The main goal of the LORCENIS project is to develop long reinforced concrete for energy infrastructures with lifetime extended up to a 100% under extreme operating conditions. The concept is based on an optimal combination of novel technologies involving customized methodologies for cost-efficient operation. 4 scenarios of severe operating conditions are considered: 1. Concrete infrastructure in deep sea, arctic and subarctic zones: Offshore windmills, gravity based structures, bridge piles and harbours 2. Concrete and mortar under mechanical fatigue in offshore windmills and sea structures 3. Concrete structures in concentrated solar power plants exposed to high temperature thermal fatigue 4. Concrete cooling towers subjected to acid attack The goal will be realized through the development of multifunctional strategies integrated in concrete formulations and advanced stable bulk concretes from optimized binder technologies. A multi-scale show case will be realized towards service-life prediction of reinforced concretes in extreme environments to link several model approaches and launch innovation for new software tools. The durability of sustainable advanced reinforced concrete structures developed will be proven and validated within LORCENIS under severe operating conditions based on the TRL scale, starting from a proof of concept (TRL 3) to technology validation (TRL 5). LORCENIS is a well-balanced consortium of multidisciplinary experts from 9 universities and research institutes and 7 industries whose 2 are SMEs from 8 countries who will contribute to training by exchange of personnel and joint actions with other European projects and increase the competitiveness and sustainability of European industry by bringing innovative materials and new methods closer to the marked and permitting the establishment of energy infrastructures in areas with harsh climate and environmental conditions at acceptable costs.

The 75% of the EU building stock is energy inefficient. Buildings hold a large untapped potential for renewables and energy efficiency in order to decarbonise the EU economy, to ensure security of supply and to provide cost savings to EU households and businesses alike. In this context, Shallow Geothermal Energy Systems (SGES) are a stable, reliable and renewable energy source with some key features compared to many other RES: being available everywhere and being capable of providing not only heating, but also cooling with unparalleled efficiency. Amongst SGES, closed loop systems with vertical Borehole Heat Exchangers enjoy the widest deployment in the EU where the total installed number of GSHP units amounts nowadays to about 1,4 million, representing an installed capacity of about 16.500 MWth. Against this background, there is still a need to remove market barriers and gain competitiveness, but also to develop the next generation of geothermal systems with new materials for penetrating further the market of building construction and renovation. Also the area of District Heating and Cooling needs improved heating and cooling storage technologies which could largely benefit from enhanced Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) technologies. By a smart combination of different material solutions under the umbrella of sophisticated engineering, optimization, testing and on-site validation, GEOCOND will develop solutions to increase the thermal performance of the different subsystems configuring an SGES and UTES. An overall cost reduction of about 25% is the overall aim, leading to a substantial gain in competitiveness. GEOCOND, with a unique consortium of Companies and leading Reseach Institutions in the area of SGES and Materials, will focus on four key development areas in a synergeic and system-wide approach: development of new pipe materials, advanced grouting additives and concepts, advanced Phase Change Materials and system-wide simulation and optimization.

The overall goal of the RE4-Project is to promote new technological solutions for the design and development of structural and non-structural pre-fabricated elements with high degree of recycled materials and reused structures from partial or total demolition of buildings. The developed technology will aim at energy efficient new construction and refurbishment, thus minimizing environmental impacts. The RE4-Project targets the demonstration of suitable design concepts and building elements produced from CDW in an industrial environment, considering perspective issues for the market uptake of the developed solutions. The technical activities will be supported by LCA and LCC analyses, certification and standardization procedures, demonstration activities, professional training, dissemination, commercialisation and exploitation strategy definition, business modelling and business plans. The overarching purpose is to develop a RE4-prefabricated energy-efficient building concept that can be easily assembled and disassembled for future reuse, containing up to 65% in weight of recycled materials from CDW (ranging from 50% for the medium replacement of the mineral fraction, up to 65% for insulating panels and concrete products with medium mineral replacement coupled with the geopolymer binder). The reusable structures will range from 15-20% for existing buildings to 80-90% for the RE4-prefabricated building concept.

The overall objective of FISSAC project is to develop and demonstrate a new paradigm built on an innovative industrial symbiosis model towards a zero waste approach in the resource intensive industries of the construction value chain, tackling harmonized technological and non technological requirements, leading to material closed-loop processes and moving to a circular economy. A methodology and a software platform will be developed in order to implement the innovative industrial symbiosis model in a feasible scenario of industrial symbiosis synergies between industries (steel, aluminium, natural stone, chemical and demolition and construction sectors) and stakeholders in the extended construction value chain. It will guide how to overcome technical barriers and non technical barriers, as well as standardisation concerns to implement and replicate industrial symbiosis in a local/regional dimension. The ambition of the model will be to be replicated in other regions and other value chains symbiosis scenarios. The model will be applied based on the three sustainability pillars. FISSAC will demonstrate the applicability of the model as well as the effectiveness of the innovative processes, services and products at different levels: - Manufacturing processes: with demonstration of closed loop recycling processes to transform waste into valuable secondary raw materials, and manufacturing processes of the novel products at industrial scale - Product validation: with demonstration of the eco-design of eco-innovative construction products (new Eco-Cement and Green Concrete, innovative ceramic tiles and Rubber Wood Plastic Composites) in pre-industrial processes under a life cycle approach, and demonstration at real scale in different case studies of the application and the technical performance of the products - FISSAC model, with the demonstration of the software platform and replicability assessment of the model through living lab concept