One of the objectives of the POSEIDON project is to set up Communities of Practice (COP) in Valencia and Thessaloniki to prepare the implementation of local value chains based on e-methanol as fuel for shipping.
Short definition
A COP is a group of people with different backgrounds who share a same concern and come together to address both individual and common objectives. COPs are particularly relevant in international collaborative projects like POSEIDON where the technologies developed will affect the current practices and relationships of key stakeholders and lead to new value chains.
Two COPs established in POSEIDON
The two COPs consists of local project partners from Thessaloniki and another one composed of stakeholders from Valencia, managed by POSEIDON partners Port of Thessaloniki and Fundación Valenciaport respectively. The established COPs will have two main missions:
– strengthen collaboration between members and be an open platform for knowledge exchange,
– prepare and support the post-project implementation of local value chains by co-developing project outputs and promoting them outside the COPs.
First COP events started in 2024
In January 2024, both COP managers organized a first online event with potential future members of the COP to introduce the POSEIDON project, to present the COP and expected contributions from COP members, and to collect information on technical options to be investigated within the project. On March 6, a first in-person meeting was held in Valencia between project partners and members of the Spanish COP. It allowed to build trust and have a better understanding of the needs of the COP members.