First EBRD innovative green vouchers awarded, second call is open

Ten Serbian small businesses and their partners in the research and development field were awarded innovation vouchers for innovative climate-friendly solutions in the first cycle of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-run scheme.

The awarded companies will receive a total of EUR 150,000 under the Green Innovation Voucher scheme, started by the EBRD in partnership with Austria’s DRIVE (Delivering Resource Efficiency InVEstments) Programme, and funding from Italy through the Central European Initiative.

There were 78 applications from various fields. The following small and medium businesses and their partners in the research and development field were awarded vouchers:

-Biofor System d.o.o. with Faculty of Agriculture (Belgrade) for Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms for improved growth and yield of crops;

-PG Marko Čarnić with Institute BioSense (Novi Sad), for Smart and eco-friendly irrigation system based on sensor fusion;

-Dogama d.o.o. with Faculty of Civil Engineering (Novi Sad), for Eco building material made of waste plastic and glass;

-Muvaround d.o.o. with Faculty of Agriculture and Innovation Center of the School of Electrical Engineering (Belgrade), for Low-power agro-meteorological stations and soil temperature probes;

-Dorado d.o.o. with Faculty of Engineering (Kragujevac) and IMS Institute (Belgrade) for Lightweight panels made of waste expanded polystyrene and fly ash;

-Energia gas and power d.o.o. with Innovation Center of Advanced Technologies (Niš) and SASA Mathematical Institute (Belgrade) for Advanced electricity demand-side management for industry;

-GOMMA Line d.o.o. with Faculty of Engineering (Kragujevac) for Tabletop CNC machine and advanced clamping tool for metal processing;

-NS Koncept d.o.o. with Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (Belgrade), for Innovative recovery of latent heat from the flash steam release;

-Avalon Partners d.o.o. with School of Electrical Engineering (Belgrade) for A novel non-invasive diagnostics of refrigerant pressure in air conditioners;

-ESENSA d.o.o. with Institute for Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (Belgrade) for Conversion of waste plastic packaging material to biodegradable plastic. 

The award ceremony took place at the Hotel Crowne Plaza in the presence of the Minister of Innovation and Technological Development, Nenad Popović, the Minister of Environmental Protection, Goran Trivan, and the EBRD management including Terry McCallion, EBRD Director for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, and Daniel Berg, EBRD Director for Serbia.

Second call is now open until April 30

The second call for applications is now open, Berg said at the ceremony last night. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Research and Development (R&D)local providers can apply through the web page http://inovacionivauceri.ebrd.rs until April 30, 2018.

This scheme aims to increase the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of green technologies and resource efficiency. Companies will work with providers of research, mainly local universities, on proposals.

One proposal can receive an innovation voucher of up to EUR 20,000, EBRD statement reads. Eligible SMEs can apply for a Green Innovation Voucher to cover 90 percent of the eligible R&D services costs. The SMEs is expected to cover at least 10 percent of total R&D services costs from it pwn sources. The minimum value of eligible R&D services is EUR 4.000.

Each SME can apply for one voucher only. Within the same project, the SME can collaborate with up to three R&D service providers.

The EBRD believes that such innovations will not only help Serbia better prepare for the changing climate but will also support its long-term economic competitiveness.