On the 16th of September, the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme (DTP) STRIDE project held its Mid Term Conference interregional workshop to exchange technical and legislative knowledge on smart grids, as well as officially launch the STRIDE Smart Energy Platform. Hosted by ConPlusUltra in Vienna, Austria, the STRIDE Mid Term Event and press conference was open to all interested parties involved in the energy sector or have influence in energy policy.

The STRIDE Mid Term Event served as an opportunity for invited target groups and associated strategic partners of the STRIDE project to join a Interreg Danube interregional workshop encouraging knowledge transfer of smart grid concepts. Moderated by the European Institute for Innovation – Technology (EIfI-Tech), participants of the workshop were provided with a comprehensive introduction to the training material currently being developed within the scope of the STRIDE project, which will be made available to members of the STRIDE Smart Energy Platform.

Topics of the introductory STRIDE trainings ranged from smart grid motivations to smart grid strategies and energy policies at the local, regional, national and EU-levels, and the open-source training material will continue to be developed and disseminated through the digital STRIDE platform. Stakeholders also heard engaging presentations and examples of good practices from: the Slovenian-Croatian SINCRO.grid colloaboration project, presented by ELES (Dr. Uroš Kerin); Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies (BEST), based in Austria; GAP Elektroistra (GAP - Grid Automation Planning), presented by the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar in Croatia; and Vienna’s Viertel Zwei project, presented by representatives of the Viertel Zwei project.

The STRIDE Mid Term Event concluded with the presentation of the STRIDE Smart Energy Platform, now live, as well as the premiere of the STRIDE project animated video. In addition to providing registered members with tools and resources for the improvement of energy planning, the STRIDE platform creates a network of experts, policymakers, and other relevant actors to boost the development of smart grids throughout the Danube Region. Registration to the platform is free.

More about the STRIDE project

The STRIDE project, standing for Improved energy planning through the Integration of Smart Grid concepts in the Danube Region, is led by the Local Energy Agency Spodnje Podravje (LEASP) together with seven project partners and eight associated partners from Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through knowledge transfer and the development of planning tools, the STRIDE project aims to provide a comprehensive support for regional/local policy makers for the improvement of energy planning. Some main objectives of the transnational project include regional analyses, developed strategies, action plans and other tools (i.e. methodologies, guidebook, web platform) that will enable and accelerate the integration of Smart Grid concepts into regional and local policies across the Danube region. Furthermore, the methodology for regional analysis, good practice guidebook and web platform will be designed in a way that allows for their application throughout the entire Danube region; therefore, the outcomes of the project will represent a high replication value and ensure scalability within the Daube region and beyond.

Partners

The STRIDE partnership is led by the Local Energy Agency Spodnje Podravje (LEASP). The partnership is well-balanced with competent partners (ERDF/IPA + ASPs), including energy agencies, a university, R&D organisations, energy clusters and policy makers. The partnership expands across various regions, ranging in various levels of economic development.

1. Local Energy Agency Spodnje Podravje (Slovenia)

2. European Institute for Innovation-Technology (Germany)

3. ConPlusUltra (Austria)

4. Bay Zoltán Nonprofit Ltd. for Applied Research (Hungary)

5. University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (Croatia)

6. Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum (Bulgaria)

7. EGÚ Brno, a.s. (Czech Republic)

8. Centre for Energy, Environment and Resources (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Associated partners:

9.   Czech Biogas Association (Czech Republic)
10. Scientific Research Centre Bistra Ptuj (Slovenia)
11. Sustainable Energy Development Agency (Bulgaria)
12. Public utility Dorfen Ltd (Germany)
13. Ministry of Environment, Protection and Energy (Croatia)
14. Regional Economic Community “REZ” d.o.o. Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
15. BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies (Austria)
16. Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (Hungary)

Project Details

Total Budget: € 1,061,969.80

Programme Funding Quote (ERDF): 85%

Programme: Interreg Danube Transnational Programme