Developing an efficient solar fuel technology in the laboratory is one challenge. Turning it into something that can be manufactured, deployed, and commercially sustained at scale is another. On 26 and 27 March 2026, that second challenge took centre stage in Brussels at Scaling Renewable Fuels and Chemicals for a Resilient European Industry – From Scientific Creativity to Innovation, a two-day summit organised by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and co-organised with Hungarian start-up eChemicles.
Sarah D’Adamo, SUN-PERFORM’s project coordinator at Wageningen University & Research, attended both days of the event, which brought together researchers, entrepreneurs, investment professionals, and policy framers working across the renewable fuels and chemicals space. The programme combined keynote presentations, breakout sessions, and panel discussions, covering topics from measurement standards for solar-to-X technologies to the practical steps involved in building a company around deep-tech research.
The summit is part of a broader effort to build coherence across the EIC’s Solar-to-X portfolio—a group of projects, including SUN-PERFORM, that are each tackling different aspects of converting solar energy into fuels and chemicals. Getting from fundamental research to a commercially viable technology is rarely straightforward, and events like this one are designed to address that gap: bringing together the scientific, entrepreneurial, and policy communities that each hold a piece of the puzzle.
SUN-PERFORM’s Perspective on a Portfolio in Motion
“For SUN-PERFORM, the event was a reminder that scaling our work means connecting our innovations with broader ecosystems,” said Sarah. “Through initiatives like SUNERGY, which builds an EU-wide innovation community around solar fuels and chemicals, we saw how coordination frameworks can encourage alignment of roadmaps and collaborative problem-solving. What is exciting for the Solar-to-X portfolio as a group is this emerging sense of connection—projects working not as isolated efforts, but as parts of a collective push towards decarbonising energy and chemical value chains.”
The Brussels summit follows SUN-PERFORM’s participation in the Joint EIC–SUNERGY Roadmapping Event on Renewable Hydrogen, Fuels & Chemicals, also held in Brussels in March 2025, and a more recent webinar on solar fuels and chemical production from algae, where Sarah presented the project’s approach alongside three other EU-funded initiatives.