Energy without borders - The role of border regions for the completion of the Energy Union

The Representation of the European Commission in Berlin and the German-Polish Energy Platform, funded by the Federal Foreign Office, cordially invite you to the event:  

We will bring together project developers from border regions, as well as representatives of local, regional, national, and EU administrations and funding bodies. Together, we will explore how cross-border energy projects can be better supported to advance the energy transition in Europe.  

The event presents pioneering projects, highlighting their added value, the challenges they face, the solutions they found and the supporting instruments they benefit from, so that others can gain insights from their knowledge and experience. It is also the occasion to exchange on the supportive framework needed for cross-border energy projects. Finally, we are looking for future cross-border energy heroes and will host a project pitch session, for which we currently accept applications.  

If you would like to participate in our pitch session, please read our call text and please contact us at:d-p-plattformdena [dot] de (d-p-plattform[at]dena[dot]de). 

This in-person event will be held in English. Due to a limited number of spots, we kindly ask you to registeruntil 7 September 2025 and inform us in case you are unable to attend. 

Agenda 

• 13:15 Registration
• 13:45 – 14:10 Welcome and keynote 
  Barbara Gessler, Director Representation of the EU Commission in Germany Knut Abraham, Coordinator for the German-Polish Cooperation, Federal Foreign Office (tbc)
• 14:10 – 14:50 Presentation of lighthouse cross-border energy projects 
  Cross-border district heating Project UNITED HEAT. Cross-border smart grids Project Gabreta Smart Grids, Cross-border financial participation: N.N.
• 14:50 – 15:45 Panel discussion and Q&A with project developers “Breaking Barriers: What can we learn from cross-border RES pioneers?"
• 15.45 – 16:15 Coffee Break
• 16:15 – 17:00 Pitch session: Get to know the next cross-border heroes
• 17:00 – 18:00 Panel discussion and Q&A with experts and policymakers "Which policy and funding tools are working—and which ones are missing?" 
  Jean-Pierre Halkin, Head of Unit DG REGIO D.2., European Commission N.N, DG ENER C.1. (tbc) Cathrin Gräber, GER-FRA Committee for cross-border cooperation N.N., BMWE (tbc)
• 18:00 Summary and networking reception