PET Announces Winners of the EUKI Community Mobility Cooperatives Open Call
The Platform for Energy Transition, as part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), has announced the results of its regional open call for pilot projects aimed at establishing community-led electric mobility cooperatives. This initiative is designed to empower citizens in Southeast Europe to take an active role in the energy transition by developing shared e-mobility solutions.
Project Overview and Competition
The "Community Mobility Cooperatives" project focuses on overcoming barriers such as inadequate charging infrastructure and legal uncertainties in the region. The open call required applicants to commit to several key criteria:
Actively participating in specialized training, workshops, and mentoring sessions.
Developing a robust business plan for their proposed cooperative.
Implementing at least one pilot community-led e-mobility solution.
Sharing lessons learned to facilitate regional replication.
The competition saw significant engagement, receiving 22 applications from four countries, with 7 applications coming from Serbia alone.
Selected Pilot Winners by Country
A total of four pilot projects were selected to represent their respective countries in building and testing cooperative e-mobility models:
Serbia: Energy Cooperative Sunčani krovovi (Sunny Roofs), Perlez.
Romania: Owners Association 135 and Port Community Galati.
Slovenia: Energy Cooperative Gmajna.
North Macedonia: GO GREEN and SUNRISE (Skopje).
Serbian Pilot: "E Čivija" (Šabac)
The Serbian winner, Energy Cooperative Sunčani krovovi (Sunny Roofs), will focus its pilot activities in the city of Šabac. Their winning project, working under the name "E Čivija," draws on local identity and a history of successful community energy initiatives in the city.
The Expert Team
The project is driven by a team with deep expertise in energy and local activism:
Ilija Batas Bijelić: Electrical engineer and founder of Sunčani krovovi, responsible for technical implementation.
Slobodan Jerotić: Mechanical engineer and former Energy Manager of Šabac, bringing extensive experience in public sector energy efficiency.
Slaviša Kostadinović: Lawyer and President of the Management Board at Sunčani krovovi, with a proven track record in organizing collective citizen actions.
Technical and Community Details:
Infrastructure: The project involves installing a 22 kW AC electric vehicle charger that will be community-governed and owned by a renewable energy community.
Renewable Integration: To ensure the transport is truly sustainable, the team plans to install a 5.6 kWp photovoltaic system and 10 kWh battery storage to power the charger with local clean energy.
Strategic Partnerships: The initiative has secured interest from a residential community of approximately 25-30 citizens, as well as local commercial partners including a taxi company and the food delivery service "Alideda".
Funding Model: Investment will be raised through a crowdfunding campaign among cooperative members and interested local businesses, avoiding commercial bank loans in the initial phase.
The project aims to serve as a visible, hands-on example to dispel misconceptions about electric vehicles and demonstrate that e-mobility is accessible to smaller communities through shared ownership.