EU update on circular economy: Uphold of planned EU legislation

Germany boasts the highest EU-wide recycling rate but in 2010, the EU as a whole, generated 2.5 billion tonnes of waste. Only 36% of this amount was recycled.

Analysts are worried about the European Commission’s current re-evaluation of waste targets.  Read more =>

A short EU 2020 update for the GAME network

Sweden invests more in renewable energy

With almost 50 percent of power generation in Sweden derived from renewable sources, Sweden’s energy future depends on increasing that percentage and cooperating with neighboring countries on energy, says Valdur Lahtvee, director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre.
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Fjärrvärmeanslutning till Stena Danica
Måndagen den 1 december, invigde Stena Line, Göteborgs Stad och Göteborg Energi fjärrvärme-anslutningen till Stena Danica. Det är första gången som ett fartyg i linjetrafik ansluts till fjärrvärmenätet. Anslutningen innebär att koldioxidutsläppen i Göteborg minskar med cirka 500 ton per år.
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Interreg i Västra Götaland 2014-2020
Den 15 oktober arrangerade förbundet i samarbete med Västra Götalandsregionen en dag i Sjuhärad för att tillsammans med de förvaltande myndigheterna introducera de nya EU-programmen.
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Attefallsboden i passivhusteknik
Boden om 25 kvadratmeter ska byggas inom ramen för ett utbildningsprojekt i Alingsås. Arbetet leds av Passivhuscentrum Västra Götaland och i övrigt deltar Alströmergymnasiet, Folkuniversitetet och byggföretaget Tommy Byggare.
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A short EU 2020 update for the GAME network

Includes the following topics (Read as PDF)

Självkörande bussar i framtidens trafik
Helt eldrivna bussar trafikerar redan bland annat Solna och Umeå och kommer snart i Göteborg. I december lanseras Volvos nya snabbladdade laddhybridbuss på linje 73 i Stockholm, med snabbladdning vid ändhållplatserna. Förutom elbussarna omfattar EU-projektet även hållplatslösningar, trafikledningssystem, säkerhetskoncept, energiförsörjning och affärsmodeller
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Enorma besparingar med mer fjärrvärme
Det är Heat Roadmap Europe som ligger bakom studien. En studie som fokuserat på fjärrvärmens potential. I studien har Europa delats upp i 1 300 delar. Varje del har sedan kartlagts avseende värmekällor, värmesystem, värmeöverskott, spillvärme och förnyelsebara resurser. Heat Roadmap Europe är ett forskningssamarbete mellan bland annat Ålborgs universitet och Högskolan i Halmstad.
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Latest showcase for EU’s BRICKER project
The EU co-funded BRICKER project, which aims to cut energy consumption in public non-residential buildings by 50%, held its latest general assembly at its new demonstration project, an administrative building in Cáceres managed by the government of Extremadura, Spain. Just now entering in its second year, BRICKER includes a consortium of 18 partners from six countries and is worth around €13 million. This four-year project includes three demonstration buildings.
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Eden Project Green Hub Building starts
The state-of-the-art green hub at the Eden project will be constructed using ground-breaking techniques and materials, which will provide innovative companies with a test bed and demonstration site for their products. The project from the Cornwall Sustainable Building Trust has been made possible thanks to an investment of £1.1 million from the European Regional Development Fund Convergence Program.
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A short EU 2020 update for the GAME network

Includes the following topics (Read as PDF)

New government edges out nuclear power
Social Democrats and Green Party announced a coalition agreement to stop nuclear power development and aim toward 100 percent reliance on renewable energy.
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Utveckling av biobaserade produkter
SP anslöt ett tvåårigt forskningsprojekt för att stimulera utvecklingen av en biobaserad samhällsekonomi i Europa. Projektet, som heter AERTOS BBE (Bio-based Economy), kommer att stärka samarbetet mellan forskningsorganisationer i Europa.
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EU provides funding for tidal turbine project
Minesto (Gothenburg) and Atlantis resources (London) are to get 750,000 in EU funding to reduce the cost of tidal power plants by creating cost effective high reliability tidal turbine blades and wings of composite materials. Läs mer =>

2,8 miljarder kronor till jobb och miljö
Regeringen har godkänt att det transnationella samarbetsprogrammet Nordsjöregionen kan överlämnas till EU-kommissionen. Programmet utgör en del av EU:s sammanhållningspolitik och omfattar sammanlagt ca 2,8 miljarder kronor varav hälften kommer från europeiska regionalfonden. Målet är att knyta ihop västra Sverige med regioner i de övriga länderna runt Nordsjön. Läs mer =>

Smart Stad Stockholm
GrowSmarter pågår i fem år och finansieras med 25 miljoner euro inom Horisont 2020. Det är en satsning för att möta utmaningen ”Säker, ren och effektiv energi”, en del området ”Samhälleliga utmaningar”. Från Sverige deltar Stockholms stad, KTH, Stockholmshem, Skanska, Envac, Dalkia, Carrier, Info 24 och IBM. Läs mer =>

A short EU 2020 update for the GAME network

Includes the following topics (Read as PDF)

Complete Electrified Volvo Bus Solutions to Cities 
Volvo Buses and ABB signed an agreement to deliver complete electrified solutions to cities. The first city where Volvo Electric Hybrids and automatic e-bus chargers will be implemented is Luxembourg, with the aim of 12 buses to be run on existing public bus lines by 2015.
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Svensk smarta-elnäts-kompetens i fokus
Samordningsrådet har beställt en sammanställning av svensk kompetens kring Smarta Elnät av Business Sweden. Syftet är att få en bättre överblick över tillgängliga resurser. Undersökning har resulterat i ett företagsregister som gjorts tillgängligt på Internet.
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Gothenburg on top of sustainability index
Gothenburg aims at becoming the world top city within the sustainable meetings industry and got its efforts rewarded by the sustainability index developed by ICCA Scandinavian Chapter. In all, 23 Nordic countries joined forces to develop this index 2 years ago and the United Nations World Tourism Organization gave it the Most Innovative Project award. Läs mer =>

Funding opportunities for ocean power
Securing clean and efficient energy is one of the areas to be addressed under societal challenges through Horizon 2020. There is a need to gather experience in open sea operating conditions, structural and power performance and operating data of emerging full scale wave and tidal energy convertors and components in single and/or multiple device.
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A short EU 2020 update for the GAME network

Includes the following topics (Read as PDF)

Logged driving to reduce energy use
For long distance driving plug-in hybrid electric vehicles use the internal combustion engine more than necessary. Chalmers researcher Viktor Larsson has developed a method to make the car remember the commuter routes and thereby make optimal use of the battery. The strategy can reduce fuel consumption by up to 10 percent compared to conventional methods.
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Alger kan bli förnybar källa till bioplaster
Projektet D-Factory, vilket innefattar GAME partner SP stöttas med 10 miljoner euro från ”Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy” inom EUs sjunde ramprogram. I projektet ska man bygga ett bioraffinaderi som fått namnet ”D-Factory”. Där ska alla delar av algerna förvandlas till något användbart. Från högvärdiga peptider och enzymer, till glycerol, triglycerider och stärkelse.
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Climate-KIC kick-off at Chalmers
Climate-KIC’s expansion into Sweden comes as it is scaling up its presence across Europe this year. The organisation has recently unveiled a series of new climate innovation programmes worth over €100 million with corporate and academic partners across Europe. The programmes are aimed at dealing with the impact of global warming and stopping further climate change.
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Horizon 2020 for hydro and ocean power
Members of the hydro and marine power industries are urged to consider Horizon 2020 as an ideal opportunity to showcase their new technologies and demonstrate that they can be innovative and worthy of EU funding. Indeed for 2015, Horizon 2020 states that in order to develop the next generation of low carbon energy both ocean and hydropower are technology-specific challenges to be addressed.
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A short EU 2020 update for the GAME network

Includes the following topics (Read as PDF)

Svensk teknik minskar miljöpåverkan i Baltikum
Pilotfish Networks är det första företag som ska levereraar ett system för ecodriving utanför Sverige. Ordern till Kauno Autobusai, i EU-projektet Baltic Biogas,  är ett steg in på marknaderna i östra Europa för Göteborgsföretaget Pilotfish Networks. Tekniken mäter och redovisar effekterna av ett förändrat körsätt för mindre förbrukningen av drivmedel och kostnader för underhåll.
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Highly appreciated electric hybrid Volvo buses in Gothenburg
One year after the launch of the project the results show that the new buses are popular with passengers, drivers and resident along the route. Volvo plans to start commercial production of the electric hybrid bus in early 2016.
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Major Efforts to Mitigate Climate Change in Europe
European innovators working across a range of climate innovation disciplines are stressing that major efforts to mitigate climate change are under way in Europe. They collaborate in Climate-KIC, the European Union’s main climate innovation initiative. Different actors of the  Climate-KIC give their opinion about the IPCC report.
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EU Parliament signs off on remaining piece of Horizon 2020 worth €9B
Next generation of public-public research programs in fields of clinical trials, SME financing, active ageing and metrology among initiatives that received green light from MEPs is described this article. Over the next seven years, the EU injecting a little less than €9 billion into these projects is expected to mobilise some €9 billion from the private sector and about €4 billion from member states.
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A short EU 2020 update for the GAME network

Includes the following topics (Read as PDF)

Mer förnybart i näten i södra Sverige
Det finns goda möjligheter att ansluta mer förnybar elproduktion till elnäten i södra Sverige. Det visar en kartläggning från organisationen Power Circle, som tagits fram med stöd av Energimyndigheten genom Nätverket för vindbruk. Totalt kan det vara möjligt att ansluta närmare 900 megawatt förnybar elproduktion till de lokala elnäten i södra Sverige utan dyra förstärkningar, enligt undersökningen.
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Periodic Report Summary – CANTOGETHER
Agricultural production faces numerous challenges regarding competitiveness, conserving natural and non-renewable resources (water, soil, air, phosphorus, fossil fuels) and ecosystem services (pollination, natural pest control, soil fertility). CANTOGETHER aims to design and test Mixed Farming System – with the participation of SIK AB.
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Intel will test 200 sensor getaways in Dublin
Dublin is set to become the first fully sensored global city after chipmaker Intel announced plans to test more than 200 “gateways” around the city. The project aims to improve the efficiency in the city and improve the quality of life by pinpointing areas that need work and the development of an app is already foreseen to communicate with citizens about air quality and noise levels.
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Algae bio refineries – D-Factory EU project
SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden is involved in the demonstration of a business case for global investment in algae bio refineries. The Dunaliella alga offers a wide range of compounds, appropriate for the ‘bio refinery’ concept, which aims to use every element of a biomass. It can cope with extreme conditions, from salt caves in the Antarctic, to salt pans in the tropics.
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A short update on EU 2020 research and development

Includes the following topics (Read as PDF)

Investors follow currency fluctuations
Allianz is looking for wind projects in established markets within the euro zone. The concentration of the majority of the company’s projects in Germany, Italy and France and, most recently, Sweden has not come about by chance. This is a consequence of the risk that a fluctuation in currency exchange rates can represent.
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Carbon dioxide neutral Volvo site
Volvo Construction Equipment Site in Sweden Now Powered Entirely by Renewable Energy. No harmful emission, no contribution to the greenhouse effect. At the end of December 2013, Volvo Construction Equipment’s site in Braås, Sweden, completed its journey towards becoming carbon dioxide neutral. It is the first construction equipment production facility in the world to be powered entirely by renewable energy.
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Steps to resource efficiency
EU has approved funding for 14 new research projects to shape a more resource-efficient economy in Europe. Each project addresses a key issue such reusing discarded automobile tyres, recovering key elements from batteries, producing green fertiliser from animal waste, and generating renewable clean energy from food and plant waste.
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Nu tar vi sikte mot horisonten
Den 1 januari startade EU-kommissionens omfattande satsning på forskning och innovation – Horisont 2020. Mitt under den djupa ekonomiska krisen har medlemsländerna enats om att gemensamt lägga cirka 80 miljarder euro i det nya ramprogrammet vilket gör programmet till världens största program för forskning och innovation. Den 29 januari arrangerade VINNOVA ett lanseringsevent.
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Launch of Horizon 2020

Choose between H2020 programmes for different success rates
The odds of getting an EU grant may drop under Horizon 2020 if the success rates may drop to 15% from 20-22%, as EU officials brace for an unprecedented flood of applicants. The European Commission on December 11 announced the first €15 billion round of grant opportunities under its massive Horizon 2020 programme – but at the same time warned that the average odds of winning a grant could drop  to around 15 per cent from the 20 – 22 per cent success rate of the current – smaller – Framework Programme 7.
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