Decarb Connect

The EIC offers up to €17,5 million in financing, blending grants and equity-based investments. Starting as a pilot programme within Horizon 2020 (2014-2020), the EIC has become one of the most ambitious and successful funding schemes worldwide.Louis Papaemmanuel joins Alex to talk about its continued plans a part of the forthcoming Horizon Europe (2021-2027), with the EU pledging over €10 billion. We explore its origins as a highly selective program with only the very best proposals getting funded - we discuss how the fund has matured, what the questions emerging around how it is being applied. Still the most ambitous fund globally, with Climate a key component of its focus, but how can applicants get the best out of it?Links: https://myeuconsulting.com/www.decarbconnect.com

Attention amongst hard to abate sectors is turning more to how to invest at scale in decarbonisation, and to do that - what business models exist to make co2 planning sustainable. Dr Paula Carey, Co-Founder & Technical Director of Carbon8, joins Alex to talk about the essential shift in mindset that is needed… viewing co2 as an asset rather than an expense or liability. Listen in to the conversation as it explore why it’s taken so long for this mindset shift to start to happen – and how industrials can find markets for their captured co2. Explore what impact this can have on the planning and financing of projects and the different forms of co2 utilisation and their relative impact in decarbonisation terms. You’ll also learn about Carbon8’s own technology and their project at one of Vicat’s plants in France, where flue gas from cement production is being converted to an additive for aggregates. Links: https://c8s.co.uk/www.decarbconnect.com

The voluntary carbon offsets market offers short term opportunities and possibly longer term gains as part of a net zero strategy. But with 17000+ opportunities to offset emission globally, how can industrials ensure that they choose the appropriate programme, and how can they further ensure that it can evidence accountability and true additionality. A $300m+ market right now, offsets are set for massive growth - all while coming under significant pressure from detractors concerned at their unintended consequences. For industrials, though, where at scale solutions for decarbonization will take time to become investable and fully rolled-out - they represent an opportunity for meaning steps forward towards net zero. The discussion explores Allied Crowd's experience of developing a database of these projects, the critical questions and deliverables needed from any offsets programme - through to an exploration of additional benefits when we look at "when is a tonne of co2 not (just) a tonne of co2'. Links: https://alliedoffsets.com/www.decarbconnect.com

The Knowledge Transfer Networks role in the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) is to connect the innovators and manufacturers with grant-based funding that can be applied to energy efficiency projects. Given that a key element of decarbonisation is in reducing energy consumption in basic processes and operations, find out how the IETF's funding pot of £315m is being put to use and lessons learned to date. Show Links:https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/842/overviewhttps://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/840/overviewhttps://ktn-uk.org/news/new-industrial-energy-transformation-fund-opportunity-launched-to-support-businesses-on-the-path-to-net-zero/www.decarbconnect.comKTN Briefing event registration:https://ktn-uk.org/events/industrial-energy-transformation-fund-competition-briefing/

If the goal of ESG is to support & drive the corporate transition to net zero/better climate stewardship, is it working? Massive growth is being seen in these funds and there are plenty of bold statements about what they can achieve - but with few simple answers for hard to abate sectors, are ESG strategies simply going to lead to more cost and more barriers to decarbonization? Find out about Will's recent report, get some insight on the questions that industrials and investors need to layer on top of ESG screening and find out how we can make better use of the inflow of capital seeking climate impact as well as great returns. Links:https://info.massifcap.com/download-failure-to-impact-are-esg-funds-delivering-on-investors-ambitionswww.decarbconnect.com

Alex is joined by Per Brevik, Director of Alternative Fuels and leader of the CCUS project at the Norcem Plant for Heidelberg Cement Northern Europe. CCUS has come a long way in the last few years, and whilst heavy industrials are also pursuing fuel switching, efficiency and electrification to drive down CO2 - few believe they can achieve carbon neutrality without access to CCUS. They talk about the path the project has taken, the ticket price of something of this scale and the choice of technology. They also talk about the business model needed for investable CCUS projects to succeed across the hard to abate sectors. Links:- www.norcem.no/en/CCS - www.decarbconnect.com

Alex is joined by Damian Beauchamp, President of 8 Rivers, and a leader in the deployment of innovations that decarbonise the toughest to abate sectors. With experience of major projects internationally, Damian talks about what it means to create conditions for success for innovative tech at-scale and how to approach innovation for hard to abate sectors in general. We also discuss what the new US administration could do to impact the decarbonisation agenda. Links:www.8rivers.comhttps://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/reaching-net-zero-by-2050-is-attainable/www.decarbconnect.com

With hydrogen in the news and gaining a lot of interest, we look at whether its environmental impact affects its positioning as a clean tech. We also examine Regnan's recent report on the issue and what it means for those investing in this technology and sector in order to decarbonise.  Links:www.regnan.com/investingwww.decarbconnect.com       

Alex is joined by Paul Bodnar, who brings extensive experience of climate finance and policy from his early career in investment through to his role in the Obama administration and his more recent work at the Rocky Mountain Institute.Amongst the many projects he has led and influenced, Paul took a principal role in formulating the U.S. strategy for the Paris Climate Conference. He is also a senior associate (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and serves on the Board of the Carbon Tracker Initiative.We talk about the Mission Possible Partnership, the mechanisms that can be developed to link finance and investment to improving co2 per tonne of product - and about the how the nation-based approach developed in the Paris agreement can be augmented by platforms and policy that support the major emitters (which work across borders) in delivering net zero. Links: RMI Mission Possible Partnershipwww.decarbconnect.com  

The legacy of CCS is typically rooted in North American projects allied to EOR; in contrast the new wave of proposed European CCS projects are taking the technology in a new direction that is purely focussed on CO2 storage and where this storage will occur offshore. But to achieve net zero 2050, thousands of projects of this type may be needed. Join Nick Cooper, CEO of Storegga, to explore this emerging investment class and the value chain that is building up to deliver it. This is an ideal podcast for industrials wanting to understand whether they can leverage offshore CCS (whether in a cluster or not) - also for investors seeking to place capital in a way that delivers great returns along with decarbonisation.  Links: https://pale-blu.com/acorn/https://www.decarbconnect.com