The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation (EIMIN) is planning to allocate €20 million from the Modernisation Fund to develop the infrastructure of Lithuania’s first Green Industrial Park. This investment will help Lithuania to become a leader in green industrial innovation in the region, strengthen the resilience of industrial companies and ensure the long-term competitiveness of participants in this ecosystem.
Together with the Innovation Agency, EIMIN is currently selecting a project to transform the infrastructure of a free economic zone or industrial park into a climate-neutral industrial ecosystem.
‘The development of green technologies is one of the country’s strategic priorities, so the planned Green Industrial Park represents a new stage in Lithuanian industry. It will address issues of industrial transformation, innovation, investment attraction and increased competitiveness in the regions. It will also enable the faster creation of new, highly skilled jobs, helping Lithuanian industrial companies to transition to a climate-neutral economy,’ says Edvinas Grikšas, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
The Green Industrial Park is the first comprehensive project in Lithuania to combine green energy and digital solutions, including smart energy management platforms, digital twins, and flexible energy consumption. It will also attract more foreign and local investment to these areas, improve the investment environment in the regions and further accelerate the transformation of Lithuanian industry.
The Innovation Agency is responsible for selecting the free economic zone and industrial park managers. Once the area with the greatest potential for transformation has been selected, the investment proposal will be submitted to the European Investment Bank for approval of the decision to finance the project.
Investments in the Green Industrial Park will lay the groundwork for the development of similar parks across Lithuania. There are plans to develop regional micro-networks in the future that will implement breakthrough solutions, such as green hydrogen production, carbon dioxide capture and utilisation technologies, and the electrification of high-temperature industrial processes.
Over the past decade, Lithuania has rapidly increased its green energy capacity, demonstrating real potential to become an exporter. It is therefore important to invest in models such as micro-networks in industrial zones today, as these create greater value for regions and strengthen Lithuania’s international advantage. This call marks the first real step towards the transformation of Lithuania’s industrial areas, based on a systematic and integrated approach. The projects focus on practical solutions, from more efficient energy use to renewable energy, storage or waste heat sharing,’ says Justinas Didika, Head of the ManuFuture Lab division at the Innovation Agency.
Source: eimin.lrv.lt
