Abstract
Approached in the right way, the fast growing field of waste-to-energy presents opportunities for the development of common resources across borders. The EU funded COOLSWEEP project seeks to support research driven partnerships between leading European stakeholders within waste-to-energy. The first outcome has been a comprehensive report on the global status of 4 different WtE fields: Incineration, Anaerobic Digestion, Alternative Thermal Treatment, Landfill gas recovery. The Coolsweep project is funded by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme, and has started in January 2013; its partners include 5 established research driven "triple helix" clusters, one cluster under development and a specialist cluster analysis organization. The project focuses on developing transnational cluster cooperation in a new area of smart specialization. The general aim of the project is to identify possible synergies and partnerships between public and private stakeholders and knowledge institutions within the field of waste-to-energy in six different European regions. This will support the development of new businesses based on utilizing waste as the feed material for efficient sustainable energy production and a more effective use of the by-products from the energy generation.