Among the projects funded under ENI CBC MED, the European Union’s cross-border cooperation program for the Mediterranean countries, is MAIA-TAQA, an acronym for Mobilizing new Areas of Investments And Together Aiming to Increase Quality of life for All, which has ecological transition and innovation in the energy sector as its focus and objective.
Although there is a growing demand for engineering and consulting services in the area of Resource Efficiency (RE), i.e., renewable resource management, today, there are significant shortcomings in the countries of the southern Meditarranean basin, mainly due to the lack of adequate innovation processes that prevent the identification of the needs of cities and communities and the design, implementation, and commercialization of ad hoc solutions.
MAIA-TAQA aims not only to overcome the current barriers to innovation, but also to build a solid foundation for a lasting energy transformation by stimulating sustainable growth and promoting collaboration between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and policy-makers, so as to trigger virtuous synergies that benefit all the realities and territories involved.
The project, which started in September 2019 and ended last August, involved six partners: the Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving in Greece (Coordinating Entity); the Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport in Egypt; QUIPO and Utilitalia for Italy; IRI – Industrial Research Institute in Lebanon; ASCAME – Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Spain; and the Jordan Chamber of Commerce.
The main beneficiaries of the project were SMEs, especially those operating in the photovoltaic and water purification sectors, but also chambers of commerce, policy makers and government institutions, research centers, universities and doctoral students.
Through a series of pilot projects in southern Mediterranean cities, MAIA-TAQA aims to raise awareness of proper resource management and provide both practical and economic tools (such as training activities, guidelines and information desks, funding opportunities, and events aimed at cooperation) to overcome current barriers, ultimately creating an enabling environment for the development of established resource efficiency practices. Find out more at this link.
