PROJECT

EIT Community Hub

ICEBERG+ leads EIT Community Hub Romania

Regional Impact

The project targets three transition regions: Western Macedonia (Greece), Centru (Romania), and Southeastern Bulgaria. These areas face the dual challenge of economic restructuring and fossil fuel phase-out.

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COALition strengthens local ecosystems, builds capacity, and helps secure funding, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and job creation in emerging sectors like renewables, hydrogen, and energy efficiency.

Market Context

Coal regions across Europe are under pressure to phase out fossil fuels while preserving economic stability.

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Despite their challenges, they also present major opportunities — with estimates of up to 314,000 jobs created through clean energy investments by 2030.

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EU policies like the Green Deal, Just Transition Fund, and Hydrogen Strategy support this shift, yet local coordination, strategic planning, and skills development remain key barriers.

Beneficiary

Primary beneficiaries include workers in coal-related industries, regional and local authorities, innovation ecosystem stakeholders, academic institutions, and SMEs in the energy and tech sectors.

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Broader beneficiaries include residents of transition regions, future investors, and the extended EU innovation community focused on clean energy and climate neutrality.

Stakeholder Network

COALition is implemented by a diverse consortium of partners from Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria, including public institutions, universities, regional agencies, private companies, and NGOs.

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Key members include CERTH (leader), Iceberg Plus, UMFST Târgu Mureș, Sofia University, Mureș County Council, Stara Zagora REDA, and many more.

SOLUTIONS IN ACTION

The EIT Community Hub Romania, coordinated by Iceberg+, acts as the national gateway to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

As part of a network of 17+ hubs across Europe, the Romanian hub facilitates access to the full range of EIT opportunities—including funding, knowledge, and cross-sector collaboration.

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It brings together EIT’s nine Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), acting as a one-stop shop for innovators in Romania seeking to grow within a European framework.

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The Hub officially launched in March 2025 in Bucharest, marking a strategic step in bridging the local ecosystem to EU-level innovation networks.

Regional Impact

The Hub provides visibility and support for EIT KIC activities in Romania by enabling local innovators, startups, SMEs, universities, research institutes, and public authorities to connect with European funding and partnerships.

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Through shared EIT Community events, matchmaking, and dissemination activities, the Hub plays a vital role in building trust and synergies among stakeholders, helping reduce Romania’s innovation gap.

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It also ensures tailored communication towards students, entrepreneurs, researchers, and policymakers—making innovation accessible at all levels.

Market Context

Romania remains a moderate innovator in the EU context, with significant potential in digital transformation, regional development, and cross-sectoral collaboration.

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EIT Community Hub Romania supports this transformation by aligning with the strategic objectives of Horizon Europe and the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme.

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It offers practical tools and programmes for strengthening local innovation ecosystems—particularly in Smart City, eHealth, creative industries, mobility, and digital manufacturing.

Beneficiary

  • Innovators, SMEs, and startups across Romania
  • Universities and research institutions
  • Local and regional public authorities
  • Key sectors supported: mobility, health, food, culture & creativity, digital manufacturing

Stakeholder Network

Iceberg+ leads the Romanian EIT Community Hub in coordination with EIT Urban Mobility, EIT Manufacturing, EIT Food, EIT Health, EIT InnoEnergy and EIT Culture & Creativity.

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The Hub serves as a neutral platform fostering synergies across public and private sectors, with continuous collaboration with national authorities, enterprise networks, and EU partners.

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It also leverages Iceberg+’s existing roles in initiatives like FIT EDIH, EEN, and CITT-I4T.

Highlights 2025

March

Official launch in Bucharest (ARCUB), attended by EU and national stakeholders

April–May

Stakeholder mapping and ecosystem onboarding

Q2–Q4

Dissemination of EIT calls, localised KIC matchmaking, and first national joint KIC event

Ongoing

Content updates on eit-ris.eu, communication via LinkedIn and media, workshops, and strategic alignment with other Romanian DIHs

Check out the work

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+ONE Business Incubator @ CATTIA Brașov

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Iceberg+ connects EIT Urban Mobility with ADR Vest to Launch Joint Startup Funding Programme

There was a need to create synergies and strengthen collaboration between European innovation initiatives such as EIT Urban Mobility and regional development agencies in Romania, to increase access to funding and support for startups in the field of urban mobility.
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Iceberg+ enables Cargo Bike Sharing pilot project in Brașov’s historic centre

The city of Brasov wanted to improve logistic flows in the historic city centre to reduce congestion and pollution. The solution was to implement a secure parking and cargobike sharing system. The main expected results were:
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Smart Mobility Learning: UMX Videos for Knowledge Sharing in Romania - RO - SMART MOBILITY EDU

Urban mobility in Romania and broader RIS regions lacks accessible, engaging, and educational media content that explains key mobility topics such as EV infrastructure and Living Labs.
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EIT Urban Mobility: EV Charging from Lampposts

In Central and Eastern Europe, the adoption of electric vehicles is hampered by a lack of accessible and affordable public charging infrastructure. Cities face high costs, complex regulations, and slow deployment timelines when installing traditional chargers.
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EIT URBAN MOBILITY: RISpire’s Knowledge Boosting Trainings

Civil servants, researchers, and professionals often lack access to practical, interdisciplinary training aligned with entrepreneurship, ESG, and inclusion goals. There was a clear need for modular, scalable training programmes that work across borders and support diverse groups including women and early-stage innovators.
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”Green Manufacturing” Pre-Acceleration Programme

The manufacturing industry must adopt sustainable models, reducing resource consumption and environmental impact. ‍Startups, SMEs, students, researchers, and entrepreneurs need support to implement green technologies and accelerate the ecological transition.
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PowerUp! 2020 Bootcamp – Romania Edition for startups in energy

As part of the larger PowerUp! challenge organized by EIT InnoEnergy across Europe, there was a need to identify and support high-potential Romanian startups and prepare them to compete effectively at national and international levels.
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InnoEnergy Primer – Brașov & Bucharest Editions for startups and innovators

In 2019–2020, Romania’s clean energy innovation ecosystem was still in an early stage, with limited access to structured support programs for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators.
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From Research to Real-World Impact

UV radiation is one of the most significant risk factors for skin cancer. While awareness has increased, tools for real-time prevention are still limited and rarely integrated into products people already use.
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Bridging the Gap in R&D Commercialization

Many university researchers and students lack training in intellectual property (IP) and commercialization. SMEs often struggle to collaborate with academia due to a mismatch between research outputs and market needs.
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Sustainable Blue Tourism and Ecological Restoration in Romania

Coastal communities, local entrepreneurs in the blue economy, and marine conservation organizations managing protected areas.
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Book Coffee Shop

Book Coffee Shop – a local business aiming to digitize operations and better understand customer behavior.
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Infotopic Digital

Create a smart tourism solution that personalizes visitor experiences through open data and artificial intelligence.
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BOWI Corridor: Digital Experiments in Robotics, AI, and Human Focus

Across Europe, many SMEs struggle to adopt advanced digital technologies like AI, AR, and computer vision due to limited internal capabilities and lack of access to affordable, validated solutions.
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The Sleep Revolution – Steepsoft AI & Iceberg+

In a world where poor sleep affects billions, contributing to heart disease, depression, and chronic conditions, a small team in Brașov, Romania had a bold idea.
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How we turned entrepreneurial potential into business Reality

Students in the Centru Region were brimming with ideas—but lacked the structure, funding, and support to turn them into viable businesses.
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Policy in Action – WINnovators Joint Multiplier Event

WINnovators set out to close this gap by creating inclusive, lifelong learning environments that connect higher education with local communities and policymakers.
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How Iceberg+ Helped 60+ Tourism SMEs go Digital with EU Innovation Funding

Tourism SMEs across Europe were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing deep gaps in digital readiness and sustainable practices.
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Building Skills for a Just Energy Transition in Coal Regions

Local workforces — often tied to traditional industries — need new skills and tools to stay relevant in the emerging green economy.
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