Last week, from 20th to 22nd of November, our official Kick-Off Event took place. Our partner LochemEnergie hosted the event in the lovely town Lochem in the Netherlands. Several partners from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Ireland came to the event in Lochem for 3 days of connecting, sharing and networking.
Day 1
On the first day, our partners gathered in the meeting room of the hotel to discuss the progress of WP1: Developing the Methodology. Each of the 4 tools used in the methodology and their integration were presented by a partner of the project.
- LochemEnergie introduced Tool 1: The Energy Profile
- KIT Karlsruhe introduced Tool 2: GIS
- EPV and RÉCIT introduced Tool 3: Business Model Canvas
- Landelijke Gilden introduced Tool 4: The 3 Step Participation Process
After each presentation there was room for discussion, feedback and questions. With the valuable insights from our partners, we can continue developing these tools and their use in the project.
In the evening our group went on different excursions throughout the muncipality of Lochem. Each excursion brought us to a successful neighborhood initiative on the topic of the changing energy market, with themes such as electric car sharing, energy profiles and hydrogen. An inspring way to end the first day!
Day 2
The second day of the Kick-Off Event took place in the town hall of Lochem. This day was dedicated to the 'connecting initiatives' part of the CIRCUS project, by bringing energy cooperatives together to share best practices, inspire each other and network. After an introduction by the Lochem municipality and LochemEnergie, we dived into the world of Local4Local (L4L): self-sufficient, sustainable energy communities.
In the afternoon, we discovered more about different aspects related to L4L through two rounds of workshops by Energie Samen, Agem, LochemEnergie, ZLTO and more. We were very pleased to see so many people participate in the workshops! We ended the day with some drinks and a lot of new insights.
Day 3
Friday was the third and last day of our Kick-Off Event. Once again our partners gathered to discuss their learnings and give feedback about the two previous days.
The group discussed the status of WP1 and the next steps to take, after all the discussions and feedback from Day 1. They also took a look at Tool 5 - Monitoring and Selection Criteria and started planning for WP2 in 2025.
What's next?
We can proudly say that the CIRCUS project is well on track. During the next few months, we will finalize the first version of the methodology and start selecting the pilot communities for the next phase of the project. 2025 will be an exciting year for us, and we can't wait to share more about our progress soon!