1.- POTENTIALS Project was introduced in Twitter, a microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as “tweets”.
Access to the POTENTIALS Project on Twitter
2.- Presentation by HUNOSA in the “65th International Trade Fair of Asturias” that took place from August 6 to 21, 2022, in Gijón (Asturias, Spain) with more than 700,000 visitors, accredited through an audit commissioned by the Association of Spanish Fairs.
3.- Presentation at the “31st Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Committee on Sustainable Energy” titled Business models to stimulate new economic activities and jobs in coal regions in transition (Geneva, 22 September 2022).
Programme of the 31st Session of the UNECE Committee on Sustainable Energy
4.- Presentation at the 6th Just Transition Platform Conference – Coal Regions in Transition and Carbon-Intensive Regions on “Innovative clean energy technologies for
coal regions” titled Geothermal projects as a method of developing post-mining areas (Brussels, 24 October 2022).
Programme of the 6th Just Transition Platform Conference
5.- Presentation at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) session on “Coal industry in transition: state of affairs of coal mine closure in the selected UNECE member States” within the “12th International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development“, titled Polish experience with mine closure – A Research Fund for Coal and Steel approach (Jaworze, Poland, 9 November 2022).
Programme of the 12th International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development
6.- Presentation of research results at the 29th International Science and Technology Conference: Natural Mining Hazards 2022 (Jaworze, Poland, 9 November 2022).
Programme of the 29th International Science and Technology Conference
7.- Presentation at the World Bank Group Technical Workshop on “Replacing coal with renewables in Poland: the role of different storage technologies for RE development and a low carbon economy”, titled Repurposing coal power plants during energy transition project: Overview of technologies and feedback from the coal sector (Warsaw, Poland, 15 November 2022).
8.- Presentation at the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers within the International Mining Lecture Series, titled A Green Energy Transition: Leveraging Competitive Advantages of Coal Mines (24 November 2022).
See the video of the presentation
9.- Presentation at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) workshop on “Mine Closure in Albania and Serbia”, titled Analysis of selected aspects of underground coal mining in Albania and Serbia. How can the infrastructure/resources of the active mines in Serbia and the closed mines in Albania be better utilised? (Tirana, Albania, 9 December 2022).
10.- Presentation at the Euroheat & Power (EHP) panel debate on Large heat pumps in District Heating: A winning team to Repower EU!, titled Heat pumps as a way to harness mine water heat (13 December 2022).
11.- Presentation at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) within the “18th session of the Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane and Just Transition“, titled Task Force on Safe Operations and Closure of Coal Mines (Geneva, Switzerland, 21 March 2022).
12.- Presentation for the British Mining Trade Association (ABMEC) within the Visit to the Central Mining Institute (GIG) by members of the British ABMEC Association, titled POTENTIALS and GreenJOBS projects: green business models for end-of-life underground coal mines (Katowice, Poland, 29 March 2023).
13.- Workshop on EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel transformational projects for a new era organized by EURACOAL in the European Parliament (Brussels, Belgium, 23 May 2023).
This workshop was kindly hosted by MEP Ondřej Knotek in the European Parliament. It was organised by EURACOAL to promote the EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS).
Mr. Marc Lemaître, Director-General for Research and Innovation, addressed participants with a well-crafted video message.
The second part of the workshop was led by Prof. Alicja Krzemień, Chair of the EURACOAL Technical Research Committee and Head of the Laboratory for Risk Assessment and Industrial Safety at GIG. She began with two RFCS-funded projects concerned with a just transition: POTENTIALS and GreenJOBS which show how accompanying measures and research projects can support green business development models for the coal regions – especially in the energy sector. She explained how a roadmap for the Silesian Voivodeship had been prepared with a timeline for investments in, for example, geothermal, hydrogen and in the longer term nuclear power, using the widely adopted MoSCoW technique to prioritise projects that Must, Should, Could or Won’t be implemented.
From POTENTIALS to GreenJOBS. Alicja Krzemień – Download the presentation
Prof. Alicja Krzemień introduced a series of short presentation on lessons learned from the two projects, firstly on regional transition under the EU-funded Territorial Just Transition Plans in the different coal regions of Spain, Greece and Germany, followed by feedback from industry on such plans in Slovenia, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland.
As part of the POTENTIALS project, Dr. Stefan Möllerherm explained that he and his team at the Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA) developed a cocktail of techniques for territorial impact assessment. They applied the Territorial Efficiency, Quality, and Identity Layer Assessment (TEQUILA) approach to two business models: an eco-industrial park with hydrogen production and another with biofuel production. Dr. Stefan Möllerherm concluded that a park with green hydrogen promised better territorial cohesion in terms of economic competitiveness, environmental sustainability and societal benefits.
Social Impact assessment. Nikolaos Koukouzas – Download the presentation
14.- POTENTIALS premises of alternative scenarios were applied and served as a basis for evaluation in the report developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) titled Technical, principle-based guidelines for designing and implementing a programme for efficient, safe and environmentally conscious mine closure in Albania and Serbia (Geneva, Switzerland, 16 June 2022).
15.- Workshop on Supporting Territorial Just Transition Plans providing a Road Map for updating the Just Transition Plans for the Silesia Voivodeship organized by the CENTRAL MINING INSTITUTE (Katowice, Poland, 14 June 2023).
More than 90 attendees representing industry and stakeholders from Silesia Region and other national institutions working on Just Transition took part in the discussion on synergistic potentials of end-of-life coal mines and coal-fires power plants, along with closely related neighbouring industries.
The results of the POTENTIALS project were presented and analysed regarding the readoption of the Territorial Just Transition Plan for the Silesian Region.
POTENTIALS results. Alicja Krzemień – Download the presentation
16.- Presentation of POTENTIALS at the 26th World Mining Congress, titled Repurposing of coal mines and coal-fired power plants in low-carbon energy transformation process, within the session Advances in best practice for closure and transition (Brisbane, Australia, 26-29 June 2023).
17.- 2nd International Day on Mining Projects and Post-Mining providing a Road Map for updating the Just Transition Plans for Asturias (Spain), organized by the School of Mining, Energy and Materials Engineering of Oviedo (Spain) and the Official Mining Professional Association of North-western Spain (Oviedo, Spain, 30 June 2023).
From POTENTIALS to GreenJOBS. Pedro Riesgo – Download the presentation
The International Day included a Round Table on the Update of the Territorial Plans for Just Transition in Asturias. An opportunity for 2025. Speakers: Mr Miguel Cabañas (ARCELORMITTAL), Mr Carlos García Sánchez (FAEN), Mr José Manuel Pérez Rodríguez (EDP), Mr Eduardo Terán García (CEMENTOS TUDELA VEGUÍN). Moderator: Mr Juan José Fernández Diaz (Official Mining Professional Association of North-western Spain).
