Francesco Montecchio, Application Engineer at Alfa Laval Technologies (Sweden), on the current development of the renewable carbon economy

Michael Carus: How has the environment for the Renewable Carbon Economy evolved during the Corona pandemic, climate change and GreenDeal, and the Ukraine war? (in terms of demand and investment)

Francesco Montecchio: We see an increase in demand and investments in the recent years. Starting from the first EU circular economy action plan in 2015, renewable carbon has received a growing attention, with investments especially in renewable fuels and bio-based chemicals. We expect this trend to continue for the coming years, making the Renewable Carbon Economy a pillar for future growth.

Michael Carus: Are there market preferences for any of the three sources of renewable carbon? Biomass first and second generation, biogenic waste, utilisation of CO₂ from biogenic and fossil sources and direct air capture or mechanical and chemical recycling?

Francesco Montecchio: We see a vast combination of feedstocks, from Used Cooking Oil (UCO) recycling to CO₂ sequestration. We believe that this variety will continue in the future, so the production of a renewable product is independent from one single source and the related market fluctuation.

Michael Carus: What would be the most important measures and policy instruments to accelerate the transformation from fossil to renewable carbon?

Francesco Montecchio: We believe that financial incentives on renewable products can play an important role, scaling up the production volume and ultimately leading to cut production costs down to a level which is competitive with fossil-based products.

Michael Carus: Thank you so much for the interview.

Meet Francesco Montecchio at the Renewable Materials Conference 10 - 12 May 2022, Cologne, Germany (hybrid event) and look forward to his presentation „High-speed Separation for PHA Production Process: Higher Yield and Power Savings“ on the 2nd day during the Fine Chemicals Session (Parallel Session, 1st Floor, 3-Koenigssaal)!

More information: https://renewable-materials.eu

Source:

nova-Institute, press release, 2022-05-06.