Green Deal in the Greater Region (GD-GR)

The GD-GR project addresses the central challenges of the energy transition while supporting the implementation of the European Green Deal within the Greater Region. Currently, the region faces considerable differences in energy supply, infrastructure and consumption as well as varying levels of public awareness regarding renewable energies and the future role of hydrogen. Furthermore, administrative, regulatory, linguistic and cultural hurdles often complicate cross-border solutions.

GD-GR pursues a participatory, transnational approach that unites universities, educational institutions, policymakers, municipalities and citizens. The primary goals are to inform the general public about the benefits of renewable energies and hydrogen in the Greater Region and to ensure in the long-term the training of qualified specialists.

The consortium consists of five financial partners: the University of Liège, the University of Lorraine, the University of Luxembourg, Saarland University and the research institute IZES gGmbH, which also leads the project. These partners work alongside 22 strategic partners, including the Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digital Affairs and Energy as well as various educational institutions and municipalities.

The project is divided into three interconnected Work Packages (WP):

• WP1: Bilingual degree program (Head: University of Luxembourg). Partners are developing new, bilingual (German/French) academic curricula in the field of hydrogen technologies. These will be integrated into existing Bachelor’s and Master’s programs, forming the basis for a transnational, consecutive degree program. The goal is to combat the skills shortage by training and networking academic experts directly within the region.
• WP2: Public information & awareness (Head: IZES gGmbH): Scientific content from WP1 is processed into accessible formats and communicated directly to citizens through local and transnational events. In cooperation with strategic partners, informative events, workshops and discussion rounds including the local conditions are held to increase public acceptance of the energy transition and to involve the citizens.
• WP3: Digital platform as information hub (Head: University of Lorraine). A bilingual digital platform serves as a central hub for disseminating information materials, job advertisements and project activities. It ensures the long-term availability of the results of the project beyond the funding period and links contents with other digital services in the Greater Region.

This transnational approach brings the complex challenges of climate change and potential solutions into the public focus by supporting the implementation of the Green Deal in the Greater Region.