COALition
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.
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.
Despite their challenges, they also present major opportunities — with estimates of up to 314,000 jobs created through clean energy investments by 2030.
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.
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.
Key members include CERTH (leader), Iceberg Plus, UMFST Târgu Mureș, Sofia University, Mureș County Council, Stara Zagora REDA, and many more.
Coalition sprijină regiunile dependente de cărbune în tranziția către economii neutre din punct de vedere climatic prin crearea de hub-uri regionale de excelență.
These hubs bring together quadruple helix stakeholders to co-develop joint R&I strategies and action plans focused on sustainable energy.
The project fosters collaboration, knowledge transfer, and innovation through a multi-stakeholder participatory approach and a central online platform.
Results
Year One - Foundation & Strategy Design
3 Regional Hubs established
90+ stakeholders engaged, 6 cooperation agreements signed, 15+ investors mobilized
Joint 10-year R&I Strategy drafted using PESTEL & SWOT analysis
Year 2 – Project Maturation & Capacity Building
3 R&I projects co-matured, 30 pilot/demonstration projects specified
900+ people trained, 30 innovation missions delivered, 180 in-person workshop participants
Year 3 – Implementation Support & Platform Deployment
E-learning launched, reaching 720+ learners
Investment plan developed with sources including JTF, InvestEU, ERDF
COALition Platform activated as long-term sustainability and scaling tool
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