On 15, 16 and 17 of April, the REALCHEM project partners got together for its General Assembly in the Sofia Cultural Centre in Helsinki, Finland.
In this meeting, which was part of 5th ACCC Impact Week 2026, the project consortium convened to review progress, assess the project implementation, and chart the path toward the future activities for the remaining 2026. The first day was dedicated to taking stock of the current status of the emissions testing campaigns for heavy-duty vehicles and non-road mobile machinery (WP2) , shipping (WP3), and aviation (WP4). This was the opportunity to discuss the state of play of the filed and laboratory campaigns, the achievements so far and the first outcomes. It was also the opportunity to discuss any existing challenges, as well as to identify mitigation actions and common solutions. Overall, the REALCHEM technical partners leading these activities (VTT, ONERA and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) highlighted that the objectives of this work are mostly on track, and the project has found mitigation measures to address any bottlenecks, such as the current limited availability of jet fuel due to the geopolitical situation.
The second day was dedicated to update the work done identifying the most suitable technology packages, as well as their LCA and impact assessment (WP6), a work that has been led by IVL and VTT. It was followed by the REALCHEM open session (more on that below), as well as the project General Assembly led by the project coordinator (Tampere University) to discuss administrative issues and internal management decisions. Finally, the last day of the meeting was dedicated to the update on the activities developed under WP5, which focus on Air pollution and exposure projections and is led by HEREON.
Ultimately, the consortium is pleased with the internal cooperation – the work developed so far is mostly on track, and although there is plenty of work still to do, we are looking forward to showcase our achievements during the upcoming mid-term Review Meeting.
REALCHEM in the spotlight during Impact Week
This was also the opportunity to showcase REALCHEM in a special session on 16 April. This public session presented our project to a wide audience of technical experts, and to discuss the future of transport technologies in hard-to-electrify sectors, based on findings from the REALCHEM project. This session focused on the four REALCHEM sectors – heavy-duty vehicles and non-road mobile machinery, shipping, and aviation, exploring current and future technological trajectories toward 2030 and 2050, including expected changes in the propulsion mix, improvements in energy efficiency, and pathways toward carbon-neutrality. It was also the opportunity to engage and discuss with the sister project PAREMPI, on the topic of secondary aerosol emissions.
There will be plenty of developments across the scope of the entire project in 2026! Make sure to subscribe to our channels on LinkedIn and the Newsletter to ensure you stay up to date with REALCHEM.