Objective
Europe’s climate neutrality targets demand deep decarbonisation of high-temperature process industries (HTPIs) such as cement, steel, glass, and ceramics. These sectors, which provide over 770,000 skilled jobs, face a dual challenge: their thermal energy demand cannot be met by direct electrification, and they face rapidly increasing costs under the EU Emissions Trading System as free allowances are phased out. Cement production is particularly exposed, with CO2 emissions from both fuel combustion and calcination. Without breakthrough innovations, EU industries risk losing competitiveness to global producers with lower costs and weaker climate regulation.
HARMONI proposes a systemic solution: recycled ammonia as a dynamic renewable energy carrier to couple intermittent renewable electricity to the continuous, high-temperature demands of cement plants, transforming them into intelligent energy hubs. The project will develop four integrated innovations: (1) a dual ammonia cracking system combining thermocatalytic and electrochemical reactors to produce H2-NH₃ fuel blends; (2) a zero-carbon combustion system to convert the resulting fuel blends into heat energy; (3) a circular ammonia recovery loop from wastewater; and (4) an AI-enabled human-in-the-loop recommendation system for energy optimisation and grid balancing. The component technologies will be independently validated and then digitally integrated in a process model which will be used to evaluate overall technical, environmental and economic viability.
The consortium unites leading RTOs (SINTEF, VITO, CETAQUA, IDENER), universities (Nottingham, Imperial, UPC), SMEs (AFC Energy, Iconiq, ETA), and large industrial partners, including the global cement giant, CEMEX, and municipal wastewater management company, Aguas de Alicante (ADA), to validate the technologies, demonstrate integration in a digital process model, and build an investment-grade business case.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy
- engineering and technology materials engineering amorphous solids
- engineering and technology materials engineering ceramics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.4 - Digital, Industry and Space
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.4.9 - Low-Carbon and Clean Industries
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL4-2025-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
7034 Trondheim
Norway
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.