Between the 28th and 29th of April 2022, the 4th Consortium Meeting of RES4LIVE project took place in Bologna, Italy. It was hosted by UNIBO (Italy) at its premises, in full compliance with the local COVID-19 guidelines. The hybrid nature of the meeting allowed for fruitful collaboration and communication across project tasks, and virtual attendees were also able to interact with those attending in-person.
Professor Stefano Benni (UNIBO, Italy) opened and moderated the meeting, which had over 30 participants from the 17 RES4LIVE Partners in attendance. Project Manager Dimitrios Tyris (AUA, Greece) presented the current stage of RES4LIVE and gave the floor to Work Package (WP) Leaders to present the project’s status, share preliminary results and highlight the major achievements of each WP.
The progress of adapting innovative Renewable Energy Sources (RES) technologies in livestock farms’ needs (WP1) was examined; the – almost – finalized designs of the biogas to biomethane upgrading system, the adapted farm tractor for biomethane use, the modular heat pump and the development of the PVT system were discussed extensively. The focus afterwards shifted to the first interesting simulation results (WP2) towards identifying the fossil fuel reduction potential of various combinations of the adapted technologies together with the existing commercial products, for different farm types. Afterwards, the updates on the smart control equipment installations in each farm, as well as the ongoing developments on the integration of the simulation platform and control strategies, were shared. Finally, the issue of workshop planning in all pilot farms in the framework of the project (WP6) was discussed, as well as the initiation of policy related discussions. Each session included a question-and-answer section and the lively conversations which followed each presentation continued during the dinner held after the first day’s sessions concluded.
The second day began with a detailed review of the ongoing pilot farm interventions in the Greek, Italian, Belgian and German farms (WP4), through up-to-date plans and on-site photos. Subsequently, the work distribution and preparations towards the multi-level assessment (WP5) were presented and discussed. In the field of communication, dissemination, and exploitation (WP7), the discussion focused on the strengthening of our social media presence and the widening of dissemination for the project results at regional, national, and European levels. Finally, an overview of the work done from the managerial – technical and financial – perspective (WP8) and the necessary actions to be taken for the efficient continuance of the project was given by the project coordination team, with a focus on the upcoming 1st review. The presentation ended with a positive general evaluation of the project and all participants were thanked for their efficient collaboration and the work already completed.
The 4th RES4LIVE Consortium Meeting concluded with a particularly interesting visit to the historical city centre and some of the first premises of the University of Bologna, including the university library which was founded in 1712 and which houses hundreds of historic manuscripts. The next project meeting is foreseen for the coming November 2022, hopefully in person.
The RES4LIVE project: “Energy Smart Livestock Farming Towards Zero Fossil Fuel Consumption” receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under Grant Agreement No. 101000785. To find out more, visit RES4LIVE official website www.res4live.eu, as well as our social media accounts (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube ), or contact Project Coordinator Prof. Dimitris Manolakos (dman@aua.gr), and Project Manager Dimitrios Tyris (dtyris@aua.gr).
