ENERGY INNOVATIONS AND RES PROJECTS SEMINAR´S PARTICIPANTS DISCUSSED POSSIBLE PROJECT COOPERATION IN THE DANUBE REGION IN PRAGUE 15-16 SEPTEMBER, 2016
Energy Innovations and RES Projects seminar´s participants discussed possible project cooperation in the Danube Region in Prague 15-16 September, 2016
On the 15th and 15th September about 70 participants from ngo, private but also state sector met to gain information on financing possibilities for energy projects and to find potential project partners during the “Innovative and the Renewable Energy Sources project seminar”, which was organized by EUSDR Priority Area 2. The aim of the seminar was to inform about funding opportunities for energy related projects within the Danube region and to provide platform for partner search and initialisation of energy related projects by assisting in the alignment of funding procedure.
Ms Marketa Rocejdlova, Czech coordinator of the Priority area 2, as a moderator of the whole two-day session, introduced briefly the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, the work of the Priority area 2 and gave the participants an insight into the added value of the macroregional cooperation. Mr Vitezslav Maly, project manager of the PORSENNA.o.p.s, introduced the project Sustainable Municipal Energy Policy which is focusing on improving the energy management of the municipalities. Later during the first day several funding opportunities have been presented. Interreg Danube Transnational Programme (DTP) and opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector were in detail introduced by the Ms Ana Leganel from the Joint Technical Secretariat DTP with special attention put on the types of actions in the field of energy. Ms Eliska Pilna, National Contact Point of URBACT for the Czech Republic introduced the state of play and provided information about possibilities of participating within the programme. Ms Viera Slavikova from Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Technical Secretariat evaluated an involvement of the energy focused projects in last calls and mentioned best practice project examples from the 2017 – 2013. Opportunities of Horizon 2020 with focus on energy were introduced by Ms Veronika Korittová. Mr Martin Marek provided more information about the new online database EuroAccess that serves as a search tool on EU-funding available in the Danube Region and can be used free of charge by all interested in the Danube projects. Mr Jűrgen Raizner introduced activities of the Steinbeis Danube Center and explained a structure and actions of working groups of Priority Area 8 of the EUSDR which aimes at the competitiveness in the Danube region. Ms. Jana Szuhova from BIC Bratislava, as last speaker of the day, invited the participants to energy match-making clustering workshops in Bratislava.
On the 16th September presentation on the financing possibilities continued with presentation of Ms Hana Nylander Kaloudova, Head of the EIB Office in Prague. Ms. Nylander Kaloudova presented priorities of the EIB and provided more detailed information about loans for energy investments. She also introduced EIB advisory activities, The European Investment Advisory Hub. Later concrete project looking for project partners took the floor by Ms Florina-Diana Dumitru from the National Institute for Research and Development in Environmental Protection in Romania, Ms Ewa Kochanska from Research and Innovation Centre PRO-AKADEMIA from Poland, Ms Ksenija Dreu, who introduced the Gorenje Projekt and Ms Majda Adlesic, who introduced the Water Agent of the Danube Region.
Furthermore Ms Katrin Stehlik from Research Centre Rez presented their work and invited participants to the 7th World Hydrogen Technology Convention, which will take place in 2017 and Mr Darijo Lazic presented the GREENLINE Western Balkans Cluster Foundation that aims to promote the use of bio-energy and the development of bio-energy technologies in the region of the Western Balkans. The second day gave the participants also opportunity to discuss in details concrete cooperation during B2B match-making session.
