The ceremony of handing over the Agreement on the allocation of grants for projects financed as part of the "Energy and Climate Change" Program within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area for the period 2014-2021 was held on December 12, 2022, in the premises of the Ministry of Regional Development and Funds European Union.
Based on the adopted Decisions on financing, for two calls for the delivery of project proposals of low value, two projects were approved in the total non-reimbursable amount of 397,950.75 euros.
The first one referred to the Call for submission of project proposals for the creation of a deep geothermal energy database, the project holder the Croatian hydrocarbon agency, in the non-refundable amount of 200,000.00 euros, and the second for the Call for submission of project proposals for the creation of a database of shallow geothermal energy, the project holder of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, in the non-refundable amount of 197,950.75 euros.
The event was opened by Minister Nataša Tramišak and she greeted the gathered participants, while also thanking Haakonu BlankenborgAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Norway Embassy in Croatia and Draženu Jakšiću, CEO of the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar for their cooperation and support in the implementation of the "Energy and Climate Change" Program, and she congratulated the signatories of the Agreement on the selection of their project proposals for financing.
After the minister's welcome speech, Blankenborg gave a brief overview of the cooperation with the Norway Embassy in Croatia within the framework of the "Energy and Climate Change" Program, especially in the context of bilateral cooperation. Then, in front of the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar, which is also the Program Partner, Jakšić presented his view of how vital contracting such and similar projects are in terms of strengthening energy efficiency and increasing the production of energy from renewable sources.
"With today's awarding of grants, we have reached a key milestone of the Program because, with the awarding of these contracts, the last two out of a total of six Open Calls for submission of project proposals have been successfully closed and evaluated. This decade will be focused on the use of renewable energy sources, and the Republic of Croatia has all the predispositions to be a leader at the level of the European Union, not only in the form of using solar energy but also energy from the sea, a potential that Croatia has not yet used, as well as geothermal energy. I look forward to furthering cooperation on these projects and successfully completing and implementing all the contracts we have handed over to the Croatian hydrocarbon agency and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, from this Program," emphasized Minister Tramišak.
"This Program and the projects financed by it, given the energy crisis, proved to be very relevant and necessary. It is commendable that the funds were used in a focused way and complementarity with EU funds, using the so-called gaps in existing funding. We are grateful for the excellent cooperation with Croatia so far, and we look forward to its strengthening in the new financial period of the Norwegian and EEA financial mechanisms", said the ambassador of the Norwegian Embassy in the Republic of Croatia.
CEO of the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar emphasized the importance of presenting data on the potential and use of shallow and deep geothermal energy sources in Croatia. The creation of these two internet platforms is significant for the further development of the geothermal energy sector, as the data will transparently show all stakeholders where and how to use this type of renewable energy.
The signatories of the Grant Agreement, Martina Tuschl, Director of the Geothermal Energy Sector at the Croatian hydrocarbon agency, and Zdenko Tonković, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, briefly presented the projects for which they were awarded funds. After that, the Ceremonial handing over of individual Grant Agreements began.
Source: MRRFEU
