Green hydrogen presents a promising pathway to the decarbonisation of our economy. However, its production often relies on increasingly scarce resources, such as clean water. This problem extends beyond hydrogen – the production of other renewable fuels and chemicals and mineral mining should source sustainable water, to avoid the depletion of treasured reserves, needed for human consumption.
ANEMEL has partnered with the European Innovation Council (EIC), the EuroTech Universities Alliance, the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, and Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG-RTD) of the European Commission to organise a workshop in Brussels that will explore sustainable solutions to minimise the water impact of large-scale production plants.
📆 Date: 8 and 9 June 2023, Lunch-to-lunch conference
📍 Location: DG RTD, Atrium, Rue du Champ de Mars 21, Brussels (map)
💬 Format: Plenum talks (everybody on the same level) & discussions in dedicated groups
📝 Registration: https://tiny.cc/WaterEvent
The joint lunch-to-lunch workshop will bring together a multidisciplinary group of experts from academia, industry, start-ups and policymaking to discuss the pressing question of sustainable sourcing of water impact for the production of hydrogen, renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO), chemicals, and minerals. Overall, the goal of this workshop is to explore sustainable sources, such as seawater, as a direct feedstock for water electrolysis and a source for valuable minerals. Additionally, the talks and participative panels will explore “circular economy” concepts, including co-capture of water from the air, together with carbon dioxide, for the production of renewable chemicals and fuels. Other solutions could cover the exploitation of the desalination concentrates, known as “brines”, for the recovery of minerals.
Furthermore, the results of the workshop will contribute to the creation of both a white paper and an ambitious agenda on low-impact water sourcing in Europe. Among other things, the agenda will feature a “pitch session” to hear about innovative ideas and promising projects in the field of sustainable sourcing of water and generation of renewable fuels, including hydrogen.
Our coordinator, Pau Farràs, from the University of Galway, is one of the confirmed speakers, alongside other experts including Jan Mertens (Engie), Philippe Schild (European Commission, DG RTD), Joanna Kargul (University of Warsaw), Vincenzo Antonucci (CNR-ITAE), Alberto Figoli (CNR-ITM), Patrik Jones (Imperial College London), and Dimitri Xevgenos (TU Delft).
If you are interested in joining this workshop, please pre-register now by filling out this form. More information will be available shortly, and emailed to all the registered attendees. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need more information about the event. Let’s explore sustainable solutions to source water with minimum impact. We look forward to seeing you in Brussels!
