MAP-UP-P2X

Research area: Smart Industry

Language: Finnish, Swedish

Project descripion

The project thoroughly investigates the potential for regional utilization and recycling of carbon dioxide (CO₂), oxygen (O₂), and hydrogen (H₂) to meet the needs of industry and society, as a replacement for peat-based energy production.

The aim of the project is to develop a better understanding of raw material flows in various industrial, waste management, and material utilization processes. This will allow for the identification of strategic and economically significant processes that should be prioritized to ensure that H₂, O₂, and CO₂ are captured and processed in a way that generates real added value for both industry and society at the regional level.

The project also promotes the creation of new business opportunities by accelerating development, increasing knowledge of system solutions used in the circular economy, and enhancing the readiness to test and deploy these new technologies regionally.

Goals

1. Investigate the latest innovations in CO₂ and P2X technologies that can replace peat in energy production while strengthening energy self-sufficiency and the circular economy.

2. Examine, in the long term, the measures required to achieve the climate objectives defined in the Ostrobothnia regional plan, Vaasa city’s carbon dioxide target, and Finland’s and the EU’s goals to limit global warming to below 1.5 °C.

3. Explore various solutions for integrating processes across different flows, such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, and regional organic streams like peat.

4. Conduct SWOT and PESTEL analyses to gain a deeper understanding of material and chemical flows. Based on the results, assess alternatives in energy production and waste management that can be used directly (oxygen, O₂) or, through further processing of hydrogen (H₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), produce new economically valuable derivative materials. These solutions aim to strengthen sustainable energy production, minimize environmental impacts, and, in turn, enhance self-sufficiency, refining capacity, and the circular economy.

Results

The outcome will be an ABC file, which will include the following documents: an Analysis of Alternatives, embedded case studies, a Business Models, Options, and Considerations document, and Conclusions.

The alternatives analysis is based on the current state assessment, environmental analysis (using the PESTEL framework), computational process optimization, and the conducted case studies. Its purpose is to raise awareness and provide actionable insights for decision-making in the further development of material utilization processes and waste management facilities in the region, while also monitoring risks through SWOT analysis.

Quantitative analyses provide a precise selection of solutions for feasible and practical process integration. This allows us to determine the optimal ways to integrate process flows in terms of energy and material streams at the regional level.