New Plymouth (New Zealand) Delegation visited Vilnius (Lithuania)

Categorized as News from Asia & Australasia, News from IURC
MoU signature by all parties

Led by Deputy Mayor David Bublitz, a delegation from New Plymouth District Council and affiliated institutions visited counterparts in Vilnius to exchange views about energy transition, climate action and smart city developments. The 4-day study visit (which followed a visit of Vilnius delegates to New Plymouth in 2022) led to the signing of an MoU between both sides with concrete areas and exchange modus.

For over a century, New Plymouth has been the energy capital of New Zealand, known as the home of both black gold (oil) and white gold (milk). In 2018, a new long-term economic strategy, Tapuae Roa, was announced to initiate a Just Transition to a low emissions future. The strategy works with Taranaki’s 2050 roadmap, which has 12 transitional pathways including Energy, Food and Maori economy.

The delegation from New Plymouth included senior representatives from Ara Ake (New Zealand’s centre for the commercialisation of green technology), Hiringa Energy (an innovative energy company focusing on green hydrogen) as well as Venture Taranaki, the regional development agency. The programme meetings enabled New Zealand delegates to learn in-depth how Vilnius is currently implementing sustainable urban solutions (goals, challenges, governance, approaches, triple-helix cooperation, etc.) and to assess their relevance for concrete cooperation with New Plymouth.

Meetings in Vilnius started at the municipality headquarters with Mayor Valdas Benkunskas and senior administration staff including Director Adomas Bužinskas. Mayor Benkunskas – who visited New Plymouth in 2022 – introduced Vilnius’s main challenges, solutions and plans in the areas of public transportation, circular economy, central heating, urban retrofitting and the use of renewable energy. Deputy Mayor Bublitz and New Plymouth colleagues expressed their challenges in achieving a more circular economy model as well as the progress on hydrogen energy usage for transportation and aviation. Experts from both sides then discussed city management (open data), smart city solutions (digital twins, use of drones, etc) and climate action (Vilnius is one of the 100 climate-neutral and smart European cities by 2030).

During the next 4 days, the New Zealand delegates met with experts from public and private companies, research and the public sector. Counterparts included Vilnius Water, the Innovation and Technology Group, the Ministry of Finance, Vilnius City District Heating Company, Energy Cells, SoliTek (BOD Group), Vilnius Public Mobility and Vilnius Heat and Power Plant. New Plymouth delegates were also able to visit the Paupys district.

The visit was organised by senior staff of Vilnius municipality, including directors Ilja Karuzis, Eglė Randytė and Agnes Eigminiene. The project team would like to express its gratitude for your outstanding support!

Social Media

Details of most meetings in Vilnius were communicated on social media (Twitter – external content):

Video Statements in Twitter (external content)

Meetings in Brussels

After 4 days of meetings in the Lithuanian capital, the New Zealand experts conducted a series of meetings in Brussels, including the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) and EURADA, the European Association of Development Agencies. Moreover, delegates had a targeted meeting with the EU Commission (DG Research and Innovation, RTD) to learn about possible collaboration within the EU Horizon Europe programme, which New Zealand has recently associated with. They also visited New Zealand’s Mission to the European Union to report the study visit’s results.

Opening meeting with Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas & Senior Administration Staff
Group picture with Mayor Valdas Benkunskas (third from left to right)
Open data strategy Vilnius
Vilnius Digital twins for infrastructure
Climate Action team in Vilnius
Visit to District Heating Plant
Meeting at District Heating Plant
Meeting with Deputy Minister of Finance and Ministry Staff
Visit to SoliTek production site in Vilnius
Meeting at combined heat and power plant
Visit to Vilnius Water Treatment Company
Visit to Energy Cells
Vilnius and New Plymouth staff in Vilnius
Adomas Bužinskas, Director of Vilnius City Administration, and David Bublitz, Deputy Mayor New Plymouth District
MoU signature by all parties
New Plymouth Delegates at EU Headquarters in Brussels
Brussels’ Meeting with GCoM Oceania
Meeting at EURADA in Brussels
Meeting at EURADA
Meeting at DG RTD in Brussels
Debriefing Meeting with NZ Mission to the EU

By Pablo Gandara

pgandara@iurc.eu