The word is out. We can now proudly announce that the project 'Towards a sustainable energy supply in cities' has been nominated as finalist for the REGIOSTARS awards 2021. The project is nominated in the category 'Green Europe', which highlights resilient communities in urban environments. The official winner of the award will be announced during an official award ceremony, scheduled on 2 December 2021.

The REGIOSTARS: what and how?

The REGIOSTARS Awards are a yearly competition, organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy. It aims at identifying good practices in regional development and highlighting innovative, EU-funded projects, which could be attractive and inspiring to other regions and project managers.

So this year, a project by EnergyVille got nominated, making EnergyVille an official finalist in the 'Green Europe' category. The project nominated is 'Towards a sustainable energy supply in cities' that ran from 2014 to 2018.

'Towards a sustainable energy supply in cities'

The project 'Towards a sustainable energy supply in cities' was a joint project of KU Leuven, VITO, imec and UHasselt and set up ambitious new research into photovoltaic systems (SolsThore), thermal grids (GeoWatt) and optimally coupled energy systems (SmarThor). The research was developed within the framework of the SALK program and received support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Flemish government and the Province of Limburg.

During the project, EnergyVille tested new technologies such as building-integrated solar panels or district heating networks in state-of-the-art lab equipment. This way, we were able to grow into the unique energy R&D innovation hub that we are today, helping to shape and accelerate the transition to a carbon-free society. And all this is symbolically located on the old mining site of Waterschei: Thor Park.

The project also laid the foundation for the unique living lab and ecosystem that Thor Park is today, where the energy technologies and services of the future are built and tested in collaboration with the local community and businesses. Thanks to the project, a large part of the lab infrastructure were expanded and the application to recognize EnergyVille as a low-regulation zone was launched. In addition, many smart setups and a state-of-the-art data platform were developed that now help shape the living lab at Thor Park.

We need your vote!

And now on to the practical details. The final of the REGIOSTARS Awards will take place in Dubrovnik on December 2, 2021 in the presence of the European Commissioner. Next to being a finalist in the 'Green Europe' category, we also have a chance to win the people’s choice award. And for that, we would need your help.

Until November 15, you can cast your vote on the REGIOSTARS website. You can vote by clicking on the heart in the top right corner of the project description. Yes, it's that simple.

Cast your vote

More info?

Want to know more about the project 'Towards a sustainable energy supply in cities? Feel free to go through the news article or the booklet that was published after the closing event. Would you like to know more about the regulatory sandbox EnergyVille is located at? Then feel free to have a look at this press release.