TAGES presented the EU-funded FIRE (Facilitating Innovation in Renewable Energies) project in the Energy Conference of TUBİTAK held in YıIdız Technical University in Istanbul, on 28 March. TAGES will target Turkish SMEs working on Renewable Energy Sector (RES) and will bring them together with European SMEs to generate cooperation. The ultimate aim of the project is to assure the participation of Turkish SMEs working on RES sector in the FP7 projects.
The Technology Conference, organized by TUBITAK and Yıldız Technical University, addressed the need to increase the participation of the Turkish institutions, especially of SMEs and industry, working in the energy sector to FP7. The conference speakers include Barry Robertson, representative of the New and Renewable Energy Sources Unit, DG Research, European Commission and representatives from the TUBITAK 7th Framework Programme National Coordination Office and some Turkish partners of FP6 Energy projects.
Selen Akçalı, the EU Consultant of TAGES, made a presentation about FIRE Project, funded under the 6th Framework Programme. FIRE Project has started on December 2006. TAGES is the only partner of the project from Turkey.The FIRE project aims to facilitate and foster the participation of SMEs from the Renewable Energy Sector (RES SMEs) in FP7 by identifying the innovation potential in the SMEs, creating Interactive European sectoral workshops, as well as providing SMEs with proper tools and networking possibilities and proposal preparation guidelines.
TAGES, as one of the 15 international partners of the project, will target 150 SMEs in Turkey and after pre-screening will select 20 SMEs with an innovation potential to participate in the FIRE project. TAGES will also host a European workshop in Turkey with participation of 20 SMEs and mobilize research centers, NGOs and public organizations to take part in the European Renewable Energy Technology Platform to be established in the project. The aim of the project for Turkey is the participation of 10 Turkish SMEs working on Renewable Energy Sector in the FP7 projects.
The participants of the conference were mainly universities and big companies as there are not a big number of SMEs working on the issue. The common idea coming up from the conference was that in general the actors of the renewable energy sector are big companies investing big capital in the sector. So for that reason the aim of the project is ambitious as it targets SMEs and urges them for the participation in R&D projects.
One of sublime objectives of the project is to create the European Renewable Energy Technology Platform. TAGES will also urge the whole renewable energy sector including NGOs, big companies, research institutes and public bodies to assure their participation to this technology platform.
