In order to fully exploit the possibilities of digitalization projects, especially for border regions, it is worth working together across national borders. This also applies to projects in the field of smart regions. Cooperation creates new ideas and ways of implementing smart digital processes and applications from which more people can benefit.
Against this backdrop, the Czech Consulate General in Munich, the Smart Cities and Regions platform of Bayern Innovativ and the association “Digitalraum Main-Donau-Moldau e.V.” organized a Smart Regions information tour in Upper Franconia. On 23 and 24 April, selected representatives from municipalities, science and ministries as well as service providers from the fields of digitalization and smart cities learned about innovative solutions in the energy, mobility and data infrastructure sectors. The exchange was supported by the Czech Ministry of Economy as part of the “Projects of Economic Diplomacy” (PROPED) program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
In the area of Smart City and Smart Regions, aconium GmbH has contributed its expertise to numerous Bavarian projects in the past, including the implementation of digital twinsthe testing of automated and connected driving or the digitization in local authorities. In addition, the aconium team has extensive, long-standing experience in the implementation of cross-border INTERREG projects relating to digitalization, such as CORA or COM³ and energy, such as LowTEMP 2.0 or HyTrEc2. For this reason, Katarzyna Stanek, expert for regional development and representative of the Smart Regions Team of aconium GmbH, accompanied the event for the second time and emphasized: “The delegation trip between Bavaria and the Czech Republic on the topic of Smart City underlines the importance of partnerships and the exchange of experience for the joint development of innovative regional solutions across national borders and promotes the initiation of cooperation.”
This year’s event focused on the use of smart technologies in Bavarian municipalities and districts in the northern border region with the Czech Republic. The program included the presentation of two extensive best practice projects for integrated urban development from the nationwide funding program “Model Projects Smart Cities”: the “Freiraum Fichtelgebirge” in the district of Wunsiedel and “hoferLand.digital” in the district of Hof.
The first day of the trip focused on the topic of energy and started at the Smart City Wunsiedel energy park. Here, heat and electricity are generated using renewable energies – solar panels, wind power and biomass. The energy park also operates the largest electrolysis plant for the production of green hydrogen in the whole of Bavaria.
Afterwards, the delegation participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas at the “Haus der Energiezukunft” in Wunsiedl. On the second day, the trip took them to the district of Hof, where the focus was on mobility and municipal data management. Among other things, the region is part of the SMO (Shuttle Model Region Upper Franconia) project, which has been successfully transporting passengers around the city of Hof in autonomous vehicles since June 2021. In Kronach to the west, the participants had the opportunity to take a tour in one of the autonomous shuttle buses on the campus of Coburg University of Applied Sciences. The delegation participants were also able to visit a 5G-based test field for autonomous driving. Those involved in the project demonstrated how so-called teleoperators can control the vehicle remotely from a replica cockpit in order to resolve complex driving situations if necessary.
We take away many impressions from the trip, are pleased about the developments in the field of smart cities and regions and are looking forward to new exciting cross-border projects in this field!