FLAGSHIPS

Project, process, network; ongoing

The Russian gas import in many EUSDR countries lays well above 60%, which makes this part of Europe even more exposed than the EU average. The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis raise the security of supply concerns as never before. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to assess how to reduce gas import dependence in the Danube Region, how to diversify the energy supply of the Region’s countries, accelerate the use of untapped renewable and other alternative energy sources.

Project, process, network; ongoing

The Danube Strategy Flagship will coordinate actions to foster the development of hydrogen economies in the EUSDR countries at a macro-regional level, building on synergies of the national actions and the favourable natural/geographical conditions of the EUSDR (e.g., areas of excellent potentials for green hydrogen production from renewables, tremendous transport facilities: either natural, such as the Danube River, or artificial such as the extended gas infrastructures, etc.). It will analyse the entire hydrogen value-chain (production, transport/storage, end-uses) at a macro-regional level in a comprehensive way in order to make policy recommendations on how to adjust the different strengths/opportunities (e.g. production and transport capacities) and visions (e.g. various end-use development scenarios) at national levels into a transnational context, thus facilitating the development of a fully operational macro-regional hydrogen economy.

The Danube Strategy Flagship will also foster project generation (including IPCEI projects) in the hydrogen topic, and label selected successful projects as flagships (e.g. HyEfre, Danube Indeet projects).

Project, process, network; ongoing

The collective and citizen-driven energy actions are key elements of the energy transition, however less widespread in the Danube Region, especially in its eastern part. The Danube Strategy Flagship covers activities that address various technical and socioeconomic aspects of creating appropriate conditions for renewable energy communities in the Danube Region. A special emphasis is put on renewable electricity generation as a cornerstone of energy communities, as well as issues of related infrastructure (grid expansion, grid balancing, and associated energy storage solutions), but also deals with awareness raising on the benefits of such initiatives.

The Danube Strategy Flagship will enable the spread of comprehensive systems, such as e.g. the “European Energy Award” that facilitate the daily operation work of local authorities in their municipal energy planning, but also methods from other initiatives and related projects that support the setup of new and the expansion of existing energy communities in a broader sense, to assist municipalities to elaborate their Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP-s), enforce them joining the Covenant of Mayors, harmonise local policies to national and EU strategies, facilitate capacity building and benchmarking, etc.