MiniStor raises awareness on overlooked solutions for the energy transition
MiniStor raises awareness on overlooked solutions for the energy transition
The project teamed up with European and Australian initiatives to address policy-makers and stakeholders during the European Climate Change Adaptation conference
In an effort to gather support for the technologies that will secure the energy transition, MiniStor organised one of the sessions of the sixth European Climate Change Adaptation (ECCA) conference, supported by the European Commission. Addressing industry, policy makers and stakeholders, the project partnered with worldwide reach initiatives at different stages of development, making the case for lesser-known solutions to overcome the challenges of implementing renewable energy sources and the social concerns of their adoption.
The session, part of the event that spanned from the 19 to the 21 of June in Dublin Castle, Ireland, begun by combining the perspective of agrivoltaics and energy storage projects involving local stakeholders in various climate conditions, from Ireland to Australia. Later on, an exchange commenced between the audience and the round table to assess the involvement of end-users and how past experiences have influenced the current approaches for engaging local actors. By leveraging knowledge from the whole value chain, these initiatives raised awareness on overlooked approaches for industrial and residential requirements.
A wide range of topics and case studies were covered. Agriculture Victoria presented the Agrivoltaics Research and Innovation Precinct initiative, based on double land use from a social perspective, and highlighted the multiplier effects of renewable sources in a mature energy market. MiniStor focused on the experience of the demonstrators of Cork and Kimmeria regarding the implementation and integration of novel solutions for different climates, prioritising comfort and safety. Hystore, another Horizon project, closed the session by describing how the combination of thermal energy storage technologies will allow end-users to effectively decouple from the grid with greater efficiency.
Equally broad was the background of the contributors to the session, involving Eleni Mangina (UCD), Anne Dansey (Agriculture Victoria), Carlos Ochoa (IERC, MiniStor coordinator), Brian Cassidy (Cork City Council), Thanasis Papavasileiou, Voula Dimitriadou (DUTh) and Mohammad Saffari (DCU). They all want to congratulate and express gratitude to the conference host, MaREI, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine at University College Cork (UCC).
Overall, the ECCA gathered an audience of 450 people in the capital of Ireland plus nearly 1000 joining online for the 70 parallel activities. Among them, climate adaptation researchers and practitioners, policymakers, local authorities, the private sector, investors, NGOs, citizens’ organisations, youth and education organisations, community groups engaged in adaptation. In the context of the REPowerEU plan, the response of the European Commission to the consequences of the invasion of Ukraine, the country’s leading climate scientist, Dr. Svitlana Krakovska, addressed the conference at the Dublin Castle.
