Project overview
Carbon Reduction & Innovative Transformation
Small and medium enterprises account for nearly a third of carbon emissions. At the same time, many regions are not able to support their decarbonisation. The CREDIT4CE project builds the support capacities of such regions to take forward the green transition. The partners train them on technology transfer and speed up the development and uptake of innovative technologies needed for “net zero”. They design a new framework for green-tech innovators, which consists of a set of interventions for technology transfer and a public/private support model for green tech startups. The model will speed up the transfer of cutting-edge tech from lab to market and scale up green solutions to create new business opportunities.
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1,86m €
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Project Budget
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80%
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of the Budget is funded by ERDF
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6
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Countries
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7
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Regions
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10
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Partners
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2
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Pilots
Duration
Start date
End date
Project progress
Project partnership
Project partners
Lead partner
Slovak innovation and energy agency
Section of Innovations and International Relations
Project partner
n/a
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5290 Šempeter-Vrtojba
Department Energy and Environment
Research, Innovation & Sustainability Unit
40124 Bologna
Department for Laser Technologies, Automation and Production Management
40129 Bologna
Poznan Science and Technology Park
Roadmap
Context and Challenge
SMEs are responsible for 63% of total EU emissions and the manufacturing sector alone accounts for 37% (Eurobarometer 498, 2022). Meanwhile, the lack of targeted support for SMEs is worrying. In fact, an analysis of 113 energy efficiency programmes in 8 EU Member States showed that only 2 focused on SMEs (Fawcett, Tina, & Hampton, Sam, Why & how energy efficiency policy should address SMEs). The EU is a global leader in manufacturing and manufactured products account for 83% of EU exports, yet increased international competition and environmental issues require more support for innovation and effective technology transfer to keep pace and build resilience. This is compounded by regional and national climate targets and regulatory pressures on companies to reduce their value chain emissions and adopt circular practices. The dual challenge for SMEs is to identify their decarbonisation opportunities and incorporate them into their business strategy in order to enhance their ability to meet their climate commitments, while at the same time succeeding in adopting innovative solutions to reach the Net Zero goal.
Specific Problem
Specifically, only 14% of manufacturing SMEs in the 6 CREDIT4CE partner regions have a decarbonisation strategy (Eurobarometer 498, 2022). Thus, there is a strong need for adequate resources, financial support and support services for the transition to resource efficiency and decarbonisation, which are currently lacking especially in the Central European region (Eurobarometer 498, 2022). In order to do this, more awareness and education on the levers of decarbonisation, technical opportunities and innovations in the sector are crucial.
Idea
To address the challenges, the idea is to strengthen the Central European region's capacity to achieve its climate goals by supporting manufacturing SMEs to undertake decarbonisation strategies, by enhancing the region's technology transfer capacities and by accelerating the development and adoption of innovative technologies required for Net Zero.
Solution
CREDIT4CE project partners, through an innovative approach, will work to develop a ‘Decarbonisation Hub’. A unique platform that will support SMEs in finding solutions for their decarbonisation journey and a contact point for companies providing innovative decarbonisation solutions and technologies, thus producing both a supply and demand support model for decarbonisation solutions. This will result in easier access to knowledge and technologies needed for decarbonisation, new green technologies developed and brought to the market, and matching with R&I actors, start-ups and other players in the innovation ecosystem that can help SMEs move to a low-carbon economy.
How it works
The work is characterised by three Work Packages (WP): - WP1: Creation of the decarbonisation hub - WP2: Accelerating the decarbonisation of manufacturing SMEs - WP3: Supporting Green Technology Innovators Specifically, project activities will focus on establishing a decarbonisation support framework for manufacturing SMEs comprising 3 elements: a carbon calculator, a catalogue of decarbonisation solution providers and a decarbonisation support model for manufacturing SMEs. Next, the focus will be on building a support framework for green technology innovators consisting of 2 elements: a) a set of technology transfer interventions and b) a public/private support model for green technology start-ups, designed to accelerate the transfer of cutting-edge technologies from the lab to the market and scale up proven green solutions to create new business opportunities.
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