Welcome to the 29th Edition of the eseia Newsletter! Dear eseia members,
Welcome to the Autumn Edition of the eseia Newsletter. Firstly, I would like to sincerely thank you all for your participation in the last General Assembly Meeting in Brussels. As eseia members, we all shared the purpose and great ambition to build a more sustainable future that needs of common efforts to become reality.
Together, we have recently adopted eseia’s Work Programme and Budget 2019. Without any doubt, this constitutes our best intention to keep growing and undertaking new challenges with the aim to contribute to Europe´s sustainable development, in line with both EU strategies and further international efforts such as the Paris Agreement.
For this reason, I am pleased to personally welcome the new 8 eseia members coming from four different countries – Austria, Estonia, Portugal and France, which you can get to know a bit better in the current Newsletter edition. eseia is satisfied to see a constant interest from high education institutes, research organisations and businesses committed to advance renewable energy research and innovation.
Last months, eseia organised two successful training events. The BET Pilot Plant Course and the SuPREME International Summer School have widely contributed to enhance both young researchers and expert scientists profile as well as to tackle key knowledge and professional needed gaps. Eseia continues supportting education and training and looks forward to upcoming activities, conferences and workshops which are listed in this publication.
Hope to see you all soon again and wish you a pleasant reading!
Brigitte Hasewend Director of eseia
eseia Newsletter 29th Editon November 2018
Contents 1. News from eseia...................................... 2
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1. News from eseia
General Assembly and Governing Council Meetting in Brussels
The GA and GC Business Meetings from 13 to 14 November gathered eseia members in Brussels to examine the alliance performance during 2018 and set the roadmap for the next period 2019. Among the most relevant outcomes, 8 new members from 4 countries and the adoption of the Work Programme and Budget 2019.
Proposal Workshop November 2018: eseia’s next
challenges
On 13th November 2018, eseia held the Proposal Workshop together with the General Assembly
Meeting in Brussels and presented four proposals for EU funding project calls.
eseia welcomes New Members, discover Who they are
eseia is pleased to welcome three new members with the desire and the capacity to advance sustainable energy systems all across Europe. Get to know their vision, expertise and how can they contribute to the association´s mission.
4th China Forum: EU-China cooperation and innovation
On 23-24 October the Confucius Institute, together with
University of Graz and TU Graz held the 4th China Forum and
celebrated the success of the EU-China cooperation. Aiming
to make a reflection on the ways in which both countries can
work together to enhance innovation and development, the
European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance -eseia-
presented its vision and main projects during a workshop on
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2. News from eseia Members
This section of the eseia Newsletter is dedicated to presenting news from our members related to the field sustainable energy. If you would like to share an interesting article for the upcoming newsletter, please send an email to the eseia Team: [email protected]
Renewable Energy Systems
Succesful kick-off event for new UT/VU bachelor Mechanical Engineering
The University of Twente (The Netherlands) have set a new bachelor programme in the field of mechanical engineering with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. During the kick-off insight into the strategic aspect of the new collaboration between the two universities were given. The new programme will be offered from September 2019 allowing scholars that have chosen a Nature & Technology Profile the possibility to apply for a technical bachelor catering for the enormous demand of academically-trained professionals on the labour market.
VGTU and Scania Group start cooperation in alternative fuels usage
From 18 September, a new city bus powered by hydrogen-enriched (up to 20%) and natural gas (H2NG) is tested on Lithuanian roads. The bus has been developed due to cooperation between Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU), Scania CV AB (Sweden) and their representative company in Lithuania Scania Lietuva UAB, and the company SG Dujos in research on alternative fuels usage in transport.
Smart Urban Regions
Enhancing ecotourism along the Eurovelo cycle route
EcoVeloTour facilitates the development of sustainable tourism in the Danube region along the EuroVelo routes, mainly in Southeast European countries which are not yet typical cycle tourism destinations. The framework is supported by a Sustainable Mobility Guideline developed by the BOKU Institute for Transport Studies, which participates in the Interreg project funded by the Danube Transnational Programme. The Kick-Off Conference at the Corvinus University in Budapest on 3 October, aimed to providing implementation guidelines for a conscious ecological framework for the management of tourism destinations.
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TalTech's Self-driving car first time in public
The cooperation between Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) and Silberauto reached an important milestone in the development of Estonia's first self-driving car. Completed for the Tallinn University of Technology (TTÜ) 100th anniversary, the self-driving car is a fully self-propelled vehicle that can accommodate four to six people. The car’s body was developed and manufactured by Silberauto, while technical solutions such as electronics, sensory and control software have been developed in co-operation with TTÜ students supervised by robotics, IT and Engineering scientists.
Advancing Sustainable Energy Sector
How to put citizens at the heart of energy policy decisions
The article published by University College Cork reasoning about different level of power which individuals and communities could bring to achieve Ireland’s low carbon energy future. Moreover, citizens have the greatest ability to make the low carbon energy transition faster and smoother worldwide. Accordingly, a Public Engagement Network (PEN) facilitates individuals and communities to initiate and contribute in every energy decision which is affecting their lives. The PEN is an example of a mechanism to engage the local energy community and can provide a platform to engage with different energy stakeholders as well.
3. eseia Projects
RUNNING PROJECTS NEWS
BET - BioEnergyTrain
Third BET Pilot Plant Research Lab on Organic-Waste Exploitation
From 17th to 19th October 2018 four international students with a background in engineering had the opportunity to work at the :metalobon pilot plant installation in Germany and gained valuable hands-on experience with key technologies at the research lab.
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Phoenix - People for tHe eurOpean bio-ENergy mIX
Phoenix main features. Ensuring international research capacity
Phoenix partnership made an overview of the project´s achievements to date during the last Progress Meeting in Brussels. Since its start, 24 experienced researchers, 16 early stage researchers, and 2 managerial secondees have taken part on staff exchanges and trainings to ensure future research excellence and expertise in the development and adoption of renewable and sustainable forms of energy.
SuPRME - twinning for a SUstainable, Proactive Research partnership in distributed Energy systems planning, Modelling and managEment
International Summer School 2018 in Poland: Macro and Micro Scale Energy Systems
SuPREME International Summer School, organised by eseia, brought together international students with the aim to train both on macro and micro scale Energy Systems. For more than a week, participants worked at the IMP PAN’s Energy Conversion and Renewable Resources Research Centre KEZO in Poland managing real regional data on the energy plan and training on optimisation techniques.
SuPREME reaches its Final conference in Jablonna
Twinning project SuPREME, led by the IMP PAN, reached its Final Conference in Jablonna, PO, with rewarding outputs. In total, eseia has organised three Summer Schools during the lifetime of the project, which aligned with larger EU strategies in Energy Transition to introduce sustainable systems based on RES in Poland. SuPRME has successfully involved several external partners.
4. European Policy News
H2020 Workshop on Bioenergy, Advanced Biofuels and Renewable Fuels
On April 2018, the workshop organised by the Renewable Energy Sources Unit in DG RTD brought together a portfolio of around 50 projects funded by the H2020 Secure, clean and efficient energy Societal Challenge, including BET project coordinated by eseia. The recently published workshop report summarises the various presentations and inputs that have contributed to policy recommendations and effective innovative solutions to the market.
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New Bioeconomy Strategy 2030 for a Sustainable Europe
Launched and adopted on February 2012, first Europe's Bioeconomy Strategy addresses the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into vital products and bio-energy. The last update published in 2018 intends now to respond to new European policy priorities, so as to maximise its contribution towards the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
H2020 Transport Virtual Info Day: EU funding oportunities on Smart, Green and Integrated Transport for 2019
The Horizon Transport Virtual Info Day celebrated on 23 October presented the upcoming funding opportunities by the EU's H2020 Programme on smart, green and integrated transport. A total of nearly €355 million to benefit Mobility for Growth, Automated Road Transport, Green Vehicles, and Next Generation Batteries. An overview of the application and evaluation process, including tips for writing a good proposal, are also provided here.
EU on track to implement Paris commitments. Preparing 2030 energy and climate plans
The EU reduced its GHG emissions by 22% between 1990 and 2017, while
the economy grew by 58% over the same period. According to the new
EU climate action progress report, however, amid robust economic
growth, emissions increased slightly by 0.6 % between 2016 and 2017,
mainly in transport and industry. While EU emissions are projected to
decrease by 30% by 2030, Member States are now preparing national
plans expected to close the gap between existing planned measures at national level and what is now
required at the EU.
Public consultation: Recommendation on Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM)
Building on three key areas, where clarification appears to be necessary – data,
cybersecurity and use of 5G commercial bands – this public consultation aims to
identify the main challenges linked to the deployment of connected and
automated cars today. The consultation investigates cybersecurity threats and
trust issues, data governance aspects (e.g. governance models; principles for car
data sharing), privacy and data protection needs, as well as the different aspects of technology needs.
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European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance – eseia Director: Brigitte Hasewend
eseia Graz Office c/o Graz University of Technology Mandellstraße 11/II, A-8010 Graz, Austria T. +43 / 316 / 873 – 5281 F. +43 / 316 / 873 – 5282 [email protected] eseia Brussels Office Rue d’Arlon 22 B-1050 Brussels, Belgium [email protected] eseia Homepage More information about eseia members And activities can be found on our website www.eseia.eu eseia Education and Training Programme More information about eseia courses and activities can be found at: www.etp.eseia.eu
eseia Services:
• Close contact to the European Commission facilitated by our desk in Brussels, as well as contacts to funding agencies and thorough know-how of funding programmes. • Knowledge building and dissemination through eseia projects, such as the eseia journal and EC-SET Plan Education and Training Initiative. • Long term contact with international and cross-sector organisations working in the area of renewable energies. • Support for consortium building and the coordination and management of large scale proposal preparation process. • Information sharing through interactive workshops, business meetings and quarterly newsletters including news from the grapevine of EU policy regarding renewable energies.
