One of the proudest projects of the S-TRDA – South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency is PROMOTER, which is essentially a continuation of the eBussed project that supported the European rollout of electric buses. Since both are Interreg Europe projects, the Managing Authority for the Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme (ITDOP) / Operational Programme Plus (ITDOP Plus) cooperates in both and supports them, as well as assisting domestic applicants in developing new types of domestic projects that align with the project proposals, and subsequently providing financial support for them.
In PROMOTER, the relationship between local green energy producer communities and local green transport is being examined with Portuguese, North Macedonian, Czech, Romanian, Spanish, Latvian, Finnish and Belgian partners, under Italian project management. This learning process is served by the project's study visits, of which the agency will host the next one in Budapest from 11 to 13 March 2025.
Current task – and this is what the title of the article is about – is the elaboration of the PROMOTER domestic IKOP Plus proposals. On 5 February 2025, consultations were held with the staff of the Department of the IKOP Plus Managing Authority, led by Dr. András Kiss. During the consultation, it became clear that it is possible to promote the connection between locally produced energy, energy communities and green transport through awareness-raising type, smaller Hungarian IKOP Plus projects. These pilot-type projects can later be integrated into larger transport development projects, enhancing their impact.
The PROMOTER project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and Hungary within the framework of the Interreg Europe programme.