Towards a Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Space in renewable energy and energy efficiency
The EU understands and acknowledges that R&I plays a major role in promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth and job creation in the region. With this in mind, the EU-funded MAGHRENOV project brought together various stakeholders from European and Maghreb countries to set up a common Euro-Mediterranean innovation area. To support innovation and capacity building in RE&EE, project partners addressed three main pillars: education, innovation and business creation, and research and infrastructure. As such, they created, implemented and developed a Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Space (EMIS) – the project’s key outcome. The idea was to introduce a sustainable energy value chain on both sides of the Mediterranean, and develop a shared vision to stimulate the transition of EMIS from a collaborative innovative space to a fully structured innovation system. In establishing EMIS, the MAGHRENOV team laid down a common vision for key EU-funded R2I projects that will allow to network, coordinate and create links in the Euro-Mediterranean region. This was reinforced by the experience of the R2I initiatives, which served as test beds for EMIS. Key recommendations were made to launch a real EMIS. They include proposals for education, business creation and infrastructures based on conclusions from dialogues and workshops held during the project’s international conference. Researchers also created a Mediterranean RE&EE knowledge base, a virtual think tank in RE&EE to share knowledge and information between Mediterranean Partner Countries. It currently hosts more than 200 resources, including over 150 downloadable documents, nearly 60 web links and articles. To support and foster innovation and sustainability, two joint calls for innovation projects were launched in 2015 and 2016 on renewable energy, energy efficiency and biomass. Targeting Euro-Moroccan consortiums, three projects were selected for funding. By strengthening R&I efforts and collaboration in RE&EE, MAGHRENOV has established a solid base to offer opportunities in developing new business, creating new jobs and contributing to the economic growth of the Mediterranean basin.
Keywords
Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Space, renewable energy and energy efficiency, MAGHRENOV, Maghreb
