On 28th of March Local workshop and matchmaking event was organized by CCI-Vratsa at the Inter Expo and Congress Center Sofia, for the needs of project EcoInn Danube (Eco-innovatively connected Danube region) co-funded by the Interreg Danube Programme. The participants were representatives from eco-startups developing new innovative applications, national authorities, business support organizations and other from national and international level. The event started with opening in which the team of CCI-Vratsa presented the daily Agenda which was followed by a presentation about Energy efficiency in the industry in Bulgaria, presented by Ivaylo Alexiev – Executive Director of the Bulgarian Sustainable Energy Development Agency.

In the next part of the event the team of CCI-Vratsa, presented the EcoInn Danube project. The main and specific objectives of project were presented, as also the project partners, activities, expected results, target groups and key elements. A special focus was put on the Virtual lab of the project which is a web platform developed for people who can submit an eco-innovative offer either for a challenge they face or for a designed solution. Other features of the lab were also presented such as Eco-solutions, Expert database, Stakeholders map and Green Summer school (pilot action).

Тhe matchmaking event was realized during the Energy fair - Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Smart Cities, Waste Management & Recycling at the inter Expo Center in Sofia. The participants introduced themselves shortly by presenting their field of work /business and presented what they are looking for. After that they were divided into groups and met different eco-innovative companies at the fair which were therefore divided into 3 sectors – Renewable Energy and Related systems, Energy efficiency, Smart cities energy efficiency and the Buildings. The companies at the fair were previously selected to be visited at their stands and are from Bulgaria. The eco-solutions they offered were: E-mobility, pellet boilers and oven, biofuels, smart heating and cooling, smart homes and smart lighting.

 The visited companies from the Energy efficiency sector were “Djadadji EOOD”, “Balkanika Energy PLC” and “Warmtek”. “Djadadji” focuses on delivery of clean energy solutions (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, energy efficiency for buildings), “Balkanika” on engineering and consultancy for environmental protection through sustainable waste utilization systems. On the other hand, “Warmtek” based its investments in production of pellet stoves and water-jacket pellet stoves.

Next the groups visited the Renewable Energy and Related Systems sector which was presented by “Telcom Engineering”, “MAKS 4EM Ltd” and “Ecoterm Proekt”. Two of the companies were producers of pellet boilers, burners and oven. ”Telcom Engineering” were focused on installation of radio communication systems and E-mobility (e-cars, e-bikes, charging systems).

The last visited companies were from the sector of Smart cities Energy Efficiency and the Buildings. The company “Automation+” presented their eco-solutions in the form of smart lighting, HVAC, sun protection and audio/video applications. This was followed by visiting “Heatfloor”, a company focused on the needs of consumers in the field of heating and floor heating systems. The last but not least was the company “Re Energy Engineering Ltd” which is leader in the provision of complete engineering solutions and project management in the fields of heat engineering, energy and ecology.

After a short break the event continued with one-to-one matchmaking and partner finding. After finishing with all activities the participants discussed about the shown interest during the Matchmaking event and talked about future contacts with the companies they liked. At the end there was a farewell and hope for creating beneficial news contacts.

Photos provided by CCI-Vratsa