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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - HARMONI (Harmonised assessment of regulatory bottlenecks and standardisation needs for the process industry)

Teaser

Summary

A high quality, coherent, stable, cost-effective and predictable regulatory framework has been confirmed by industry and policy-makers as of paramount importance for encouraging investments in innovation. This is even more relevant for the process industry, where the development of innovative processes and products is usually connected with high investments, long payback times and several years of innovation development. The regulatory framework affects the innovation process at all stages, from basic R&D to commercialization, either setting incentives or obstacles. Nevertheless, no simple relationship can be established between innovation and the regulatory environment and there is not a single approach for all domains; hence, the best option (level of stringency, stability over time, etc.) needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. For instance, it seems that in highly regulated environments, the positive effect of regulation on innovation is more important in activities using or producing high technologies.

HARMONI aims at bringing together all the relevant stakeholders of the process industry to jointly identify, analyse and propose solutions to the regulatory bottlenecks and standardisation needs that hamper their innovation processes and the market uptake of their results, necessary to move towards a more sustainable and competitive European process industry. In addition, HARMONI analyses, compares and proposes recommendations to trigger the transferability of technical solutions among and beyond the SPIRE sectors.

Work performed

The HARMONI Project has come to an end having proposed several recommendations to the main regulatory and other non-technological barriers identified in the following priority areas effecting innovation in the process industry: holistic approach, access to public funding, circular economy, waste recycling, plastic recycling and carbon capture and utilization.
The proposed solutions to barriers and missed opportunities identified give an example of how the sectors can better cooperate as well as enable themselves to better transfer their knowledge to other sectors within the European process industry.
The rich input of a wide variety of stakeholders during the HARMONI project has allowed the identification of non-technical barriers to innovation in the following priority areas for industry:
â€¢ Unlocking the innovation investments will in the first place require a coordinated and coherent approach to funding. Investments will benefit from a clear path shown by actors involved in public financing (EU; Member States; EIB), timing for the applications and coordination between the different funding instruments (which instrument is used for research, prototype, pilot, demonstration). In addition, the role of the private investment community is essential for the innovation agenda but hinges upon clear indications of what constitutes a sustainable investment and what type of funding can be further enhanced in Europe (e.g. equity financing).
â€¢ The promotion of the circular economy model for innovation projects requires to address regulatory, public acceptance and standardization challenges. Amongst the suggestions made in the regulatory area are a better implementation of end-of-waste rules, a clearer definition of what is a waste and what is a by-product, an EU harmonized approach to extended producer responsibility schemes, the development of LCA approaches that are material neutral and cross-industry and rules allowing pre-treatment of homogeneous waste streams. More specific suggested actions include a better promotion at national level for the promotion of construction and demolition waste and a change of the Food Contact Regulation to clarify which recycled materials can be considered safe for food contact.
â€¢ Apart from regulation, there is a role for standardization bodies in developing standards for an improved traceability of waste streams and a possible introduction of a mass balance approach but more concertation with industry is required on this matter. The feedback received also brings out the need to increase consumer awareness on the benefit of using recycled products and incentives to ensure a better uptake of such products.
â€¢ CO2 valorization is an area where improved information is essential for a better uptake. Industry has a task to better explain how to measure the value of recycling carbon from CO2. Permanent avoidance of CO2 emissions resulting from the utilization of CO2 as an alternative carbon source should be recognized within the EU policy framework, including under ETS Development of LCA methods and integrated tools that can be used in the design process phase of a new technology (lower TRL).
The constant message throughout HARMONI project is that the elimination of these non-technological barriers will require a close cooperation between regulators, both at EU and national level, standardization bodies and industry, all with a view to not only creating that facilitating regulatory framework for innovation but also to tackle the buy-in from the end consumer and the public at large.
The following final deliverables, which can be accessed in the project website, are highlighted containing some of the recommendations to these barriers as well as key elements to foster cross-sectorial innovation in these areas, which can be of interest mainly for policy makers and for the SPIRE community:
â€¢ Deliverable D3.2 Recommendations on current regulatory barriers
â€¢ Deliverable D3.3 Suggestions to t

Final results

The project activities will result in an optimized EU regulatory and standardisation framework that facilitates and supports innovation in the process industry; a better participation of the SPIRE community in the EU regulatory and procedures, thus providing the most adequate input to the regulatory authorities; an earlier and more active involvement of the SPIRE community in the EU standardisation process; and an overall better environment to maximize transferability rates of technologies across SPIRE sectors.