Urbanisation, demographic and climate change, mobility, energy & environmental issues pose major challenges for growing cities of the future, as well as for the regions in which they are located.
Regional competitiveness is increasingly being decided in cities. In terms of a Smart City, it is important to intelligently combine social and technical innovations in order to make Tirol an attractive and sustainable living and economic environment.
Rising energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions endangers our health, our climate, our economic and living environment and our quality of life. It is important to raise awareness for renewable energy sources and a “zero/low carbon society” amongst businesses, companies and society as a whole.
In Tirol, renewable energies are firmly anchored in the economy, as well as in science and research: Tirolean companies and research institutions are working together successfully on the development of new technologies for the generation and efficient use of energy.
85 innovative companies, institutions and universities with over 8,000 employees use the Cluster Renewable Energies Tirol for this purpose. The following technology sectors in particular are supported and promoted:
- Solar thermal energy
- Photovoltaics
- Heat pumps
- Biomass, biogas, combined heat and power generation
- Electromobility
- (Micro) hydropower
- Energy efficiency and energy-efficient building
The transnational “Sinfonia” EU project in Innsbruck and Bolzano, supports upcoming refurbishment measures to improve heat grids, invest in high-quality and cost-effective refurbishment of residential buildings as well as develop a hybrid network. In the cities, so-called “smart districts” will reduce energy demand by 40 to 50 percent and increase the amount of renewable energies of total demand by 20 per cent, reduce CO2 emissions and, therefore, improve the quality of life.
Tirolean companies, research institutes and housing associations are working together to develop sophisticated technical measures, which can also be transferred to other urban regions, for high-quality building refurbishments as well as for implementing intelligently connected power, heat and cooling grids with a high level of energy from renewable sources.
