Romania | Building Tomorrow's Cities
On October 1-2, 2024, Alba Iulia Municipality hosted a two-day study visit for European partners from the EXPRESS project. This event centered on sharing knowledge and solutions to improve energy efficiency, urban planning, and sustainable mobility across Europe.
Held at the historic Princely Palace of Alba Iulia, the event brought together experts and decision-makers to exchange good practices on integrating renewable energy into urban infrastructure. The agenda included discussions, workshops, and site visits showcasing Alba Iulia’s advancements in renewable energy and smart city solutions.
Workshops on Smart City sustainable development
The meeting on October 1st began with a welcome from representatives of Alba Iulia City Hall and Lead Partner Timo Tahvanainen from the Regional Council of North Karelia, Finland. This was followed by presentations on Alba Iulia’s smart city projects and recent smart energy initiatives. Afterward, thematic discussions took place, leading into two workshops focused on digitalization in energy.
Site visits to highlight local innovation
On the second day, participants toured various locations around the city that demonstrate Alba Iulia's energy self-sufficiency work.
The visit to the biogas cogeneration plant at the wastewater treatment facility highlighted the city’s approach to using renewable biogas for energy production, providing a practical example of emissions reduction in essential services. At the Home for the Elderly, participants saw an example of energy-efficient facility design, where smart energy solutions and newly installed heat pumps help reduce energy consumption and enhance comfort. The visit to Delphi Electric showcased the first Near Zero Energy Building (NZEB+) in Alba Iulia, reflecting the private sector’s role in advancing energy self-sufficiency and setting a standard for sustainable construction in the region.
Building tomorrow’s (smart) cities
After the site visits, “Start - Stop - Continue” follow-up workshop encouraged partners to share experiences, challenges, and strategies for refining smart city projects and initiatives they had the opportunity to evaluate in the two-days meeting.
The inputs of the project members are extremely valuable for the Alba Iulia EXPRESS team, in order for the city to get a very objective and neutral “evaluation” through the eyes of the project experts in terms of projects and smart city initiatives. Inputs included energy-efficient building design, advanced mobility solutions, optimizing urban planning for sustainability and new initiatives that can be replicated by Alba Iulia taking the example of the project partners.
For more information, please contact:
Alba Iulia Municipality Office
Email: [email protected]