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Research and innovation

Horizon prize for CO2 reuse

What the prize is, why it's needed, rules, how to apply, who to contact, latest news

What is the prize

Horizon prize CO2 reuse will reward innovative products utilising CO2that could significantly reduce the atmospheric emissions of CO2 when deployed on a commercial scale. The prize will induce actors in this field to do more to improve their processes and products in order to reduce atmospheric emissions of CO2. Moreover, the prize aims to mobilise and enhance private R&I investment, attract non-traditional players, create new partnerships and incentivise researchers and innovators to enhance efforts to abate emissions of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere.

Why this prize

Preventing dangerous climate change is a key priority for the European Union. The EU is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions substantially while encouraging other nations and regions to do likewise. One way to help these efforts is to make use of the CO2 by integrating it in consumer products. However, CO2 reuse technologies are still facing a number of technical, commercial and financial barriers.

It is expected that the prize will:

  • accelerate innovation in CO2 utilisation technologies, also in SMEs
  • facilitate discovering the real potential of CO2 utilisation to contribute to climate mitigation
  • increase transparency of technology readiness, barriers, costs, environmental performance and innovation needs
  • increase leverage of private finance for innovation
  • provide new business models and value chains in the CO2 utilisation sector

Challenge

The development of innovative products which reuse CO2 in order to significantly improve net CO2 emissions, while overcoming technical, commercial and/or financial barriers.

Schedule

The contest has been launched and you can apply until 3 April 2019.

Rules and guidance

Who can join the contest?

The contest is open to all legal entities (including natural persons) or groups of legal entities regardless of their place of establishment.

How will your application be evaluated?

Exclusion criteria foreseen in the article 139(2) 3rd subparagraph of the Financial Regulation will apply.

Essential award criteria: Innovations undertaken in pursuit of the prize objective must result in genuine reductions in net CO2 emissions from the relevant carbon dioxide utilisation technology/process.

The prize will be awarded, after closure of the contest, to the contestant who, in the opinion of the jury, demonstrates a solution that best addresses the following essential cumulative criteria:

  • Net CO2 emission reduction improvements based on prize-launch level (baseline) versus level of net CO2 emissions at final submission
  • Overcoming barriers, including technical, commercial and financial, and going beyond business-as-usual in efforts to reduce net CO2 emission
  • Commercialisation and scalability – demonstrating that actions taken are replicable in other settings, and that future actions will be taken in reducing both emissions and costs in order to further roll-out the benefits of the technology after the award of the prize
  • Environmental impacts

Read the detailed rules of the contest

Contact

For more information or any questions you might have please ec-co2reuse-prizeatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (contact us)

Documents

27 JANUARY 2016
Horizon prize for CO2 reuse (Infographic)
English
(305.18 KB - PDF)
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