From April 11 to 14, 2023, the TWENex project stakeholders are gathering in Flic en Flac (Mauritius) for their first annual meeting.

The TWENex project responds to a double challenge in Indianoceania, linked to strong demographic growth:  increased energy needs (in a region highly dependent on imported fossil fuels) and an acute problem of waste management, with a strong impact on the environment.

The TWENex project contributes to an integrated approach to the transformation of waste into sustainable energy from a circular economy perspective. The Indian Ocean Commission member islands (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, France/Reunion and Seychelles) have a strong potential in renewable energies, in particular solar, wind, or wave, to which is added the potential of biomass, including the deposits of green or recoverable waste, which today account for a significant part of household waste.

The TWENex project has five specific objectives:

• A better understanding of trends in the waste value chain and the waste-to-energy sector;
• Enhanced collaboration between the public and private sectors along the waste value chain;
• Research centers, universities, grassroots organizations and public-private partnerships developing and improving innovative technologies along the waste value chain; Innovative technologies along the waste value chain adopted by the public and private sectors;
• Updated public policies to promote the development and use of innovative and sustainable technologies in the waste value chain and in the waste-to-energy sector.

Implemented jointly by the Indian Ocean Commission and the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC), TWENex is one of 12 initiatives supported by the ACP Innovation Fund, funded by the European Union.