DecarboniSation
smart integRation Of local energy sources and innovative storage for flexiBle, secure and cost-efficIent eNergy Supply ON industrialized islands
Expected impacts
ROBINSON will contribute to a healthy, fossil-fuels independent society with increased employment opportunities. By reducing CO2 and NOx emissions, ROBINSON will directly improve the quality of the air that Europeans breathe, having a positive impact on reducing the number of respiratory diseases and other negative impacts on human health. Secondly, ROBINSON will contribute to mitigating the EU islands’ dependency on imported fossil fuels, thus increasing the independency of islands communities and supporting decarbonisation. Moreover, this will help create new sustainable job opportunities transforming local communities from consumer into prosumers. Finally, thanks to its multi-sectoral and multi-actor outreach, ROBINSON will contribute to the low-carbon targets as set by the EU’s Energy Union, and by the Paris Agreement.
ROBINSON will help achieve a faster decarbonisation, enabled by reduction of fossil fuel consumption, increased efficiency, better RES integration, and waste valorisation on the island of Eigerøy, Norway.
Once fully installed, the ROBINSON system will reach up to 90% cut of all CO2 emissions (100% for industry and 50% for transport) compared to conventional system. This steep reduction of emissions is achievable thanks to: 1) losses reduction (higher efficiency and lower emissions), 2) increased clean fuel flexibility of thermal power plants CHPs, 3) use biomass locally to generate biogas, 4) connection of ships to the local electricity grid.
Once fully operational (expected in 2030), the ROBINSON system will replace the usage of fossil fuels for heating by 100%: reduction from ~19400 MWh/year to 0
On Eigerøy, the technologies developed in ROBINSON will enable the replacement of fossil fuels currently used for heating and process stream, as well as partly in the transport sector. Moreover, at the end of the project the LNG usage will be decreased by 18,5%.
Enhanced stability of the grid
The combination of local energy generation and longer-term storage in the form of hydrogen, bio-methane and heat developed in ROBINSON will stabilize the local grid.
The system will enhance the diversification of the energy mix by enabling to switch between different energy sources, to couple different energy vectors, and to optimise operations’ efficiency, so increasing security of energy supply.
Large scale uptake
ROBINSON aims to be replicable on energy islands that have similar needs to Eigerøy, as well as on islands with different characteristics and needs. It shows potential for further replication on other islands, and in remote areas of poor countries, especially considering cost decrease solutions/opportunities. Replicability will be facilitated by the high flexibility and modularity of ROBINSON.
In general, the ROBINSON system is expected to be cost-competitive compared to other variable RES and electrochemical storage (i.e. batteries). The lower cost will be achieved by a combination of storage and buffer capacity for the different energy vectors, but mostly by making use of hydrogen as a storage medium.
Next to lower energy costs, increased independency and security of supply, other economic benefits of ROBINSON are:
- On Eigerøy: avoiding expensive extension of the existing transmission grid (costs for Eigerøy estimated between 6.1 and 12.2 M€,);
- Avoided CO2 taxes due to abandoning fossil fuels and replacing them by local, renewable resources;
- Implementation of industrial symbiosis concepts that allows to re-use and re-sells of otherwise wasted products;
- Harvest otherwise wasted energy and supply;
- Finally, ROBINSON will open up new economic opportunities for local communities.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N° 957752.
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