Funding for environmental technologies in FP7 has resulted in a series of promising research projects. Such investment into R&D can potentially lead to real environmental benefits.

In a rapidly changing economic climate that is forcing us to face an uncertain future, Europe must rely on its pioneering engineers, innovators and scientists to ensure the region remains the global leader in the environmental technologies sector. As traditional industries migrate to other corners of the globe, the EU must fall back on its wealth of innovation and intellect in equal measure to build and sustain competitive advantage in the future.

The Union has for sometime recognised the shifting economic landscape; and has acted to develop its research and innovation sectors, most notably in the relaunched Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs. The EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), launched in January 2007, is playing a key role in developing research and development across a spectrum of sectors and is a firm indication of the EU's commitment to innovation.

The environmental sector is a high priority for FP7, and has been allocated a significant budget of €1.89 billion from the overall €54 billion. By placing this emphasis on environmental research, the EU has ensured that the growing needs and concerns of the future will be met by a whole host of eco-innovations and energy-efficient solutions.

Two fundamental objectives guide the allocation of FP7 funding for environmental research. To qualify for such funding, projects must fall into either of two key categories:

1. Sustainable development and responsible resource use; or
2. Innovative environmental technologies and services.

Even the briefest insight into work in the FP7 research projects highlights the quality of the green technologies being developed – as three examples illustrate.

Testing grounds for tackling soil pollution

The Norwegian-led ‘Soil Contamination: Advanced integrated characterisation and time-lapse monitoring’ (SoilCAM) project is conducting vital work into soil pollution and treatment. Beginning in June 2008, this €4.2 million project will run for 48 months, and has received significant FP7 support in the shape of €3.18 million in funding.

SoilCAM is operating in two distinct locations that act as examples of contaminated areas all across Europe. The first ‘field site’ is situated on the Trecate aquifer in the Piemonte region of Italy. This was the scene of a 1994 inland oil spill that contaminated both soil and ground water with 15 000 m3 of crude oil.

The second site, Oslo Airport Gardemoen, is part of Norway largest rain-fed aquifer. Since the opening of the new national airport in 1998, more than 1 221 tonnes of propylene glycol and 637 m³ of potassium formate – chemicals used for de-icing runways – have settled into the soil.

Both sites offer unique opportunities for site managers, scientists and engineers to test new methods for monitoring and remediation of pollution in a systematic way. These locations are proving to be fruitful environments for the development of improved soil monitoring techniques, soil and geophysical characterisation, and innovative soil remediation practices.

Reducing consumption levels in buildings through better life cycle assessment

The ‘Low resource consumption buildings and constructions by use of LCA in design and decision making’ (LoRe-LCA) project is conducting important work in an area that could have real environmental benefits. Coordinated by Norwegian research organisation Stiftelsen SINTEF, the project began in January 2009. It will last for 36 months, at a total cost of €1.04 million. Recognising the huge potential of this research the FP7 contributed €841 650 in project funding.

With ever-increasing energy and fuel costs, and the pressing challenges of reducing climate change, the reduction of the resource consumption in buildings is both economically and environmentally important. This project focuses on the harmonisation and use of life-cycle assessment (LCA) methods in design and decision making to minimise resource consumption.

LoRe-LCA will analyse and compare current LCA techniques used in both existing buildings and those still at the design stage. Furthermore, it will look at the potential and restrictions of the European building regulations framework to influence resource-consumption levels in construction.

In addition, examples of LCA best practices from a variety of countries will be compared, so that the right approach can be found. Ultimately, the research and comparison work carried out by the project will result in a practical methodology for LCA best practice in construction. Such a tool will help to achieve dramatic resource-consumption reductions in buildings.

Improved site characterisation enables better risk assessment

The ‘Model-driven soil probing, site assessment and evaluation’ (ModelPROBE) project could potentially result in increased efficiency and time saving for environmental hazard and risk assessment. Set-up in June 2008, this €4.57 million multinational project coordinated by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany will run for 46 months, and has received €3.4 million in funding from FP7.

This project is looking to improve upon conventional site-characterisation techniques, which can be time consuming and expensive. In addition, these measures often do not support decision making that can lead to sustainable remediation. For this reason, the ModelPROBE approach relies on a combination of advanced geophysical site characterisation techniques and new types of vegetation analysis.

These new techniques will be evaluated against conventional methods; and will be applied at fully equipped characterised European reference sites. The final results will be provided to consultants and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for application. The implementation of such modelling methods will result in an improved view of soil and subsurface contamination, providing a sound basis for risk assessment and decision.

More information:

FP7 – the future of European Union research policy:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/index_en.cfm

Practical Guide to EU funding opportunities for Research and Innovation:
http://cordis.europa.eu/eu-funding-guide/home_en.html

Environmental Technologies Research – Issue 12:
http://circa.europa.eu/Public/irc/rtd/eesdwatkeact/info/data/etr_newsletter_issue_12.htm

SoilCAM project:
http://www.bioforsk.no/dok/senter/jordmil/aas/soilcam/

LoRe-LCA project:
http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=proj.document&PJ_LANG=EN&PJ_RCN=10374171&pid=0&q=CB0F263E36090D50F245BC5931277171&type=sim

ModelPROBE project:
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=16925

Related information on the ETAP website:

Environmental Technologies Action Plan – Funding:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/funding/index_en.html