CO2: Enemy or Chance ? Can Nature inspire Science to change Pollution into Energy, Materials+ ?

(Draft). While EU Commission is due to adopt, next week in Strasbourg, its overall Plan for a "Low Carbon Economy by 2050" and "Energy Efficiency for 2011", Pioneer Scientists and even Industry have already started to explore a breakthrough idea to change harmful CO2 into useful Future Fuel and Materials, able to contribute with even more Economic means to the overall EU and UNO efforts to fight against Cimate Change and for Europe's Energy Independence, which will be discussed, together with MEPs and EU Commission in a forthcoming Scientific and Technological Options Assessment (STOA) workshop organized by EU Parliament before the end of March's EU Summit in Brussels, the experienced Secretary General of the European Materials Research organization, Paul Siffert, told "EuroFora".

Various Mega-solutions on how to Capture and Store CO2 in order to contribute into fighting against growing Atmospheric Pollution and dangerous Climate Change not only in long-term Global Warming, but also reportedly linked to recent destructive and even deadly Extreme Weather Events (f.ex. record-high Heatwaves, Floods, Storms, etc) , are currently prepared by EU Commission and several Member States, sometimes provoking certain Social Controversies, particularly on the underground CO2 long-time storage : It's in this framework that several Scientists and parts of Industry want to explore the "complementary" possibilities for CO2 recycling into Future Fuels, Materials and other useful applications, partially inspired by Nature's photosynthesis, which might also alleviate some fears about uncertainties for long-time CO2 underground storage, particularly if it becomes reversible, i.e. open to possible re-use of the stored CO2 when Scientific and Technoilogical Research might discover workable solutions in order to recycle it in New Fuel, Materials, etc.

Due to be anounced immediately after EU Commission President Jose Barroso's paper on 2050 Climate and Energy stategy, next week at EU Parliament in Strasbourg, a special event, jointly organized by STOA, MEPs' Scientific and Technologic Options Assessment committee, and the European Materials Research Society (EMRS, based in Strasbourg), aims to bring together EU Commission, Parliament, top Scientists and High-Tech Industry, as well as the European Press Media and other stockholders, in order to start seriously discussing the New Horizons which could be opened by Pioneer, Breakthrough Research :

 - "Such Projects have already started in the USA, China, etc; as well as in some parts in Germany, etc. so that Europe should not loose the opportunity to fast coordinate its overall Research action" in an area able to create potentially immense New Possibilities for Economic Growth and a Healthier Environment from the forthcoming Decade(s), EMR's Head, Dr. Siffert added to "EuroFora".

The Key-note Speaker on how to transform CO2 into a Future Chemical Fuel, Professor Jacques Amouroux, experienced f. President of the prestigious Paris University Pierre et Marie Curie, who also drafted recently France Top Research Funding Agency : ANR's Report on Solar Energy breakthrough perspectives, speaking recently to "EuroFora", observed that simple mathematic calculation proves that even if the Electric and/or Hydrogen-powered New Cars could and should develop quite fast in the forseable Future, nevertheless, the total Number of existing Cars is so huge that it's economically impossible to replace them all soon enough, so that a new, alternative and comparatively less polluting and cheaper Fuel would be stilll necessary for quite a long period of time.

- In general, "our natural allies are mainly Chemistry and Electric Power producers, while some Oil/Gas Companies seem curiously more reserved", observed also to "EuroFora" the hyperactive Dr. Jean-Pierre Massue, former President of EMRS and long-time Director of CoE's EurOPA Agreement against Major man-made or natural Hazards throughout all the European continent, from Portugal up to Russia and well beyond, who currently extends his experience also at relevant International bodies.
Massue, particularly experienced into bringing together European Politicians and Scientists around Inno, also urged EMRS Head, Siffert, to outline the Future Horizon with a clear Timetable estimation about when he expects for Professor Amouroux's idea to start becoming functional in real practice, "so that MEPs, Government and EU Political leaders can have more clear perspectives". Siffert replied, smiling, that it should be certainly ..long "before 2050" Horizon that EU Commission has picked for its forthcoming Report due to be published next week at EU Parliament in Strasbourg...

EU Parliament, EU Commissioners, Scientists and Industry are due to explore Pioneer Research on Recycling CO2 for Economy and Climate "in the context of the energy and climate change targets for 2020 and beyond", focusing on "the audacious concept of generating hydrocarbons by taking hydrogen from water and combining it with CO2", according to a STOA-EMRS anouncement. This "would have a twofold Strategic benefit: - 1) the reduction of the atmospheric emissions of CO2, complementing other technology initiatives, such as the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) programme funded by the European Commission", and - "2) the production of transportable and storable synfuel, a 'standby' source of power for handling, on the demand/supply side, the peak loads and the intermittence of renewable sources".

- "In the long run, the reduction of the European dependence on imported oil and the enhancement of the European Competitiveness could also be envisaged as promising perspectives for a large scale, fuel production process, using CO2 as raw material", the organizers add, topically speaking shortly before €uroZone's forthcoming 11 March 2011 Summit on a European "Competitivity Plan", initially proposed jointly by French and German leaders President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel, with the agreement in principle of all 27 EU Member Countries at the recent February 4 Brussels' EU Summit, (See "EuroFora"s NewsReports from the spot).

Sarkozy has already indicated to "EuroFora" (see supra) that Scientific Research and Innovation could be part of €uroZone's Competitivity Plan, open also to all other interested EU Countries, and Merkel recently made it also clear that a main aim of the move is to inspire all those involved by a "High-Tech Strategy", which distinguishes between RST investment and necessary Budget Savings, in order to boost a coherent European competitive economy able to face a galoping Global Competition at this crucial juncture of a Post-Crisis period of the return to a sustainable Growth.

The March 22 EU Parliament's Workshop, "will present the state of the art of a technology breakthrough aimed at recycling and transforming harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuels", and will provide an overview of the ongoing European and international R&D and pre-industrial initiatives aimed at developing and industrializing the proces", while "European Commission (RTD) will illustrate the framework of the ongoing and forthcoming EU funded programmes in the energy sector". Finally, "a round table, moderated by Dr. Rolf Linkohr (former MEP and long-time EU Parliament's Rapporteur on ST Research), will give MEPs and participants the opportunity to engage an open discussion with S&T experts, economists and representatives of the industry on the future technological and economic perspectives".

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(NDLR : See earlier 2010 "EuroFora" NewsReports", already sent to Subscribers/Donors, and Full Interview of Professor J. Amouroux, which will be published asap)

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