InImpact: The Journal of Innovation Impact

Publisher Future Technology Press
Vol. 7 No. 1 Innovation through Knowledge Transfer 2014
Volume Editors KES International
Journal ISSN 2051-6002
 
Article TitleETRERA Project: an Europe - Tunisia cooperation in S&T transfer.
Primary AuthorGaetano Squadrito, CNR-ITAE, Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies ?N. Gio (ITALY)
Other Author(s) Agatino Nicita; Radhouane Chtourou; Bruno Auvity; Alberto Soraci
Pages 21 - 33
Article ID inkt14-003
Publication Date 10-Nov-14
AbstractThe project ÔEmpowering Tunisian Renewable Energy Research ActivitiesÕ (ETRERA) was funded by European Community-FP7 under REGPOT-2009-2 Action, an action finalized to empower the research cooperation in innovation between the European and the Mediterranean countries. ETRERA project was aimed at the creation of a research network on renewable energy sources (RES), hydrogen (H2) and fuel cell (FC) technologies involving as primary actors the Tunisian ÒResearch and Technology Center of EnergyÓ (CRTEn), and three European entities: 1) Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies ÒN. GiordanoÓ of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ITAE); 2) Polytechnic School of Nantes University (Polytech Nantes), France; 3) Innova Business Innovation Centre (InnovaBIC), Italy. Starting from this nucleus we like to develop an Euro-Mediterranean network dedicated to RES, H2 and FC technologies. ETRERA started in 2010 and was completed in June 2013. It was centred on fuel cell technology, because up to 2010 there was not a laboratory dedicated to FC in Tunisia. Project partners have been involved in coordinated activities to reinforce the research structure of CRTEn. A new research lab dedicated to research on polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) was built up at CRTEn. The recruitment of new researchers was carried out to increase the research capacities and the human potential of CRTEn. The experience of CNR-ITAE and Polytech Nantes on FC and hydrogen technologies, spanning from material preparation to the system integration, was shared by exchange of researchers, the organization of seminars and starting collaborative research activities on PEFCs. Dissemination was a very important aspect of the project, and it was carried out through a set of actions aimed at increasing the visibility of the partners and related research activities to obtain a wide dissemination of the project results to scientific community and European and Tunisian industries. The Innova BICÕs experience in communication was used for this purpose. Along the way we encountered political and social problems (Arab spring) and the necessity to merge also different administrative approaches. We report here our experience, the obtained results, lesson learnt and our proposition for the future.

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