can be as significant as the digital revolution and plays to Europe’s core industrial strengths and leadership.
"This report is practical and actionable; it highlights some already best-available technologies that are well-positioned to make a real impact by 2030, as well as the promising breakthrough and next-gen clean technologies that will help Europe meet its ambitious 2050 net-zero target.”
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