ENERGIZE+
Despite being the cornerstone of Europe's economy, the industrial sector is responsible for a vast amount of CO2 emissions. To align with the Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2050 Scenario, Energy Communities have emerged as a promising solution, although they remain uncommon in industrial areas. In this context, the ENERGIZE+ project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of cooperative energy models in selected EU industrial zones (Manresa, Catalonia; Valesia Region, Italy; Zlín Region, Czech Republic; Upper Austria) by fostering energy collaboration. With a focus on significant Carbon reduction, thanks to its pilots and compelling KPIs in terms of company participation, training and skills development, energy savings, renewable energy generation, GHG emissions reduction, job creation, as well as its impacts for policy making and stakeholder outreach, the project aims to inspire global adoption of sustainable industrial energy practices. It is noteworthy that already ENERGIZE+ has secured the support of over 20 industry players and associations, Industrial Parks, Councils, among others. The ENERGIZE+ project, which has been designed by a leading multidisciplinary team of researchers, regional and EU level agencies and expert companies from the energy sector, stands as a pioneering initiative to tackle the challenges experienced by the industrial sector, demonstrating the feasibility of creating Industrial Renewable Energy Communities using cooperative energy models. In order to ensure access to and replicability of the projects outputs, the training and capacity building tools developed in the project will be digitized and made available through a community-based Digital Hub for professionals interested in energy communities and collaborative energy models, who will benefit from an acceleration programme that will have been tested and validated in our 4 pilot industrial zones, the KPIs from which will be tracked and widely disseminated.