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Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) has developed considerably over the last 15 years and offers a viable alternative for the utilization of municipal and industrial organic waste such as sewage sludge. However, the technology has yet to establish itself as a valorization process for waste biomasses (2024) and is not yet a recognized state of the art. Nevertheless, the HTC technology could gain greater relevance in the future, especially as an alternative valorization pathway for sewage sludge. During HTC, significant amounts of HTC process water (PW) are produced as a byproduct. The process water is inorganically and organically polluted and has to be treated, as it would be a burden on water bodies and thus on the environment if left untreated. In the EU and specifically Germany, industrial wastewater producers like HTC-plant operators are obliged to treat their industrial wastewater before discharging it into the environment. In addition to a large amount of PW and its treatment to the required limits, the organic load and possible persistent and toxic substances pose major challenges for plant operators. Many proven processes from industrial wastewater treatment were transferred for the treatment of PW. Treatment of the PW in a manner that is industrially viable, economically viable, and efficient is crucial for the effective commercialization of HTC technology. In this, the challenges and opportunities of PW composition, management, and treatment, including legal aspects, are mainly discussed. Therefore, the legal framework in the European Union and specifically for Germany will be elaborated. Furthermore, different treatment pathways are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper explores flows and stocks, at the scale of the European Union, of certain rare earth elements (REEs; Pr, Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy and Y) which are associated with products that are important for the decarbonisation of the energy sector and that also have strong recycling potential. Material flow analyses were performed considering the various steps along the value chain (separation of rare earth oxides, manufacture of products, etc.) and including the lithosphere as a potential stock (potential geological resources). Results provide estimates of flows of rare earths into use, in-use stocks and waste streams. Flows into use of, e.g., Tb in fluorescent lamp phosphors, Nd and Dy in permanent magnets and Nd in battery applications were estimated, for selected reference year 2010, as 35, 1230, 230 and 120 tons respectively. The proposed Sankey diagrams illustrate the strong imbalance of flows of permanent magnet REEs along the value chain, with Europe relying largely on the import of finished products (magnets and applications). It is estimated that around 2020, the amounts of Tb in fluorescent lamps and Nd in permanent magnets recycled each year in Europe, could be on the order of 10 tons for Tb and between 170 and 230 tons for Nd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decarbonisation of transport has become central to European Union policy. Biofuels are expected to represent a substantial part of the overall strategy towards diversifying Europe's energy supplies and curbing greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective way. This research deals with the dynamic simulation modeling of a biodiesel market as a part of transportation fuel market and analyses of various policy support instruments on increasing the proportion of biofuel in total transport fuel demand. The study is carried out for Latvia's road transport sector. After it had experienced generous financial support from the government allowing the industry to develop, support was abruptly stopped creating stagnation in both biodiesel supply and demand. This threatened the national transport policy goals. The goal of this research is to find the most effective policy strategies for achieving the national transport policy goals by applying system dynamics modeling to the current market conditions of transport fuels.. Specifically, the primary focus of this paper is an attempt to gain insight into the long-term dynamic behavior of the biodiesel market in Latvia. The principal policy tools and mechanisms implemented can be summarized as: i) state subsidies at different levels and stages (i.e. the biodiesel production sector, the agricultural sector, and the end consumer sectors), ii) increasing the excise taxes on fossil fuels, iii) increasing the share of the biodiesel in the transportation fuel blend. The results obtained from model simulations confirm that promoting biofuel acceptance among end-users is the primary key issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastes contain large quantities of energy that can be extracted using a variety of methods. European Union has established a waste‐to‐energy initiative to minimize waste and increase recovery. Τhe EU Landfill Directive promotes more environmental friendly waste management options. Accordingly, EU member states are adopting mechanical‐biological treatment processes, bio‐methanization and waste‐derived fuels. Furthermore, EU is energy‐dependent, as its resources are insufficient to meet rising energy demands, and fossil fuels must be imported in large quantities. Wastes are increasingly produced and have a non‐negligible lower calorific value that are considered as a power source. Findings highlight the role of waste‐to‐energy facilities in meeting a portion of the European Union's energy needs and contributing to the achievement of renewable energy targets. The untapped potential, through specific actions, can increase capacity in EU without threatening the goals for recycling. This work presents the current status of energy recovery in EU and investigates the unutilized potential energy recovery from wastes, considering the currently landfilled quantities. The results showed that even in the worst scenario, the energy recovery and the renewable content are too high to be neglected, supporting the decarbonization efforts and enhance circular economy, in line with EU's Energy Strategy and Paris agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial introduces the thematic issue "EU Energy Policy: Towards a Clean Energy Transition?", nesting it in broader discussion on European Union's (EU) energy policy. For over a decade, the EU has displayed an interest and political motivation to integrate climate policy priorities into its energy governance. However, the history of European energy governance does not start there, though political science scholarship has tended to downplay the importance of energy sector regulation. Recent years have finally seen the merging of two distinct research programs on European energy politics, and the emergence of a more inclusive and historically accurate approach to energy governance in Europe. This thematic issue follows that new paradigm. It is divided into three sections. The first investigates the EU Energy Union, its governance and decarbonization ambitions. The second section looks at the increasing overlaps between energy and competition policies, particularly the role of State Aid Guidelines in influencing energy subsidies--for renewable as well as conventional energy. Finally, the third section analyses the energy and climate policy of "new" EU members and the relationship between the EU and non-members in the energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas is considered an important part of the European Union's (EU) energy mix. Making up a quarter of the energy consumed in the EU, it is widely used by both households and industry. Gas supports the penetration of intermittent renewable electricity and is considered the cleanest of the fossil fuels but its combustion emits a considerable amount of greenhouse gases. In the fight against climate change, the EU has committed itself to the near-complete decarbonisation of the energy sector well before 2050. This will have a significant impact on the gas sector, especially in the EU, which has significant gas transportation and storage assets. This commentary examines two potential pathways that could enable the gas sector to contribute to the EU's decarbonisation efforts while continuing to play a substantial role in the EU's energy supply. The pathways include gas and electricity sector coupling and the substantial increase of renewable gas production. Those options, which are not mutually exclusive, provide an opportunity for the gas sector to thrive in a decarbonised energy future. In some cases, it could require changes in the EU's gas legislation announced by the European Commission to be proposed in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Energy Union, a major energy sector reform project launched by the European Commission in 2015, has substantial clean energy and climate aims. However, scholarly caution has been raised about their feasibility, especially with regards to accommodating climate objectives with other closely related yet often competing policy goals. We therefore investigate the policy priorities of the Energy Union by performing a topic modelling analysis of over 5,000 policy documents. A big data analysis confirms that decarbonisation and energy efficiency dimensions are major building blocks in the Energy Union's agenda. Furthermore, there are signals of policy convergence in terms of climate security and climate affordability policies. However, our analysis also suggests that the Commission is not actively prescribing trajectories for renewable energy development or paying close attention to declining incumbent energy generation technologies. Overall, we find that the Energy Union is not a 'floating signifier' but rather has a clear and incrementally evolving decarbonisation agenda. Whether it further develops into an active driver of decarbonisation will largely be determined by the implementation phase of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]