Author: Richard Karl Henahan – Research Analyst at the Institute of Baltic Studies.
Richard Karl Henahan – Research Analyst at the Institute of Baltic Studies.
Last April, RELaTED partners took part in a three-day virtual exploitation seminar to formulate their individual exploitation plans. Exploitation plans help project beneficiaries develop a strategy and concrete actions for the protection, dissemination, and exploitation of the project results. At the end of the seminar, project partners created their own “Key Exploitable Results” tables which maps how the RELaTED results can be incorporated into their individual business plans.
Exploitation plans help project beneficiaries develop a strategy and concrete actions for the protection, dissemination, and exploitation of the project results.
Despite the technical and scientific nature of the RELaTED concept, project partners, representing a diverse range of skills and services, identified ways in which the project results could benefit their organization. The results for identified exploitation routes can be found in the table below.
| Exploitation routes | Cumulative annual turnover on year 5 (€) |
| Consultancy services and new R&D projects | € 325,000 |
| Exploitation agreements | € 53,000 |
| Integration of RELaTED concept into district heating networks | € 1,100,000* |
| Commercial products | € 865,000 |
| B2B marketing products | € 30,000 |
| Promotional activities | N/A |
| Total | € 2,373,000 |
*Represents savings from more efficient DH system using RELaTED concept.
The exploitation routes represent the ways in which the project partners can use the results from the RELaTED project. The cumulative annual turnover indicates the potential revenue earned (Or savings for DH companies) by exploiting the RELaTED results. Project partners representing research institutions, non-profits, Universities, DH companies, SMEs, and product development companies related to DH have all identified a path that will benefit them.
The key takeaway from this experience is that multiple stakeholders can stand to benefit from transitioning to a more energy efficient DH system through ULTDH and the RELaTED concept.
The key takeaway from this experience is that multiple stakeholders can stand to benefit from transitioning to a more energy efficient DH system through ULTDH and the RELaTED concept. For society at large, citizens benefit from a cleaner, more efficient, and secure source of heat. For others, ULTDH and the RELaTED concept shows that clusters of private companies, public institutions, and non-profits, not only drive the transition towards a more energy efficient district heating system, but can financially prosper from it.
While challenges exist for the transition towards ULTDH, the RELaTED concept shows that with an innovative approach married with a well-designed exploitation plan, everyone stands to benefit.