We raise the following questions, which are our research and innovation objectives:
1) What are green business models; what are pros and cons, where bottlenecks are; which elements of the green business models lack feasibility, what could be done internally and externally (what policies are needed);
Results
Wide range of green business models were examined; the primary sources of information served producers of solar panels in Europe. Despite there is unanimous agreement that green business models are necessary for further sustainable development, very substantial obstacles were revealed: there are no production standards, which would allow to reach technological uniformity and sizes of solar panels. Standards are necessary for organizing recycling of absolute panels, otherwise, difficulties emerge when used solar panels have to be dismantled and sent for recycling. The producers unanimously agree, that without clearly articulated policies circularity of produced solar panels is not feasible at the current moment.
2) What is the state of the art in research and innovation in the solar industry? What are the solutions for the future? What is the state of research and practices regarding the reuse of already installed solar panels? Are there any initiatives to standardize production in order to make this reuse more efficient and circular? Which companies will be involved in this activity (manufacturers or specialized companies)? (Available expertise: USMBA)
Results
The developed studies have shown that, thanks to the implementation of multidisciplinary approaches to renewable energy, opportunities for resilience toward renewable energy field will continue to grow in Lithuania in particular, in Europe in general, and in Africa.
Additional information on the crucial importance of energy storage systems, particularly batteries, for improving the stability and reliability of renewable energy systems. They provided a comprehensive overview of the different types of batteries and how each type fits into large-scale renewable energy systems, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
3) What is sociological context, which in fact, affects behavioural attitudes of households; are they willing to pay extra for green energy and other green resources; the households are not only consumers, they are shareholders and other stakeholders; are they willing to undertake responsibility for life conditions of future generations.
The sociological context is still under investigation with 3 papers already published. the consortium partners developed a questionnaire using conventional methodological approaches in sociology and currently are collecting primary data in all countries, in which project consortium organizations are located.
Concluding remark:
The objectives are being implemented according to schedule. Over 93 percent of planned secondments for the first period has been implemented, 51 researchers participated in technology transfer through secondments; 24 scientific papers published; total number of publications is 49 (including scientific papers, conference papers, abstracts and posters).
