ICaRE4Farms

Increase the share of renewable energies on farms in North-West Europe through the use of solar thermal energy

  • PROGRAMME: Interreg North-West Europe
  • PRIORITY: Low carbon
  • PARTNERSHIP WITH CHAMBERS OF AGRICULTURE: Regional Chamber of agriculture of Pays de la Loire and EARL du Boulay
  • Lead partner: Laval Mayenne Technopole - France
  • DATES : 26/09/2019 - 31/12/2023
  • OVERALL BUDGET: 3 m€
Funding website
Project website

Project closed on 31/12/2023

The 4-year-long journey of the ICaRE4Farms project about the use of solar thermal energy in agriculture ended in December 2023, and the consortium partners remain committed to further encourage the adoption of this effective and sustainable technology for a greener future. To learn more about solar thermal energy and the project results:

        • Join our community to keep up to date with the latest developments in solar thermal energy
        • Watch our videos to learn how the technology works and hear from farmers who have adopted it
        • Discover many other materials on our website and check what solar thermal energy can offer

Context

Renewable energy still only represents 17% of the EU’s energy consumption, ICaRE4Farms aimed to boost the use of solar thermal energy (STE) in farming in North West Europe to heat water (which represents 40% of energy consumed).

Actions

ICaRE4Farms tested next generation STE systems, a patented, reliable and affordable technology. Through this partnership, ICaRE4Farms has set up ETF (EcoThermo Fengtech), in 4 agricultural sectors that require hot water to feed livestock (calves) and heat farm buildings (poultry, pigs) and anaerobic digestion units.

The project focused on:

  • Transnational cooperation to share good practices and implement the solution taking into account the features of each region and sector
  • Supporting the setting up of 21 systems (4 pilot pilote sites and 17 with voucher support) to improve the economic model and validate the greenhouse gas reduction
  • The outcome of the monitoring has been fed into a feasibility assessment tool and a digital model of the STE system, including software for the farmers to manage the system.
  • The project partners have built a transnational network of distributors and installers to roll-out STE in NWE, to lead the market uptake.

Results

Installation and monitoring of 4 pilot sites, two in France, one in Belgium and one in The Netherlands. Promotion of the benefits of solar thermal energy via: the creation of an ICaRE4Farms community of stakeholders, setting up information campaigns including videos and webinars and spreading information at conferences and political events. Organising visits to the pilot sites and other solar thermal energy installations, training actions to use and maintain the STE systems. Production of reports and academic articles on data collected on the pilot sites, a market study on STE systems. Developing feasibility models and monitoring and analysis systems. In the 5 years following the end of the project, these results will inspire the setting up of 321 STE systems in NEW (27kt of CO2 saved). After 10 years there will be 921 systems (92kt CO2 saved).

See more detailed information on the pilot site in Sarthe, France here.

Take a virtual visit of all 4 pilots sites here. 

Watch a video which explains how the solar thermal energy system works here.

ICaRE4Farms is funded (60%) by INTERREG North West Europe.

  • News items related to this project

ICaRE4Farms project comes to an end

9 November 2023
ICaRE4Farms project comes to an end The 4-year-long journey of the ICaRE4Farms project about the use of solar thermal energy in agriculture ends in December 2023, and the consortium partners…
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Webinar Replay

1 August 2023
Webinar Replay On June 13th 2023, we hosted a webinar titled “Solar Thermal Energy in Agriculture – Supporting technology uptake and political incentives”. The webinar highlighted the advantages of next-generation STE systems for…
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Webinar on solar thermal energy

1 August 2023
Webinaire on solar thermal energy On June 13th 2023, we hosted a webinar titled “Solar Thermal Energy in Agriculture – Supporting technology uptake and political incentives”. The webinar highlighted the advantages of next-generation…
Lire la suite
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