Development of local resources and European cooperation
On Tuesday, 30 September 2025, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region hosted its Interreg 2021–2027 seminar in Lyon, a key event bringing together institutional stakeholders, businesses, researchers and associations around European cooperation initiatives.
Among the highlights of the morning, the round table “Local resources, engines for the future” showcased several emblematic projects that promote territorial know-how and materials. On this occasion, Marion Roussel, Director of National and European Cooperation at Thermauvergne, spoke to present the ThermEcoWat project, for which the association is Lead Partner under the Interreg Sudoe programme. She explained how, together with the project’s European partners, ThermEcoWat is working to assess the vulnerability of thermal resources in the face of climate change, to test potential avenues for energy diversification (for example, heating public buildings or greenhouses using heat from thermal waters), and, above all, to strengthen the resilience of thermal territories.
This presentation showed how Europe, through Interreg, makes it possible to combine scientific, technical and local knowledge to build concrete adaptation pathways. Relying on a transnational network of partners and concrete pilot sites, ThermEcoWat illustrates how European collaboration can provide territories with new tools to anticipate the effects of climate change, secure and sustainably enhance thermal resources, and strengthen their economic and tourism attractiveness. The initiative thus reflects the search for a balance between climate, resource management and sustainable economic development, in the service of territories and their inhabitants.
Along with ThermEcoWat, other projects such as ALPTEXTYLES and AMETHYST have also demonstrated the potential of local resources to build a sustainable territorial economy.
Evaluation and outlook of the Interreg programme
This day, punctuated by conferences, testimonies and collaborative workshops, has made it possible to draw up a mid-term evaluation of the Interreg 2021-2027 programme, while opening reflection on the perspectives after 2027.
To relive the highlights and discover all the projects presented, visit the website of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Region.