First green innovation vouchers awarded in Serbia

First innovation vouchers for “green” solutions have been awarded on Tuesday in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. 10 companies will receive a total of €150,000 under the Green Innovation Voucher scheme, started by the EBRD in partnership with Austria’s DRIVE (Delivering Resource Efficiency InVEstments) Programme, and funding from Italy through the Central European Initiative.

The scheme aims to increase the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of green technologies and resource efficiency. Companies will work with providers of research, mainly local universities, on proposals; one proposal can receive an innovation voucher of up to €20,000. The EBRD believes that such innovations will not only help Serbia better prepare for the changing climate, but will also support its long-term economic competitiveness.

A few of the selected projects will support development of sustainable and precision agriculture that is very important for Serbian economy. For example, the Institute BioSense will test its novel irrigation system together with Marko Čarnić, the leading producer of carrots. The smart irrigation system will incorporate satellite images, soil maps, wireless field sensors and weather models and suggests when to water plants; it will increase harvests and conserve water.

Some of the other projects aim to improve waste management and reuse of waste materials such as waste plastic, glass and expanded polystyrene. Waste management is one of the most urgent environmental issues for Serbia.

The award ceremony took place at the Hotel Crowne Plaza in the presence of the Minister of Innovation and Technological Development, Dr Nenad Popović, the Minister of Environmental Protection, Mr. Goran Trivan, and the EBRD management including Terry McCallion, EBRD Director for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, and Dan Berg, EBRD Director for Serbia.

The second call for applications will be open to companies from 13 March until 30 April 2018. SMEs and R&D service providers can apply through the web page http://inovacionivauceri.ebrd.rs.

Original source: EBRD
Published on 13 March 2018