1) The know-how diffusion about the sustainable EU model

The sustainable EU model will be shared among the chain actors (i.e. farmers, fuel processors and distributors), which accept it through the discussion of the technical, logistic, economic, financial, energetic, environmental and administrative aspects (outcomes of WP2 and WP3) and it will be widely spread by each target group (outcomes of WP4, WP5 and WP6). Consequently, as market players, they will be encouraged to start up new entrepreneurships to increase the economic competitiveness and at the same time the environmental sustainability of ethanol (priority of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal). The changes in the ethanol market will be the enhanced raw material diversification, decentralisation of the production and sustainability of 1st generation ethanol (mainly as GHGs saving). The proposed wide discussion about the production of 1st generation ethanol using sweet sorghum (outcomes of WP2, WP3 and WP4) will contribute to address the current debates on land use and sustainability and to facilitate and promote a well-informed discussion and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public (priorities of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal).

2) The daily updating through the network building and the supply chain co-ordination

The market players will be able to count on daily updating of the legislative, administrative and technical aspects related to the ethanol production and market (in general, and specifically using sweet sorghum) through the “Sweethanol - Online community” (outcomes of the WP5). The daily offered updated service will simplify the market analysis necessary for the start up of new entrepreneurship (priority of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal); consequently the diversification of the ethanol market will be stimulated and the market centralization among few numbers of chain actors (at the present above all big industrial groups) will be contrasted. Moreover, the network building will contribute to address the issues under discussion in the current debates on land use and sustainability and to facilitate and promote well-informed debate and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public (priorities of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal).

3) Change in the structure of the ethanol EU market

The main outcomes of the project (i.e. training, network building, supply co-ordination, communication) will be instruments able to diffuse the decentralised ethanol plants using sweet sorghum.

A necessary and relevant assumption is the reliability of the supports to the sale of electricity and heat from RES, because the viability in small-medium plants depends also on the proceeds derived from the energetic exploitation of the by-products: for example at the current time, in Italy, the electricity and Green Certificates sales contribute for 60-75%.

If this condition will be observed, in the medium-long term the realisation of innovative approach studies will affect the ethanol market structure mainly in the following aspects:

1. raw materials diversification of the EU market: the impact is a wider heterogeneity in raw materials for the 1st generation ethanol production; it is measurable counting the number of EU plants, which use sweet sorghum, and the weight of the agricultural surface for sweet sorghum cultivation as ethanol crop.
2. decentralisation in the EU production: the impacts are the reduction of plant size and the increment of chain actors number, measurable counting the small-medium ethanol plants in southern EU countries and the estimated increase in the chain players.
3. farmers involvement into the chain: the impacts are increased farmers engagement and reduced depopulation of the rural areas, measurable estimating the number of agricultural enterprises participating in the ethanol chain using sweet sorghum and the increase of employers in the agricultural sector.

4) Increased awareness about sweet sorghum as ethanol crop

The project receives the ALTENER Biofuels priorities, because it stimulates the discussion in the current debates on land use and 1st generation ethanol sustainability, promoting a well-informed debate about the sweet sorghum processing in the “Sweethanol - Online community” and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public.

At the present, sweet sorghum is not included in the Part A (“Typical and default values for biofuels if produced with no net carbon emissions from land use change”) of the Annex V of RES Directive; in order to calculate the GHGs saving, the application of the Part C methods is required.

The inclusion of sweet sorghum within the commonly wide crops for the 1st generation ethanol (e.g. in the Annex V, Part A of the next updated RES Directive) is the attended impact indicator of the project in the medium term.

Besides, in the current debates about the ethanol’s water footprint, sorghum is considered a starch crop: just grain is taken in account and all the other components are fully neglected. Consequently an high water footprint is wrongly attributed to sorghum (i.e. 419m3H2O/l, that is 9,812 lH2O /l).

A relevant decrease in these estimation, due to an higher knowledge of the crop, is the expected impact indicator of the project in the medium term.

In order to sustain both medium-long term impacts, a Centre of excellence will be already created within the partnership during the project life-time and will be maintained beyond its end.

During the project, the activities will be mainly aimed to the achievement of the specific objectives (with the daily updating through the network building and the supply chain co-ordination through the “Sweethanol - Online community”, but also through the wide discussion of the model and the diffused training of the chain actors). Moreover, during the project and also beyond its end, the actions will be planned to support the sector in the first years of activity as incubator of new entrepreneurships (i.e. suppliers of technical advices, such as feasibility studies, preliminary design), and to progressively introduce the new optimised technologies for the production of the 2nd generation ethanol (e.g. from bagasse or from the whole harvest biomass of sweet sorghum), which at the current time are studied at laboratory and pilot scales.

In particular, specific consulting services will be made available for the chain actors, that will be interested in further analyses of the subject beyond the end of the training courses. This service will be able to support most of all the farmers, that at the current time are not still involved in the ethanol chain and therefore they need a lot of information.

1) The know-how diffusion about the sustainable EU model

The sustainable EU model will be shared among the chain actors (i.e. farmers, fuel processors and distributors), which accept it through the discussion of the technical, logistic, economic, financial, energetic, environmental and administrative aspects (outcomes of WP2 and WP3) and it will be widely spread by each target group (outcomes of WP4, WP5 and WP6). Consequently, as market players, they will be encouraged to start up new entrepreneurships to increase the economic competitiveness and at the same time the environmental sustainability of ethanol (priority of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal). The changes in the ethanol market will be the enhanced raw material diversification, decentralisation of the production and sustainability of 1st generation ethanol (mainly as GHGs saving). The proposed wide discussion about the production of 1st generation ethanol using sweet sorghum (outcomes of WP2, WP3 and WP4) will contribute to address the current debates on land use and sustainability and to facilitate and promote a well-informed discussion and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public (priorities of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal).

2) The daily updating through the network building and the supply chain co-ordination

The market players will be able to count on daily updating of the legislative, administrative and technical aspects related to the ethanol production and market (in general, and specifically using sweet sorghum) through the “Sweethanol - Online community” (outcomes of the WP5). The daily offered updated service will simplify the market analysis necessary for the start up of new entrepreneurship (priority of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal); consequently the diversification of the ethanol market will be stimulated and the market centralization among few numbers of chain actors (at the present above all big industrial groups) will be contrasted. Moreover, the network building will contribute to address the issues under discussion in the current debates on land use and sustainability and to facilitate and promote well-informed debate and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public (priorities of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal).

3) Change in the structure of the ethanol EU market

The main outcomes of the project (i.e. training, network building, supply co-ordination, communication) will be instruments able to diffuse the decentralised ethanol plants using sweet sorghum.

A necessary and relevant assumption is the reliability of the supports to the sale of electricity and heat from RES, because the viability in small-medium plants depends also on the proceeds derived from the energetic exploitation of the by-products: for example at the current time, in Italy, the electricity and Green Certificates sales contribute for 60-75%.

If this condition will be observed, in the medium-long term the realisation of innovative approach studies will affect the ethanol market structure mainly in the following aspects:

1. raw materials diversification of the EU market: the impact is a wider heterogeneity in raw materials for the 1st generation ethanol production; it is measurable counting the number of EU plants, which use sweet sorghum, and the weight of the agricultural surface for sweet sorghum cultivation as ethanol crop.
2. decentralisation in the EU production: the impacts are the reduction of plant size and the increment of chain actors number, measurable counting the small-medium ethanol plants in southern EU countries and the estimated increase in the chain players.
3. farmers involvement into the chain: the impacts are increased farmers engagement and reduced depopulation of the rural areas, measurable estimating the number of agricultural enterprises participating in the ethanol chain using sweet sorghum and the increase of employers in the agricultural sector.

4) Increased awareness about sweet sorghum as ethanol crop

The project receives the ALTENER Biofuels priorities, because it stimulates the discussion in the current debates on land use and 1st generation ethanol sustainability, promoting a well-informed debate about the sweet sorghum processing in the “Sweethanol - Online community” and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public.

At the present, sweet sorghum is not included in the Part A (“Typical and default values for biofuels if produced with no net carbon emissions from land use change”) of the Annex V of RES Directive; in order to calculate the GHGs saving, the application of the Part C methods is required.

The inclusion of sweet sorghum within the commonly wide crops for the 1st generation ethanol (e.g. in the Annex V, Part A of the next updated RES Directive) is the attended impact indicator of the project in the medium term.

Besides, in the current debates about the ethanol’s water footprint, sorghum is considered a starch crop: just grain is taken in account and all the other components are fully neglected. Consequently an high water footprint is wrongly attributed to sorghum (i.e. 419m3H2O/l, that is 9,812 lH2O /l).

A relevant decrease in these estimation, due to an higher knowledge of the crop, is the expected impact indicator of the project in the medium term.

In order to sustain both medium-long term impacts, a Centre of excellence will be already created within the partnership during the project life-time and will be maintained beyond its end.

During the project, the activities will be mainly aimed to the achievement of the specific objectives (with the daily updating through the network building and the supply chain co-ordination through the “Sweethanol - Online community”, but also through the wide discussion of the model and the diffused training of the chain actors). Moreover, during the project and also beyond its end, the actions will be planned to support the sector in the first years of activity as incubator of new entrepreneurships (i.e. suppliers of technical advices, such as feasibility studies, preliminary design), and to progressively introduce the new optimised technologies for the production of the 2nd generation ethanol (e.g. from bagasse or from the whole harvest biomass of sweet sorghum), which at the current time are studied at laboratory and pilot scales.

In particular, specific consulting services will be made available for the chain actors, that will be interested in further analyses of the subject beyond the end of the training courses. This service will be able to support most of all the farmers, that at the current time are not still involved in the ethanol chain and therefore they need a lot of information.