Central Asian universities strengthen cooperation with Europe on renewable energy and present new research network
The international workshop brought together more than 400 experts and featured more than 200 technical presentations on the integration of wind and solar power into electricity systems. Portugal provided a relevant setting for the discussions, given its extensive experience in integrating renewable energy into its power system.
The EU4SustainableCentralAsia: Renewable Energy in Central Asia (EURECA) project, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-funded by the European Union and implemented by GIZ, brought representatives of Nazarbayev University, Satbayev University, Kyrgyz State Technical University, Tajik Technical University, the State Energy Institute of Turkmenistan, Tashkent State Technical University, and the Institute of Energy Problems of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan to the workshop.
The delegation's participation focused on knowledge exchange, building research partnerships and strengthening dialogue between Central Asian and European academic institutions.
Building new EU-Central Asia research partnerships
To bring Central Asian perspectives to the forefront, EURECA hosted a dedicated session, “Powering the Energy Transition: Building Central Asia–EU Research Partnerships for Renewable Energy and Regional Grid Integration.” Researchers and international energy experts discussed the flexibility challenges facing Central Asian power systems as wind and solar capacity expands. The session also presented research based on dispatch modelling of large-scale wind and solar integration in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, conducted jointly with the Coordinating Dispatch Center Energiya in Tashkent.
A panel brought together researchers and university representatives from across Central Asia, alongside EURECA and European research partners, including Manfred Spiesberger of the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI), Vienna, Austria. Participants discussed their countries' energy priorities, institutional research capacities and opportunities for joint research with European partners. The discussions also explored opportunities for Central Asian researchers to access international research funding and develop joint proposals under programmes such as Horizon Europe.
The Porto discussions also contributed to the development of a proposed Central Asia–EU research network for renewable energy. The network would support regional collaboration between universities, shared research infrastructure and databases, joint study and exchange programmes, researcher mobility, and matchmaking between Central Asian and European researchers for joint projects. For Central Asian universities, closer cooperation with European research institutions can provide access to international networks, methodologies, modelling expertise, researcher mobility and funding opportunities. European researchers, in turn, can benefit from collaboration on real Central Asian power-system conditions, new datasets, comparative research and field validation.
The growing focus on research cooperation comes as EU–Central Asia relations expand in areas including energy, climate, science and innovation. At the first EU–Central Asia Summit in April 2025, leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in research and education, including through programmes such as Horizon Europe. The EU and Central Asian countries have also intensified cooperation on renewable energy and regional energy connectivity through the Global Gateway and Team Europe initiatives.
Through its alignment with wider strategic engagements under the EU's Global Gateway and Team Europe initiatives, as well as Germany's Strategic Partnership with Central Asia and the Green Central Asia initiative, EURECA contributes to strengthening regional cooperation and research capacity for the clean energy transition.