LEI

The Lithuanian Energy Institute (LEI) and Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) plan to establish an association to foster the uptake of Waste-to-Energy (WtE) research and innovation in Lithuania and engage the country in pan-European collaborative efforts on this topic. To ensure its success, both institutions need to increase their research excellence in the topic of WtE and develop international networks. To this end, LEI and VMU propose TWIN-PEAKS, a Horizon 2020 Twinning project with the Technical University of Munich (Germany), Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) and WIP Renewable Energies GmbH & Co. KG (Germany). TWIN-PEAKS is based on the development of a joint-research strategy between the partners, the pooling of their research infrastructure, the transfer of scientific knowledge and know-how on WtE research and innovation, the building of academic and non-academic networks, the outreach to end-users of WtE solutions, and a plan for joint-applications for research grants to fund further research projects involving the consortium. It is expected that this Twinning collaboration will increase the research excellence of LEI and VMU, build capacities to form the critical mass of researchers in WtE in Lithuania, develop the international networks of LEI and VMU, increase the production and exploitation of intellectual property, grow the opportunities for collaborations with the industry, and allow LEI and VMU to contribute to national and international efforts for increasing the use of renewable energy through the WtE association to be create by LEI and VMU at the end of TWIN-PEAKS.

The region of the European Union around the Baltic sea especially the countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are not adequately integrated to the European electricity grid. At the end of 2009 Ignalina NPP (Lithuania), which generated ~70-75 % of electricity in Lithuania and supplied electricity to Latvia and Estonia was permanently shutdown leaving the region without nuclear power generation. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are discussing building new NPP of ABWR type in Visaginas (Lithuania). Poland employed its own program for nuclear energy and is a potential partner for Visaginas NPP as well. New electricity grid interconnections Lithuania - Sweden and Lithuania - Poland are under construction and should start operation at the end of 2015 provide possibilities for synchronization of the electricity grid of the Baltic region with the continental Europe. Building new NPP affects the whole region not only in technological but in macroeconomic field as well. Different level of nuclear safety and radiation safety knowledge as well as R&D infrastructure exists in countries of the Baltic region. BRILLIANT is developed to find an optimal regional solution by creation of cooperation platform for modern electrical power solutions. This will be achieved by identifying the barriers for nuclear power development in Baltic region and preparing a ground for overcoming them. The project will support the exchange of knowledge, competences and infrastructure among the countries of Baltic region - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. The company VAE SPB (Lithuania) is established for implementation of preparatory works of new Visaginas NPP. VAE SPB is an industrial partner in the project providing valuable insights and information. Cooperation among project partners would give better synergies with on-going and future Euratom projects in particular those offering access to research infrastructures in conjunction with education and training.