Circular Carbon Economy (CoP6) – Research & Innovation: UCAP with proposed Pilot Projects

On 28 January, the five pilot cities from CoP #6 Circular Carbon Economy – Research & Innovation which consisted of EU city/region: Trier – CoP Coordinator and Bremen (Germany) together with a cluster of cities from India (Chennai, Jabalpur, and Cuttack) held their kick-off meeting.  Ms. Elisa Limbacher, CoP Coordinator from Trier warmly welcomed the pilot cities from the Communities of Practice (CoP) and introduced the agenda. Ms. Jacqueline Chang, CoP Manager shared the aims and objectives of the first CoP meeting and  the opening remarks was delivered by Mr. Pablo Gándara, IURC Team Leader. 

The kick-off meeting was designed to initiate deeper connections between Germany-India experts and kick-start knowledge exchanges on best practices.

The CoP Coordinator (Trier team) proposed two pilot project ideas for the consideration of the cluster of Indian cities:

Pilot Project Idea 1: Treatment and purification of locally produced biogas generated in small biogas plants, as implemented, for example, in the earlier IURC project but with the intention of scaling it further.

Pilot Project Idea 2: Development of a regionally implementable concept for the use of purified biogas in the existing local gas infrastructure.

The CoP Coordinator also shared innovative ideas on how to translate shared best practices to address common challenges and to inspire how five (5) pilot cities can co-develop concrete and high impact pilot projects above to be jointly implemented from 2026 to 2027. 

The meeting served as a strategic platform for the pilot cities to meet and begin exploring the purpose and potential of building a shared understanding of long-term vision and goals. They also discussed approaches and timelines on how they plan to work together in completing their Urban Cooperation Action Plan (U-CAP) before Saturday, 28 February 2026.

Key Takeaways from the Interactive Discussions:

The meeting focused on exploring hydrogen and biogas infrastructure development across European and Indian cities, with Professor Dr. Peter Koenig presenting a comprehensive overview of potential pilot projects. The discussion centred on converting biogas to biomethane and exploring hydrogen infrastructure, with particular attention to port operations and waste management in cities like Chennai, Cuttack and Jabalpur. Mr. Sambhav Ayachi, Assistant Commissioner for Jabalpur shared updates on existing waste-to-energy projects, including Jabalpur’s successful 600-ton-per-day plant generating 11.5 megawatt hours of electricity, and discussed the potential for exporting hydrogen derivatives through ports. An additional request was also communicated and Trier was happy to oblige by sharing with Ms. Revathi R, Assistant Engineer, Waste Management, Greater Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu they could also introduce other German experts to explore inert waste processing and legacy waste management, as there was particular interest from Chennai regarding processing the 15-20% of waste that remains as inert materials on top of the proposed pilot projects.

Scaling Biogas and Hydrogen Projects

Dr. Felix Bentgens presented Trier’s strengths and contributions to the IURC, highlighting its sustainable campus and collaboration with partners like HITS. Peter discussed the potential scaling of biogas projects, emphasizing the need to explore small and large-scale applications, as well as the integration of hydrogen infrastructure. The pilot cities also touched on the challenges of energy importation in Europe and the need for further investigation into electrolyzer development and carbon capture technologies.

Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Strategies

The pilot cities also discussed hydrogen infrastructure development, focusing on ammonia, methanol, and methane as potential hydrogen carriers. Prof. Dr. Peter Koenig emphasized the need to assess infrastructure requirements for importing hydrogen and highlighted the importance of comparing strategies between India and Germany, including port operations and local biogas treatment methods. The discussion also covered electrolysis technology gaps and the need for pilot projects on localized biogas and methane synthesis, aligning with national hydrogen strategies in both countries. Prof. Dr. Peter Koenig concluded by outlining key areas for collaboration between cities, universities, and ports to advance hydrogen infrastructure development.

Hydrogen Initiatives and Waste Projects

In relation to hydrogen initiatives and waste management projects. Dr. Ashok Varghese from Chennai announced that they are signing an MOU with the Sector Skills Council for Hydrogen and establishing a hydrogen laboratory at their campus with a start-up capital of EURO30,000. Mr. Sambhav Ayachi shared details about Jabalpur’s waste-to-energy plant, which generates 11.5 megawatt per hour of electricity and is part of the Cities 2.0 project. Ms. Julia Diers, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Senate Chancellery, EU Funding Programs Advisor discussed Bremen’s Hydrogen Valley project in Germany, which is funded by the European Commission, and offered to share insights from experts and potentially arrange virtual tours of their hydrogen lab during the Advanced Cooperation Mission (study visits).

Biogas and Hydrogen Energy Solutions

The meeting also focused on exploring biogas and hydrogen energy solutions for waste management in Chennai, with Dr. M. Jaikumar, Ph.D., Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, Dean IA highlighting the potential of biomethane as a sustainable energy source. Prof. Dr. Peter Koenig emphasized the need to discuss these options with shipping companies, noting that 50% of global ordered ships are planned to run on LNG. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is actively implementing bio-CNG (compressed biogas) projects, converting wet waste into fuel for cooking and vehicles. Private contractors maintain these plants, which have included locations at Chetpet and Madhavaram, with plans for further expansion. 

The session concluded with details about a competitive fund for pilot projects by the IURC Team Leader Mr. Pablo Gándara and Ms. Jacqueline Chang gave a briefing on established timelines for the opportunity for Horizon Funding related to the support of the Clean Industrial Deal: Decarbonisation of energy intensive industries (call opens 12 January 2027 and closes 15 September 2027).

Progress Updates

From 28 January until 13 February, the five pilot cities have decided on a series of deep dive online sessions to share best practices and how it could be incorporated into the two proposed pilot project ideas which they have since documented in the U-CAP. The pilot cities are very close to completing their comprehensive Urban Cooperation Action Plan (U-CAP) and they plan to submit it on or before February 28^th. 

The CoP Coordinator has made plans to use the second CoP meeting on 25 February to do a final round of consultations with member cities and to explore on how to work effectively on Advance Cooperation Missions (Study Visits) before or after World Cities Summit 2026 in Singapore taking place from 14 to 16 June. The CoP Coordinator plans to also request for CoP member cities to agree and formalize the approval of the U-CAP prior to official submission on or before 28 February 2026. 

We would like to thank the following city government officials in this CoP for their hard work and dedication since January 2026:

• Trier (CoP Coordinator)
  • Ms. Elisa Limbacher, City of Trier, International Relations
  • Mr. Dr. Felix Bentgens, University of Applied Sciences, International Project Coordinator
  • Mr. Prof. Dr. Peter König, University of Applied Sciences, Hydrogen Senior Expert Group
• Bremen
  • Ms. Julia Diers, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Senate Chancellery, EU Funding Programs Advisor

• Chennai
  • Dr. Ashok Varghese, Pro Chancellor, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
  • Dr. M. Jaikumar, Ph.D., Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, Dean IA
  • Dr J Pradeep Bhaskar, Assistant Professor, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
  • Ms. Revathi R, Assistant Engineer, Waste Management, Greater Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu

• Cuttack
  • Mr. Trishul Mardi, Assistant Commissioner 
  • Mr. Mrinmoy Chattaraj, Consultant 

• Jabalpur
  • Mr. Sambhav Ayachi, Deputy Municipal Commissioner
  • Mr. Vatsal Khandelwal, Environmental Engineer & Social Safeguards Nodal Officer 

The EU-funded International Urban and Regional Cooperation for Asia-Australasia’s Circular Economy Cluster currently has five (5) Communities of Practice (CoP) consisting of 24 cities from 11 countries/territories.

For more information you can email the Cluster | CoP Manager jchang@iurc.eu and IURC Helpdesk Team helpdesk@iurc.eu

CoP #5 Team 1: Smart Circular Cities 

EU: Debrecen, Sofia

AA: Iskandar Malaysia, Pimpri Chinchwad, Cuttack, Jabalpur

CoP #5 Team 2: Smart Circular Cities

EU: Madrid, Granada

AA: Beijing, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou 

CoP #6: Circular Carbon Economy – Research & Innovation

EU: Trier, Bremen

AA: Chennai, Cuttack, Jabalpur

CoP #7: Food Policy & Circular Food Solutions

EU: Milan, Vicenza, Košice

AA: Seberang Perai, Melaka, Kuala Lumpur (observer), Zhengzhou

CoP #8: Circular Economy Urban Centres

EU: Bologna, Riga, Sofia

AA: New Taipei, Gangtok, Seberang Perai