The team of the Stara Zagora Regional Economic Development Agency (SZREDA) became the first partner of the DeCarb project consortium (9 partners from eight EU countries), which received approval for identified good practice from Bulgaria within the framework of the project. The number of localized good practices is one of the key objectives of the project to promote the exchange of useful experience in the regions of Europe.
The good practice that has been recognized as successful to be implemented in other EU countries and regions is the organization of the so-called "Hydrogen Fuel Day", which took place in Stara Zagora in May 2018. In the framework of the event, a TOYOTA MIRAI FUEL CELL car, powered entirely by hydrogen fuel through a hydrogen fuel cell presented in Stara Zagora, was available for test drive. The event is part of the hydrogen fuel day, held on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, a unique European public-private partnership that works for the accelerated penetration of fuel cell technology and hydrogen.
The initiative is implemented by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Bulgarian Hydrogen Society in partnership with the Stara Zagora Municipality, Regional Academic Center (RAC) Stara Zagora, Holding Zagora and Mall Gallery. Anyone with a driver's license could sit behind the wheel of the hydrogen car and test it on the straight line of Han Asparuh Street in front of the Mall Gallery, which was specially cut off for the case.
The good practice was proposed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Stara Zagora and uploaded for approval in the platform. As a result of the subsequent approval, there is a real opportunity for successful transfer of good practice from Bulgaria to the other regions / countries in the EU.
Stara Zagora Regional Economic Development Agency (SZREDA) is a leading organization in the DeCarb project ("Supporting the Clean Energy Transition in the Coal-intensive Regions of the EU") co-funded by the INTERREG EUROPE program (85%) and the Republic of Bulgaria (15%). The project is within the scope of Specific Program Objective 3: 3.1 Improving Policies for a Low Carbon Economy and is the only approved project of a Bulgarian Leading Organization of a total of 53 approved projects for the whole program. The partner consortium also includes: Ministry of Economy and Energy, Brandenburg (Germany); Energy Department (Denmark); Regional Association of Local Authorities in Western Macedonia (Greece); Energy Agency Extremadura (Spain); Regional Energy Agency (Hungary); Lodz Region (Poland); Southwest Oltenia (Romania) Regional Development Agency and Energy Agency of the Savinski, Shaleski and Koroski regions (Slovenia).