Research and Innovation

2021 was the transition year between Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, the EU's key funding programmes for research and innovation. The new framework started in the middle of 2021. Up until this point, we had time to work on the development of current projects and technical activities. Once Horizon Europe started, however, we were able to work on new proposals and have already had good results from the first round of evaluations with new projects starting.

185+

H2020 signed projects for a total project total value of about 1B€

2nd

Top Industrial Participant in H2020 across EU based on participations in projects

15+

million euros of R&D funding only in 2021

100+

R&D collaborative projects ongoing

345,000

R&D engineering
hours

Research & Innovation

Leading the way in decarbonisation

Having won Best Outreach project in 2020, the EVERYWH2ERE project, coordinated by RINA, won the Best Innovation Award at the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking European Hydrogen Week in 2021.

The scope of the project is to develop portable, ‘plug & play’ gensets powered by hydrogen and fuel cells to replace noisy, polluting diesel generators for applications such as music festivals, public events, or construction sites. We have already delivered two prototypes, a 25 kW and a 100 kW unit, and a further five units are expected by the end of the project in 2023.

At the same award event, the BEST4Hy project was also given the prize for Best Success Story. This project is aimed at developing sustainable recycling strategies for end-of-life hydrogen technology and working towards a circular economy.

Hydrogen is an important fuel in the battle for decarbonisation and another project, FLEXnCONFU which started in 2020 and will be completed in 2024, studies the use of non-conventional fuels in gas turbines, including hydrogen and ammonia.

The ENGIMMONIA project, aimed at decarbonisation of the shipping sector, started in May 2021. This promotes ammonia as a future fuel for shipping and demonstrates clean energy solutions for onboard electricity and HVAC that have already been proved in terrestrial applications. The technologies are planned to be demonstrated on an oil tanker, container vessel and ferry.

The SPOTLIGHT project also commenced in 2021. Its objective is to develop and validate a photonic device and chemical process for the conversion of carbon dioxide and green hydrogen to chemical methane and methanol using sunlight.

Another important project completed in 2021 was EENSULATE, aimed at improving energy efficiency of buildings in a lightweight and affordable solution using Vacuum Insulating Glazing (VIG). This provides high insulation of the transparent component of curtain walls and is manufactured through an innovative low temperature process using polymeric flexible adhesives.

The SMILE project, demonstrating demand response schemes, smart grid functionality, storage and energy integration for the energy transition of islands, ended in 2021. This highly successful project has many applications in any location with limited grid connection and shows RINA’s ability to envisage future trends and identify new ideas and opportunities.

The VEEP and ICEBERG projects target the creation of circular economies in construction and demolition waste. VEEP reached its main objective in 2021 for the eco-design, development and demonstration of cost-effective recycling of demolition materials into novel multilayer precast concrete elements for use in new buildings and refurbishment projects.

ICEBERG started in 2020 and is expected to demonstrate and validate advanced technology to produce high purity secondary raw materials through six circular case studies across Europe, covering concrete, wood, mixed aggregate, glass, polymeric insulating foams, and inorganic insulation materials. It includes the development of three innovative logistic tools: an upgraded BIM-aided Smart Demolition tool, a digital end-of-life building materials (EBM) traceability platform, and a radio frequency and QR-based identification system.

In 2021, we also started the CISUFLO project, which targets circular and sustainable floor coverings in the textile sector. RINA is developing a platform to collect and share data and the project is expected to provide six pilots to demonstrate feasibility and value in future flooring, sorting, separation, laminate, vinyl, and textile flooring recycling.

Running from 2018 until 2022, the C-SERVEES project aims at boosting and efficient circular economy product recovery and re-use of components in the electrical and electronic sector. RINA is again developing a logistics platform for this and supporting transportation rules.

Creating circular economies and sustainability

Looking ahead

Collaboration is key to our research activities and stimulating new ideas.

2022 has already started well and we are excited about the opportunities from the Horizon Europe framework, the most ambitious EU funding program to date.

We are working on ideas across RINA’s business areas in collaboration with different business units and are very optimistic about the numbers of proposals and projects we will part of. We are also proud that within our running projects we will have the opportunity to support researchers of Ukraine to whom offer the possibility to collaborate with us in the development of project activities.