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The Tuck Foundation has begun to extend its traditional scope, developing sponsorship actions designed to benefit research activities and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the law of August 1, 2003 on sponsorship and foundations.
In particular, this diversification has led to the creation of a dedicated research fund , intended to finance exploratory research projects focusing on wide-import, not-for-profit research. These projects, which are selected following calls for proposals, are operated by French and European companies and research bodies.
The Enerbio fund for biomass conversion was set up with the assistance of four industry sponsors: Axens, Diester Industrie (Sofiproteol), Renault and Total.
The fund consists of €3.5 million from industry sponsor donations and also receives top-up funding from the government to the value of €1.1 million.
On the basis of priorities defined by the 4 industrial partners, the fund organizes calls for projects with a view to selecting the initiatives to be supported.
Objective of the Enerbio research fund
The overall objective of the Dedicated Fund "Enerbio" is to use futures research and exploratory research to identify and favor the development of innovative and competitive technologies for converting biomass into energy and/or fuel and/or bioproducts in the medium term (> 2010) and long term (> 2020).
It also aims to foster cooperation between European research teams involved in these research themes.
Like many other countries, France and the European Union as a whole are facing a number of challenges in terms of their energy future:
There is no single, complete and global response to these challenges. However, a consensus is emerging relative to the crucial importance of two themes: diversification of the energy mix and improved energy efficiency. Among the various options for diversifying primary energy sources, the use of renewable energies has the advantage of also meeting the objective of reducing CO2 emissions. Biomass, which is the planet’s largest source of renewable energy (it supplies 12% of primary energy consumption as compared to 3% for hydroelectric power), offers the greatest potential in terms of increasing renewable energies. The European Union has therefore set a target of increasing the share of renewable energies from 6% to 12% by 2010, primarily by doubling the contribution of biomass from 4% to 8% *. The share of electricity derived from renewable sources in the European Union is to rise from 14% to 21% by 2010, and biofuels are expected to account for 5.75% of all fuel consumption. The increased use of biomass is essential if such a change is to occur.
* Source: “Biomass Action Plan”, European Commission paper, December 2005.
If the biomass production and harvesting process used is sustainable, the CO2 absorbed by the planet by photosynthesis returns to the atmosphere during combustion of the biofuel or biocombustible. Biomass combustion is therefore considered to be an energy source that does not emit CO2. In practice, the biofuels and biocombustibles produced and used on an industrial scale require the use of an energy for their production, harvesting, transportation and conversion: depending on the cultivation paths used in bioresource production and conversion methods, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in comparison with the equivalent use of a fossil fuel can vary considerably. It is therefore essential to identify and encourage the development of the most efficient technologies in terms of the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In the transport sector, which in Europe relies on oil for 98% of its requirements, the European Commission has set a target of 5.75% for the biofuels share by 2010 and plans to replace 20% of fossil fuels with alternative fuels between now and 2020, with more than 10% being replaced by biofuels.
To achieve this ambitious target, various options are possible and it will doubtless be necessary to combine several of them:
Some of the objectives of biofuels converge with those that need to be taken into account for the coproduction of electricity and heat from biomass:
It is also necessary to analyze options combining the production of energy and biofuels, and of chemically upgradable byproducts.
Improved biomass conversion, through efficient uses in the energy field, also concerns emerging and southern countries. Developing effective and economic technologies for biomass conversion can help to better secure the supply of the energy required for the development of these countries, while at the same time aiding their contribution to an improvement in world CO2 levels and promoting the North-South dialogue.
Enerbio is intended to finance various types of research:
A/ technico-economic and futures research, such as, for example:
B / exploratory and basic research, such as, for example:
C/ Communication and information
Positioning of the Enerbio fund
Enerbio is positioned upstream from and as a complement to the various French and European R&D programs, such as competitiveness hubs, the ANR (“Agence Nationale de la Recherche” – French National Research Agency), the AII (“Agence de l’Innovation Industrielle” – French Agency for Industrial Innovation), AGRICE (Agricultural scientific interest group for Chemistry and Energy), European Research and Development Framework Programs (FP). etc. Their relative positions are shown in the diagram below.
click on image to enlarge
The Enerbio fund takes into account the existence and achievements of these major programs and is intended to play a complementary guiding role at an upstream level. Enerbio seeks to initiate and prepare actions, which may subsequently benefit from the support of one or more existing programs.
Enerbio thus has a dual, cross-cutting role:
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“Enerbio carries out exploratory studies, based on upstream research, but ensuring that every opportunity is taken to quickly bring the results to market. Enerbio can therefore prepare programs that will then be developed within the context of the ANR, the AII and competitiveness hubs. |
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Enerbio makes it possible to support actions with partners from different geographic backgrounds. It thus aids liaison with major European and international programs and access to the best European research teams . |
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