In the name of one of the three “Knowledge and Innovation Communities” (KIC), several universities, research institutions and business partners from the Silesian Agglomeration became a part of “PolandPlus” co-location center (CC PolandPlus). The Agglomeration is represented by the University of Silesia in Katowice, the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, the Institute for Chemical Processing of Coal from Zabrze, the Central Mining Institute and Tauron Polska Energia S.A., both seated in Katowice.
The Polish center is also created by the AGH University of Science and Technology, the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, the Wrocław University of Technology and companies: ZAK Kędzierzyn, LOTOS and PGNiG.
Six regionally bundled European co-location centers make up the KIC InnoEnergy consortium. Except “Poland plus”, these co-location centers are “Benelux”, “Iberia”, “AlpsValleys”, “Sweden”, and “Germany”. Among the partners of the consortium are e.g. German SAP and EnBW, the mineral oil company Total, ABB (Energy and Automation Technology), EDF (Électricité de France SA), KTH (Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm), CEA (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique, France), and Europe’s leading business school ESADE, Barcelona.
In close cooperation with each other, each of the six European co-location centres coordinates one important energy topic each for all partners in the consortium. The Polish co-location will focus on clean coal technologies.
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) will finance KIC InnoEnergy in a first phase with presumably about EUR 30 million annually until 2014. Within the KIC, a sustainable energy system for Europe shall be developed until 2050. In the first four years, KIC InnoEnergy plans first-class education of 1500 master and Ph. D. students. 65 energy patents and 50 spin-offs shall be created. In addition, 90 new products shall be commercialized in the field of energy technologies. The annual budget of KIC InnoEnergy will amount to about EUR 110 million in 2011 and increase continuously in the following years. About one quarter will be borne by the EIT, three quarters will be funded by the partners of KIC InnoEnergy.
KIC InnoEnergy
Concept
InnoEnergy is a strongly integrated alliance of reputable players from the education, research and industry sectors. It was created based on long standing links of cooperation as well as the principles of excellence and transformation. The partners have jointly developed a strategy to tackle the weaknesses of the European innovation landscape and aim to be the leading motor for innovation in the field of sustainable energy.