Program
Net Zero Valley meets politics, business and research
June 24: Conference Day
Lusatia is EU’s first Net Zero Valley (NZV), a region that offers advantages for green industry. On the first day of Decarbon Days, high-profile decision-makers from the EU, federal and state level will come together with representatives from business and science to discuss the future of clean technologies. The Female Energy Award, green start-ups, tours around the Lausitz Valley and more will further bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Net Zero Valley Meeting (Moderator: Carl Hans Ulrich Helzer)
09.00: Welcome to Lusatia – EU’s first Net Zero Valley
Dr. Christian Ehler (MEP for Brandenburg), Jens Warnken (President of the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce) & Tobias Schick (Mayor of Cottbus)09.15: EU impetus – Boost Value Creation in Net Zero Regions
Kerstin Jorna (Director-General for GROW, European Commission)09.30: Impetus from Europe’s leading climate innovation agency on regional transformation
Climate KIC (more information coming soon)10.00: Talk with the four German Net Zero Valley regions and the Basque Country (Net-Zero Basque Industrial Super Cluster)
Dr. Maria Marquardt (Head of Implementation, Net Zero Valley Lausitz), Nikolaus Jansen (Coordinator, Net Zero Valley Lower Saxony), Elke Hohmann (Head of the Application Process for the Rhineland Mining Region as a Net Zero Valley), Steffen Volk (Director, Clean Energy Valley Schleswig-Holstein) & Cristina Oyón (Director of the SPRI Group, the Basque Economic Development Agency)10.45: Three impetus from the regional economy – expectations for Net Zero Regions
Anne Francken (Managing Director, BASF InfraService & Solutions Lausitz GmbH), Dennis Schwindt (CEO, HMS Bergbau AG) & TBA (Actemium BEA)11.00: Talk on Building Industrial Clusters and Creating Value in Net Zero Valleys
Daniel Gerber (Policy Officer, Net Zero Industry Act, DG GROW, EU), Markus Heß (Head of the Department for Industry and Mobility of the Future at the BMWE), Jens Warnken (President of the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce) & TBA11.45: Pitches for the follow-up workshops
Active Break with open activities – limited capacity!
Workshops
DLR Institute for CO₂-Efficient Industrial Processes:
The decarbonization of industry is crucial to achieving emissions targets. In 2024, CO₂ emissions from the industrial sector will amount to approximately 153 million tons, which corresponds to about 25% of Germany’s total CO₂ emissions.
However, decarbonizing this sector is a challenge due to the wide variety of processes involved. In some cases, electrification is a viable solution, but sector-specific approaches are often required. The workshop will present examples from various sectors and explain the available options for different process temperatures.
Speaker: Frederico Gomes Fonseca (Researcher at German Aerospace Center (DLR) – Institute of CO₂-Efficient Industrial Processes)
interactive expert workshop (max. 12 participants)
More information coming soon.
MinGenTec, Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Spree-Neiße-Bober Euroregion & Europe Direct Guben:
Duration: 2.5 hours
Moderator: Dr. Christina Eisenberg (Project Manager, MinGenTec, Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce)
Opening: Dr. Christian Ehler (MEP for Brandenburg), Czeslaw Fiedorowicz & Carsten Jacob (President and Managing Director of Euroregion Spree-Neiße-Bober / Sprewa-Nysa-Bobr) & Dr. Christina Eisenberg (Project Manager, MinGenTec, Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce)
– structural change in Lusatia – between targeted support and comprehensive debureaucratization: Dr. Christian Ehler (MEP for Brandenburg)
– the significance of Net Zero Valleys in the European context: Daniel Gerber (Policy Officer, Net Zero Industry Act, DG GROW, EU)
– Net Zero Valley Lusatia – a brief introduction: Dr. Maria Marquardt (Project Manager, City of Cottbus)
– funding through the Lusatia Program – an overview of the implementation status: Sebastian Sammt (Project Manager, Lusatia Economic Region)
coffee break
panel discussion: charting our own course in the context of (structural) change
– keynote statement – The KARR Region – pathways to climate neutrality: Hubert Papaj (Managing Director, KARR Region)
– keynote statement – Opportunities for Cross-Border Cooperation Among SMEs in the Field of Environmentally Friendly Aerospace: Prof. Marek Banaszkiewicz (Advisor to the Management Board Management Board of Space Technology Park in Zielona Góra (PTK))
– additional panelists: Dr. Christian Ehler, Dr. Maria Marquardt & Sebastian Sammt
Entwicklungsgesellschaft Niederschlesische Oberlausitz mbH (ENO) & Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK):
Duration: 2 hours
Moderators: Ina Maria Kwiatkowski (ENO Görlitz) & Jens Krause (IHK Cottbus)
– the ramp-up of green kerosene production in Lusatia: Chuma Francis Kanis (Operations Director, HY2GEN)
– MinGenTec network presentation: Silke Schwabe (IHK CB, Head of Foreign Trade & Business Development)
– presentation of the H₂ Network East: Jörn-Heinrich Tobaben (Metropolregion Mitteldeutschland Management GmbH)
– ONTRAS H₂ network conversion projects: Tino Falley (H₂ Program Management, ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH)
DLR Institute of Electrified Aviation Propulsion:
Guided by the principle “You cannot improve what you do not measure,” the following questions will be addressed:
1. Which climate impacts of aviation are currently captured by regulations?
2. What data must currently be measured and reported?
3. Which impacts are still insufficiently quantified?
4. Why are better measurements a prerequisite for effective decarbonization?
Speaker: Dr.-Ing. habil. Judith Rosenow (Head of the “Environmental Impacts and Sustainability” Group at the DLR Institute of Electrified Aviation Propulsion)
interactive expert workshop (max. 12 participants)
Service Center for Industrial Transformation in the Regions:
Your Region. Your Industry. Your Perspective. – What transformation skills are needed to shape change, and how can these skills be developed?
Speaker: Dr. Marc Bovenschulte
Net Zero Tours
More information coming soon.
Duration: 2 hours
Starting point: ZHG
Stops: Labs at the Energy Innovation Center (EIZ) + abandoned sites in the Lausitz Science Park (LSP)
Equipment: Rental bikes, possibly hard hats
Number of participants: max. 20 people
Guides: Susann Peplowsky (EIZ) & Kamila Lelo (LSP)
Duration: 2 hours
Starting point: ZHG
Stops: The world-record-breaking Cobra large-scale heat pump (DLR Institute for CO2-Efficient Industrial Processes), research facility with over 100 systems (chesco), and the Digilab or the heat pump test facility at the Cottbus Combined Heat and Power Plant, featuring a scale model of the Baltic Sea heat pump
Net Zero Summit (Moderator: Dr. Nora Baum)
16.30: Welcome to Lusatia – Model Region for Sustainable Innovation
Adi Roesch (LEAG CEO) & Prof. Dr. Gesine Grande (President of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg)16.40: Digital Welcome Message – Implementing the Green Deal in Lusatia
Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission, tbc)16.45: impetus for motivation, change & innovation – Movin Zero 2.0
powered by LEAG (more information coming soon)17.00: Startup Stage – new innovations in the field of decarbonization
powered by EIZ SPARK & INAM17.30: impetus – Innovation in Germany through Net Zero Tech
Katherina Reiche (Federal Minister of Economics, tbc)17.45: Talk about framework conditions for value creation and Innovation in Net Zero Regions
Michiel Scheffer (President of the European Innovation Council), Dr. Christian Ehler (MEP for Brandenburg), Clara Pfeffer (journalist, tbc), Katherina Reiche (Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, tbc) & Maja Göpel (transformation researcher, tbc)18.45: final and awarding ceremony for the Female Energy Award powered by enviaM
Lucie Töpfer (Curator, Co-founder of pyropower GmbH)from 19.30: closing remarks & exchange
Curated Program
The program is assessed by an independent board of trustees:
Merlin Tesch
Student Vice President, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg
Tobias Schick
Mayor of the City of Cottbus
Jens Warnken
President of the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce
Jakob Flechtner
Director of the Center of Excellence for Climate Protection in Energy-Intensive Industries
Dr. Chrstian Ehler
Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Prof. Dr. Gesine Grande
President BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg
Adie Roesch
CEO LEAG
Dr. Carola Neugebauer
Head of the BBSR Regional Development Competence Center
cleantech comes to life
June 25: Talent Day
Free admission, by and for students and pupils. The second day of Decarbon Days invites you to exchange ideas on a wide range of topics related to our green future. Students will give insights into their studies with projects, develop the clean start-ups of tomorrow in teams and companies will present perspectives in an interactive exhibition and a talent exchange. This will be accompanied by other activities and a campus party to round off the event.
Clean School (powered by BTU-Schüleruni & Prof. Dr. Roh Pin Lee)
09.30: talk – decarbonization and transformation of the industry
09.45: presentation of science-videos
10.00: Decarbon Drafts – presentation of final theses on topics related to decarbonization
10.30: interactive poster plaza on the final theses
11.30: live voting for the best poster
Climathon, EU-Talk & Decarbon Star
13.00: Climathon finale with live-pitches
supported by Climate KIC15.30: EU parliamentarians in dialogue with students
Dr. Christian Ehler (MEP for Brandenburg) & Matthias Ecke (MEP for Saxonia)17.00: Decarbon Star with pitches from green student companies as part of the STARPARADE
powered by Startup Lausitz
Aftershowparty
19.00: Decarbon Dance – international campus party / warmup BTU-Sommerfest
side program
13.00-16.00: Paper Plane Championship
powered by chesco
frequently: workshop transformation capabilities
powered by service center for industrial transformation in the regionsfrequently: Science-Park-Tour
powered by LSP & EIZ
all day: job market
all day: interactive exhibition with partner booth rally
all day: tech mile