Greece was the host country for the Capitalization Lab of the BLUE DEAL project, which was attended by more than 40 innovative companies and organisations.
On 3 and 4 March, Greece hosted the first virtual capitalisation event of the European BLUE DEAL project. The main objective of this event, organised by CRES, was to present the guidelines for the successful planning of Blue Energy projects taking into account technical, environmental and social parameters.
During the first day, the establishment of Regional and Transnational Partnerships based on the above principles was launched, providing a favourable environment for the development of Blue Energy in the Mediterranean Sea.
More specifically, the BLUE DEAL consortium led by the University of Siena with 12 partners from 6 Mediterranean countries – representing different stakeholders – has identified all critical technical and administrative parameters for BE deployment and has developed some significant results.
In particular, CLANER presented during the first day the results of the comparative study carried out in the framework of the project which had as objectives to describe the state of implementation of blue energy in each partner country, as well as to analyse the regulatory framework for the implementation of BE and to analyse the challenges and opportunities of each country for the development of marine energies.
Marine Renewable Energy, also known as Blue Energy, which includes all renewable energies derived from the seas and oceans, is a clean energy source and can play an important role in supporting the Mediterranean area to achieve its energy transition goals, generate economic growth and jobs, improve security of energy supply and boost competitiveness through technological innovation.
The Mediterranean Sea has a high potential for offshore wind energy (mostly floating), a good potential for wave energy and an availability for the use of thermal and saline gradients, while certain Mediterranean countries have a good potential for localised tidal energy.
A supportive regulatory and legal framework is needed to ensure that EE is part of future national and local energy plans. Existing regulatory tools into which AD can be integrated include: maritime spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management and national/regional/local energy plans.
And, that for successful exploitation of EA, national and local authorities must engage with all stakeholders, including environmental organisations, tourism, fisheries and the shipping sector, as well as local communities who must be actively involved in the decision making and potential ownership of any locally installed EA devices.
The second day focused on the innovative solutions presented by the more than 30 companies that participated in the Open Innovation Challenge action. 12 challenges elicited 80 responses from companies from all over Europe.
Throughout the morning, 25 companies explained to the members of the jury and the audience how to solve the challenges using their different technologies and services.
The different entities of the juries from the different countries involved had the opportunity to ask questions and clarify some concepts about the proposals. In the coming days they will meet to choose the 3 finalists of each Open Innovation Challenge that will compete in the final of the Business Forum in Valencia.
This session also allowed companies to network and discover technologies and devices developed by other companies.
Finally, all attendees were invited to participate in the next Business Forum of the project to be held in Valencia from 23 to 25 March, which can also be followed live through social networks and the BLUE DEAL platform https://bluedealmed.eu/events.
BLUE DEAL is a European project made up of 12 partners from 6 Mediterranean countries and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance Fund, with a budget of EUR 2.8 million.
More information:
https://blue-deal.interreg-med.eu/
