On June 8, 2021. from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm, the 2nd International Danube Energy + Day Conference "Innovation ecosystem in the Danube Macro Region" was held online and was broadcast live via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1q8HcMTpPY ), organized by SEE ICT and Danube Energy + project partners.

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 energy sector into ventures. The project tries to overcome the disparities between the partners' allowing 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 partner of the Danube Energy + project openned the second event "International Days of Danube Energy +. The event gathered together young innovators, entrepreneurs, innovation ecosystem experts, stakeholder which presented and discussed the achievements of the project to support Young Innovators, the challenges, the 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, has been developed 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 boosting their competences to start successful ventures.
• Implementation of the Pilot Tool in the 9 partner countries was carried out. 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 Dabube Energy+ Hubs establishment and sustaining. A strategy for the establishment and development of Regional Centers (Hubs) Danube Energy + has been developed and adopted. The Regional Hubs will launch of July 2021 and will continued 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 and achievements after finishing the pre-acceleration programme, and discussed the start-ups’ role in the digital economy with the representatives of innovation ecosystem.

Amir Kalajdzin, National Contact Point, Germany for Interreg Danube Programme presented the future support mesures for startups for the period 2021-2027 during the 2nd International Danube Energy + Day Conference "Innovation ecosystem in the Danube Macro Region".