As part of the Interreg project “Shaping the Future of Smart Regions North” the Northern Netherlands and Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) are cooperating in tackling major challenges such as climate change, energy policy, mobility, health, demographic changes, business and education.
A hot topic that both regions are working on, is the decentralisation of the energy supply system, people empowerment and bottom-up energy planning.
An interesting question is how these regions can strengthen each other? How can businesses and researchers from both sides of the border capitalize on current and planned developments and create synergy in smart energy solutions and research topics?
To discuss this, the Municipality of Groningen is organising a cross-border workshop for the local energy industry (e.g. energy communities, local governments, project developers, grid operators and energy service providers/aggregators) to address these questions around a specific theme:

Decentralised energy markets – how can we achieve robust, bottom-up energy markets?

Workshop details:
February 22nd, from 12.30 till 16.30 at the Entrance open-innovation lab in Groningen,

Address:Zernikelaan 17, 9747 AA Groningen, the Netherlands.

Program
·  12.30  - 13.00: reception with snacks and drinks.
·  13.00  - 14.00: keynote presentations + questions.
·  14.00  - 14.45: coffee break with visit to the Energy Transition Centre open-innovation facilities. 
·  14.45  - 17.00: networking session: discussions on possible cooperation.

Flagship energy initiatives from both regions will be presented and will serve as an introduction to lively discussions during the workshop.

The keynote presentations include:
·  “Enabling decentralised energy markets through energy communities, smart homes and peer-to-peer energy exchange.” by Irin Bouwman, senior consultant DNV GL.
·  “Ideas for an interaction between smart home and planning for future proof infrastructures.” by MSc (GIS) Jürgen Knies, Jade University of Applied Sciences in Oldenburg.
· “PowerToShare: a blockchain based information exchange for decentralised energy markets.” by Kaushik Khakhar, CEO of ToBlockChain.
 
Afterwards, there will be discussions on potential collaboration between the participants. Topics include:
·  Blockchains as an enabler for decentralised energy markets;
·  Smart energy management solutions for residential areas;
·  Integration of sustainability and energy efficiency in building construction; and
·  Public acceptability of new smart, distributed energy services.

The workshop concludes with a visit to the open-innovation facilities of the Energy Transition Centre.

The workshop provides an excellent setting for companies and researchers to start collaboration and we hope the workshop will generate interest for concrete joint cross-border projects. 

If you wish to participate in the workshop on February 22nd, you can use this link or send an email with your contact details to Mr. Ali of the municipality of Groningen (gillis.ali@groningen.nl). Please register as soon as possible as the maximum number of participants is limited.

This workshop is part of the Shaping the Future of Smart Regions North project (www.smart-regions-north.eu).