Magnetrons are the most widely used microwave technology today for both industrial and domestic microwaves. But these systems can only achieve efficiencies of around 45 to 50%, pose safety risks as the use high voltages (5kV) and the magnetrons have a short lifespan requiring frequent replacement. Magnetron technology does not allow for the automatic adjustment of power level to match the load variations. These limitations have a huge cost to industrial microwave processes and there are calls for more efficient solutions. Across Europe, microwaves consume over 9.6 TWh of electrical energy annually. F&M seeks to upscale its 200W solid state continuous wave microwave system to address these limitations. The 1kW gallium nitride based microwave system will save at least 25% on electricity consumption, operate at more than 70% efficiency, allow automatic adjustment of power level in response to load variations and significantly reduce equipment size. It will also provide increased lifespan eliminating the need for frequent and costly replacements. With all these excellent features and performance advantages, our product also comes at a very competitive cost to the user which lies in the same range with the magnetron systems. Solid state microwave technology can be used in moisture meters, medical applications like RF-Surgery, and microwave ovens for the manufacture of electronic assemblies. It also offers opportunity for automatic power matching that enhances energy efficiency and faster processing speeds. Full adoption of our technology in both domestic and industrial microwave ovens would lead to potential energy savings of 6.74TWh of electrical power across Europe.

METAWAVE proposes the introduction of advanced microwave-based heating systems in high-temperature heating processes. Its key outcome is the demonstration of these systems in three industrial sectors (ceramics, asphalt, aluminium) achieving superior performance. Process efficiency, energy use, GHG emissions and productivity are the main metrics that define the positioning of the project results on the industrial innovation atlas. The advantages of higher system efficiency, shorter process time and process controllability have the potential of bringing the twin-transition one step closer, helping the process industries to reduce the energy demand and leverage their overall flexibility. Further optimisation requires feedstock enhancement with novel nanostructured additives, waste-based refractories for advanced process monitoring and controls as well as robust modelling and predictive functions for the Process Digital Twin. METAWAVE will target seamless integration of renewable energy sources to power the microwave-based heating systems through Virtual Power Plant (VPP) configurations, accompanied by an energy management system based on data-driven modelling optimisation and alongside the investigation of industrial symbiosis developing a detailed Hub 4 Circularity (H4C) roadmap. A complete assessment of the techno-economic feasibility of the novel technologies and their environmental impact will be conducted paving the way towards their up-scale and commercial adoption. METAWAVE will mobilise different stakeholders into new ways of operating process industries through capacity building, open science, and new forms of sustainable economic activity with an emphasis on sustainable fuels and feedstocks. 7 SMEs along with 6 RTDs, 2 universities and 3 large enterprises work together to achieve 420 GWh energy reduction, over 95ktCO2 averted and more than 19% productivity increase yielding total revenues of more than 230M€ and the creation of more than 900 new jobs by 2032.