Info Day on the EU Innovation Fund in Slovenia

On Thursday, January 25, 2024, the Info Day on the EU Innovation Fund in Slovenia was held at the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana. The event was initiated by the Slovenian Economic and Research Association (SBRA) and in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy, the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, the EU agency CINEA from Brussels and the University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business. The event was co-financed by Spirit Slovenia.

The initial addresses were held by Assistant Draško Veselinovič, PhD, President of the Board of Directors, Slovenian Economic and Research Association (SBRA) in Brussels, Professor Tomaž Turk, PhD, Dean of the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana, M.Sc. Bojan Kumer, Minister, Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy and Matevž Frangež, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport.

After that followed a detailed presentation of the tenders of the Innovation Fund, including important changes and innovations. The previous winning projects of the EU Fund for Innovation from Germany and Croatia were presented, as well as the project of the National Institute of Chemistry, which has so far been the only one from Slovenia to receive European funds for research and innovation in the field of alternative energy sources. It is also worth mentioning that the project was applied for several times and that they were not selected in the first submitted application.

At the end of the event, a round table was held entitled Decarbonization, hydrogen, energy strategies in Slovenia and the EU, where the moderator of Uroš Vajgl from the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy, talked to Blaž Likozar, PhD from the Institute of Chemistry, M.Sc. Stane Merše from the Jožef Štefan Institute, Associate Professor Matej Švigelj. PhD from the School of Economics and Business University of Ljubljana, M.Sc. Maja Tomanič-Vidovič from the Slovenian Enterprise Fund and Jerneja Sedlar, PhD, HSE & representative of the I3 partnership of the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley. The latter presented the operation and organization of the Hydrogen Valley, where 30 partners are connected and supported by the cooperation of universities from Slovenia, Croatia and Italy.

The event was attended by representatives of various companies, from a start-up for digitization and transformation of manufacturing companies to the head of strategic development of an aluminium factory, all of whom came with a reason to inquire about the possibilities of obtaining funds for additional development of companies. Even though the participants were satisfied with the organization of the event, the well-chosen lecturers and the (acquired) knowledge in the field of tendering, they were faced with the bitter fact that they had little chance of participating in the presented tender. A company that has a strong vision and decides to apply for a call for innovation must ensure the involvement of its experts, provide its resources, and hire experts who will guide them on their journey to innovation financed by the European Union, say experienced grant recipients.

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