European Union (EU) – Africa bio-energy roadmap: Kenya bio energy review

Abstract

23 partners from the EU, Kenya and the UK have formed a consortium to launch the FUELPHORIA project, funded by the EU research and innovation programme Horizon Europe (GA 101118286), which aims to establish sustainable, competitive and secure value chains for advanced bio-fuels and renewable non-biological fuels. The project contributes to the objectives of the European Commission’s 2022 Re-power EU Plan “to scale-up renewables, achieve electrification, and replace fossil-based heat and fuel in industry, buildings, and the transport sector”. Project partners will demonstrate that sustainable value chains for advanced bio-fuels and non-biological renewable fuels can be established in real environment, offering an alternative to fossil fuels. A range of chemical, electrochemical, biological, thermochemical, and photobiological processes will be used to convert different feed-stocks into an array of renewable fuels. The fuels will be developed to meet quality specifications defined by end-users in the transport sector (aviation, maritime and road) and in the power production sector (gas or oil-fired thermal plants). 

The participation of the Renewable Energy and Climate Change Research Center of the Technical University of Mombasa (Kenya) will play an important role in exploring the possibilities of exporting renewable fuels and bio-fuels from Africa. At the end of the project, a set of policy recommendations for EU policymakers will be developed with the objective of showcasing how the results of the project can contribute to a sustainable transition of the EU energy systems. The project will run for the period of four years, from October 2023 until September 2027.