DE+ project, funded by the Danube Transnational Cooperation Program 2014-2020, aims to tackle the need for change in regional ecosystems to support Young Innovators in transforming their disruptive ideas in the energy sector into ventures. The project allows the 9 partners from the Danube macro region (Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania) to co-create and learn from each other to support the young innovators, carriers of potentially revolutionary ideas to foster economic growth and development in the region.
Tamara Högler, the representative of the German lead partner of the DE + project opened the event which gathered together more than 180 young innovators, entrepreneurs, innovation ecosystem experts, and stakeholders which presented and discussed the achievements of the project to support Young Innovators, the challenges, the mutual learning, lessons learned and the vision for creating sustainability of the partnership project results as following:
- Danube Energy+ ecosystem Package, an innovative learning system for key regional ecosystem actors, including two main elements – (1) best practices, models and experience in identification and motivation of individual Young Innovators in regional ecosystems and their connection to ecosystem actors, and (2) developed Danube Energy+ Tool as a pre-acceleration learning scheme for Young Innovators.
- Implementation of the Pilot Tool carried out in the 9 partner countries. 66 project ideas were selected and boosted up in the fields of environment (19), energy efficiency (13), circular economy (9), renewable energy (4), cleaner electricity (3), transport and energy (2) and other related fields.
- Regional Danube Energy+ Hubs establishment and sustaining. The Regional Hubs will launch in July 2021 and will continue to work in a network to support the development of young innovators from the Danube macro region.
The young innovators from partners’ countries presented their disruptive ideas, business development and achievements after finishing the pre-acceleration programme, and discussed the start-ups’ role in the digital economy with the representatives of the innovation ecosystem.
Johan Söderbom, InnoEnergy’s leader of the thematic field Energy Storage, Germany presented the European battery alliance (EBA250), connecting over 650 stakeholders along the entire value chain and the importance of achieving the European goals of a clean environment.
The representatives of regional stakeholders Oana Buzatu, Cluj City Hall, Romania and Bobovnicky Artur, Slovak Republic Innovation and Energy Agency, Slovak presented the policy for innovation ecosystem development.
Amir Kalajdzin, National Contact Point, Germany for Interreg Danube Programme presented the future support measures for startups for the period 2021-2027 during the 2nd International Danube Energy + Day Conference “Innovation ecosystem in the Danube Macro Region”.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1q8HcMTpPY
Source: Press Release, Danube Energy +