During RP1, a lot of work has already been done. Within the first 6 months, the project partners mostly focused on ‘setting the scene’ by collecting the necessary information. Farmers’ needs were collected via a survey and discussed in detail via dedicated Focus Group Sessions in the demonstration and replication countries. Also, the requirements and specifications for the three demonstration sites were identified. After defining the regulatory framework, the project partners were able to develop the three sustainable crop protocols, which created the basis for the preparation of the three demo sites. At the same time, the framework for the decision support tool was developed and the design of the micro-20 turbine was finalized. Via partners’ websites and newsletters, social media and participation to events, a good communication and dissemination outreach was achieved. An overview per Work Package can be found below:
WP1
UREAD coordinated and completed:
• T1.1 the collection of farmer needs to help inform the modification of crop protocols and the setting up of demonstration sites and,
• T1.4 the provision of a framework of a decision-support tool (DST) which allows farmers to explore the adoption of integrated food and energy production on their farms
• Initiated the development of an Open Online Course on integrated energy and food production on EU farms, with a specific focus on Biogas and agrivoltaics
UCSC completed:
• T1.2 collection of essential information and requirements to ensure the successful demonstration of value chains in T3.2 T3.3 and T3.4 including land and soil characteristics, technical specifications, and renewable energy technology requirements for agrivoltaic and biomethane integration in the demonstration sites.
UFZ completed:
• T1.3 outline of the policy landscape and current sector developments relevant to the promotion of sustainable food production and renewable energy focussing on the demonstration countries and the replication countries
WP2
INA coordinated:
- The design of the MITIS micro-20 microturbine – which will be demonstrated at INA in WP3 - is reported in D2.1.
- Sustainable agriculture crop protocols in the Atlantic pedoclimatic region (D2.3) and the Mediterranean pedoclimatic region (D2.4) and the protocol of good practices for handling already existing residual crop streams and usage of digestate (D2.5) were successfully developed.
- A comprehensive modelling study for off-grid biomethane plants was developed (D2.6) by UCSC, showcasing the most economic feasible option to produce biomethane without the need to be connected to the electricity grid.
WP3
INA coordinated:
• Preparations of all demonstration sites in Italy, Belgium and Denmark from month 9-14, which took place successfully. Only, heavy rains in one of the Italian sites hampered the establishment of crops in the 2024 season. Also, some delays are occurring at the Belgian demo site. However, these do not impact the continuation of the project.
AU coordinated:
• Intensive activities on crop, PV power, and biogas production as well as on biorefining were succesfully initiated across the three countries. Only, at one of the Italian sites, the crop yields were very low due to excessive rains, and the sampling of soil was delayed for the same reason.
• Plans for the 2025 season have been outlined to continue and optimise the activities from 2024.
• Demonstration sites have started planning for the invitation of farmers and other stakeholders to the sites.
WP4 Although this WP only officially started in M18, some meetings already took place to discuss need and harmonisation of data collection. This will ensure a kick start of this WP.
WP5 This work package only starts in M24.
WP6 WBA and EQY completed the DEC plan
WP7 Early in the project, EQY developed several tools to facilitate project management. These were presented to the consortium and discussed in the project management plan (D7.1) as well as the frequency of meetings. By M6, INA made the Data Management Plan (D7.2) available to the consortium, which will be updated whenever there is a need to.
