Nowadays, energy and environment sectors globally merged into one ecosystem that is more complex and more interrelated than ever before and will be more in the future.

Essential for the generation of industrial, commercial and societal wealth, energy also provides personal comfort and mobility. Nevertheless its production and consumption place considerable pressures on the environment: greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions, land use, waste generation and oil spills. These pressures contribute to climate change, damage natural ecosystems and the man-made environment, and have adverse effects on human health.

The area of energy and environment differs a lot in terms of innovation phase, knowledge and market features. “Environmental friendly industries” globally reveals the arrival of new business models and product categories which allow companies to capture value and to compete on quality and product differentiation.

With reference to the Adriatic- Ionian area, the sub-thematic priority areas identified by the OISAIR analysts are referred in particular to “more SME based” solutions and skills for integrating renewable resources by parallel managing in demand and energy efficiency through big data and digitalization of the sector.

According to the analysis, 3 sub-thematic area will be taken in consideration:

Integration of renewable energy sources, energy storage systems and demand-side management systems

Data based services and solutions for energy efficiency planning (including for infrastructure upgrading or retrofitting)

Smart grid solutions