January is the ideal time to plan the new year ahead with recharged batteries and new motivation! Yet it is also the time to look back at what has been achieved and draw inspiration, dare we say pride, from all the achievements of the BRAVE consortium from 2025.
Welcomed ASTER and Hannoverimpuls
After a partner withdrew from the project, we used the opportunity to not just replace them but bring extra value to the partnership.
ASTER, a cooperative of social housing providers in Flanders, Belgium who manage to cut their social tenant’s energy bills by up to 40% with their solar-as-a-service model. They bring experience in financing a novel, replicable and scalable business model, while always trying to seek out innovation.
Hannoverimpuls, a German business support organisation, will test the development and scaling of energy management systems (EMS) that optimise the interaction of renewable generation, storage, and demand.
Hannoverimpuls and ASTER together bring great energy to the team - welcome!
Partner meeting #1 – Aarhus, DK
In May we met in the beautiful city of Aarhus to see first-hand their Climate Company finance model and practical challenges with scaling up beyond municipal solar. It showed the potential for public guarantee-backed SOVs as a tool for replication and the importance of leans and dynamic business models.
Participation at EUSEW 2025
Rotterdam, Cleantech Scandinavia, Aarhus, and Bax presented at the EU Sustainable Energy Week to an audience of 250 cities, policymakers, SMEs, and research institutes. They pitched local examples of how to get pilots out of the “pilot trap” and what important roles cities play in the successful scaling and replication of cleantech solutions.
Partner meeting #2 - Amiens, FR
We were hosted by CD2E and Pôle MEDEE in Lille and Amiens, where we visited the famous bus depot and spoke with some of France's largest public and private finance bodies. This partner meeting revolved around the impact of political will on investment cases.
Pilots launched with regional letters of intent
The BRAVE pilots have officially begun! Each of BRAVE's 8 pilot regions have now finalised their roadmaps with supporting letters of intent signed by senior members of their department.
In 2026 we will closely follow pilot rollout and KPIs, supported by a Business Readiness methodology led by the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship.
The State of the Sector Report
Cleantech Scandinavia and Bax collaborated on a "BRAVE leap forward" strategic research report, exploring the growing role of cities to steer Europe's energy transition.
This report will form the conceptual foundation for Cleantech Scandinavia's Cleantech Capital Day in Spring of 2026.
The BRAVE Business Readiness Handbook
Rotterdam and Bax co-developed an initial draft of the BRAVE Business Readiness Handbook, connecting public sector innovation and market-making theory, with the real cases of the BRAVE project. Bax will present and develop this handbook further in 2026, refined alongside emerging pilot results.
Looking ahead: the 2026 pipeline
The BRAVE partnership has an exciting year ahead:
- The 8 BRAVE pilots will regularly share tangible progress and insights around how local authorities can more effectively support scalable markets, partnerships, and investments for their local clean energy sectors
- Within high-profile public events across Europe, the consortium will share their expertise to policymakers, researchers, and other regional authorities,
- Through ongoing monitoring and external feedback, we will validate and update our BRAVE Business Readiness methodology, advancing our understanding of public-sector driven scale-up strategies in cities and regions
Find us at:
- 2-3 June 2026: The CLEANTECH CAPITAL DAY organised by Cleantech Scandinavia in Gothenburg
- 21 May 2026: Upstream in Rotterdam
- 9-11 June: European Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels