Strong partnerships are at the heart of every successful Interreg project. That is why the CIRCUS consortium gathered in Redon, France, from 23 to 25 June, not only to review the project's progress, but also to learn together, exchange experiences and strengthen the collaboration that drives CIRCUS forward.
Hosted by our French partners RÉCIT and Citoyennes en Pays de Vilaine, the partner meeting was intentionally organised alongside the Rencontres Nationales de l'Énergie Citoyenne, France's annual national gathering for community energy. By combining both events, CIRCUS partners had the opportunity to discuss the project's progress while immersing themselves in one of Europe's leading community energy events.
It perfectly reflects what CIRCUS is about: connecting people, sharing knowledge and turning inspiration into action.
A chance to reflect,
learn and move forward
The first day was dedicated to the internal partner meeting, providing an important opportunity for the consortium to come together in person. While online meetings keep the project moving throughout the year, meeting face-to-face creates space for deeper discussions, stronger collaboration and valuable exchanges that are difficult to achieve online.
Each partner presented the latest developments within their pilot communities, sharing both achievements and challenges encountered while implementing the CIRCUS methodology. These updates sparked open conversations on citizen engagement, local participation and the realities of supporting community-led renewable energy initiatives across different European regions.
Rather than presenting finished success stories, partners openly discussed what works, what remains challenging and what others can learn from their experiences.
This continuous exchange is one of the project's greatest strengths and ensures that knowledge developed in one region can benefit communities across Europe.
The Lead Partner also shared updates on the overall project implementation, administrative progress and upcoming communication activities, ensuring the consortium remains aligned as CIRCUS enters its next phase.
During the afternoon, our French partners introduced the Ambassador Training Programme through an interactive workshop. Instead of simply explaining the training materials, partners actively experienced the methodology themselves, generating valuable feedback while discovering how ambassadors will support communities throughout their local energy transition.
Learning beyond our own project
The following day, partners participated in activities connected to the Rencontres Nationales de l'Énergie Citoyenne, organised by Énergie Partagée together with RÉCIT, Taranis and Citoyennes en Pays de Vilaine.
Originally, the event was expected to welcome hundreds of participants from across France. Due to an exceptional heatwave and official weather warnings, the organisers made the responsible decision to cancel the physical public event. Thanks to their flexibility and excellent preparation, a large part of the programme was quickly transformed into online sessions, allowing discussions and workshops to continue remotely.
Although the circumstances changed,
the spirit of collaboration remained exactly the same.
For the CIRCUS partners, the day still provided valuable opportunities for learning.
During the morning, partners joined an interactive exchange with two fellow
Interreg projects: SmartCORE and SatComm. Bringing together three European projects created a unique environment for exchanging ideas, comparing approaches
and identifying opportunities for future collaboration.
These discussions reinforced an important message: while every Interreg project has its own objectives and methodology, we all contribute to the same European ambition of empowering communities to become active participants in the energy transition.
We will explore this inspiring cross-project workshop
in more detail in a dedicated article.
Flying experts
Later that day, our CIRCUS Flying Experts: Fien Van Esch (Boerenbond, Belgium), Luuk Van Wezel (ZLTO, the Netherlands) and Bob Duindam (Lochem Energie, the Netherlands), shared their expertise on community battery storage with participants from France and the other Interreg projects.
Their contribution highlighted one of the unique elements of CIRCUS: enabling experienced practitioners to transfer practical knowledge across borders, helping other communities learn faster and avoid common challenges.
This inspiring approach will also be featured in a separate article.
Experiencing Community Energy First-Hand
No partner meeting would be complete without seeing local innovation in practice.
The final day took the consortium to a community-led wood-fired district heating network, where partners discovered how local cooperation can create resilient renewable energy systems.
The visit demonstrated how farmers, volunteers, local organisations and schools all contribute to the project. Hedgerows are planted and maintained by the local community, the harvested wood is chipped and transformed into renewable heat, and nearby schools combine the district heating network with solar panels and green roofs to maximise sustainability.
More than a technical visit, it was a powerful example of how community energy succeeds when local people work together towards a shared vision
Stronger partnerships, stronger communities
The three days in Redon perfectly illustrated why face-to-face partner meetings remain so important within European cooperation projects.
By combining project coordination, peer learning, participation in a national community energy event and visits to inspiring local initiatives, the CIRCUS consortium continues to strengthen not only its methodology, but also the European network behind it.
Every conversation, workshop and site visit generated new ideas that partners will now bring back to their pilot communities.
Because ultimately, CIRCUS is not only about developing tools. It is about creating a European community where knowledge travels across borders, communities inspire one another and collaboration accelerates the energy transition for everyone.
