FENCO-ERA

Basic Information

Description

The FENCO-ERA.NET is a key component of an overall carbon management strategy. It complements the HY-CO ERA-NET for hydrogen and fuel cells that in the foreseeable future will rely of fossil based technologies. It also has synergies with the Bioenergy ERA-NET. Global energy demand is anticipated to double by about 2030. Satisfying this increased energy demand will pose many challenges. These include concerns about global climate change, security of energy supply, the role of nuclear power and the us e of renewable energy. FENCO recognises this evolving energy situation and aims to ensure that the EU fossil fuel technology industry can compete effectively in the marketplace. This will be achieved by the networking of Member States Fossil Energy Pro grammes to establish, in conjunction with stakeholders, a critical mass Europe-wide initiative that can compete with the USA and Japan. Continued use of fossil fuels will only be acceptable as part of an overall carbon management strategy. This is alread y acknowledged within the German COORETEC initiative and the emerging UK Carbon Abatement Technologies (CATs) strategy that recognise the importance of the ?twin trajectory? approach to fossil fuels RD&D. First the ongoing drive for efficiency impr ovement and secondly the commercial development of acceptable cost options for carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). It is therefore proposed that the scope of FENCO embraces both efficiency improvement and CCS. The partners in FENCO represent all t hose countries active in fossil fuel research together with stakeholders and technology suppliers. The expected result from FENCO will be a self-supporting ERA-NET that will evolve in line with the enlarging EU.