Best Energy Scouts awarded in Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and Serbia

During the last months of 2022, Energy Scouts in Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and Serbia also completed their training. A total of 102 participants presented their practical projects in these four countries.

Bulgaria – for the first time Energy Scouts from vocational schools

On November 16 2022, 30 Bulgarian Energy Scouts presented their practical projects during a hybrid event in Sofia. The event was opened by Dr. Mitko Vassilev, CEO of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DBIHK), who praised the commitment of the Energy Scouts in the companies for a greener future. Guest speakers included Max Junghanns from Berlin’s Young Energy Europe team and Denimir Dimitrov, founder of Zero Wave, the winning project of Young Energy Europe 2021.

In the end, the Energy Scout team from the Vocational School of Computer Programming and Innovation (VSCPI Burgas) from Burgas won the prize for the best practical project of 2022. They developed an app that optimizes the charging process of batteries and extends their life-time. Their mentor was Mr. Ilin Dobrev from Enloc Energy Ltd. This is the fifth year in a row that DBIHK held training sessions and trained Energy Scouts as part of Young Energy Europe. For the first time in 2022, the focus was on young people from vocational schools, who were coached by mentors from different companies.

In addition to the winning team, the Energy Scouts from the 73rd School “Vladislav Gramatik” from Sofia, PGEE “M. P. Beron” from Varna, and Energy Service Consult, VSCPI and DSS Goethe from Burgas were awarded for their participation in Young Energy Europe 2022.

Greece – 3 practical projects awarded

On December 5 2022, in Greece the awarding of the best Energy Scouts took place in hybrid format as well. The participants were welcomed by Prof. Dr. Ing. Athanassios Kelemis, Director General of the German-Hellenic Chamber of Industry and Commerce. After all teams presented their practical projects, the jury clarified their questions about the practical projects and then deliberated. Three winners were chosen: an Energy Scout project from TÜV HELLAS (TÜV NORD) won first place, which opts for the installation of a photovoltaic system that primarily supports the heating and cooling system. Second place won a practical project from the field of air conditioning, whereby water consumption and the aspect of resource efficiency also play a role. The Energy Scout from Dragees Hatziyiannakis S.A. intends to replace old inefficient air conditioning systems and dehumidifiers and to reuse service water. Further, an Energy Scout team from the American College of Greece examined the college’s swimming pools in its hands-on project and proposed the use of a less energy-intensive reciculating water system.

Poland – high demand leads to 42 trained Energy Scouts

Due to the high number of participants in the AHK Poland – 42 Energy Scouts in total – they presented their projects online over the period of two days. From November 22-23 2022 the Energy Scouts faced the critical questions of the jury, consisting of Adam Dominiak and Bartosz Dobrowolski (Ellipsis Energy), Albert Kania, Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA) and Łukasz Dobrowolski (Climate Strategies Poland Foundation). On November 23, the jury awarded prizes to the two best projects. Barbara Gralak-Podemska from the company Tip-Topol received the first place. Her practical project (see Best Practice December 2022) deals with the regular measurement and maintenance of leakages on the company’s compressed air equipment. The jury was impressed by the approach and its sustainable implementation. Second place was given to a team of four from the company A. Berger Polska with a practical project on pumps. The team developed optimization measures that achieve a reduction in pump pressure and electricity consumption. Two projects also received special awards: a project to reduce compressed air and natural gas consumption by Energy Scouts from Imperial Tobacco Polska and a measure to electrify the vehicle fleet of T-Mobile Polska.

On December 12 2022, the best Energy Scouts were finally honored in a ceremony in Warsaw, where the winning teams presented their practical projects in front of a large number of invited guests from business and industry.

Serbia – lively participation during the award ceremony

The award ceremony in Serbia took place on December 22 2022, in a hybrid format also. While 14 participants were present on site, two Energy Scout teams joined online for their practical project presentation.

After a short welcome speech by the Young Energy Europe project team of the AHK Serbia, Tara Jevremović and Milan Krstić, as well as by the project manager Max Junghanns, the presentations of the Energy Scouts’ practical projects from the five companies Nelt Co, Dr. Oetker, Fischer automotive systems, 4m specijalni alati and NIS continued directly afterwards. After a coffee break, a second block followed with presentations of energy & resource efficiency projects of the Energy Scout teams from the companies NIS (which sent two teams) and ProCredit Bank, RARIS, Henkel and Tigar Tyres. The questions of the jury and participants were intensively discussed and examined from different perspectives.

Finally, the three-person team Nada Stamatović, Ivan Milićević and Mira Komlenić-Matejić from Nelt Co. was awarded as the best Energy Scout project 2022. In their hands-on project, they worked out a savings measure that combines solar energy, electric vehicles and route optimization as a solution for decarbonizing the company’s logistics. The Energy Scouts calculated potential savings of 97,000 liters of diesel per year for the company.

 

In 2022, a total of 208 participants from 83 companies completed the Energy Scout training courses in the eight participating countries. The most popular topics for energy and resource saving measures were lighting, photovoltaic systems and optimization of compressed air systems.

In 2023, the Energy Scouts training will again be offered in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia. Our partners in the participating AHKs usually start the training courses in spring. For registrations and questions about the course of the trainings, our contact persons are at your disposal.

  • Two screens, the screen on the left showing several tiles of participants during a conference call, the screen in the right shows three persons in yellow vets
    © AHK Bulgarien