The PROMOTioN Reference Group meeting convened its first meeting on 29 September 2016 in Hamburg, alongside the WindEnergy Expo 2016 and the WindEurope Summit 2016.  

The general objective of the PROMOTioN Reference Group is to provide additional feedback and input from outside the project consortium. It is a closed assembly, similar to an advisory group, which meets on an annual basis. It consists of key industry players and of national/European policy-makers and regulators. The Reference Group represents a direct link to the stakeholder community and consists of 20-25 members.

The first meeting provided a great introduction to the socio-economic environment, presented by Edwin Haesen from Ecofys, and technical benefits of meshed HVDC grids, highlighted by Prof. Tim Green from the Imperial College London. In addition, a number of work-in-progress methods and considerations of project partners related to functional requirements, a roadmap for meshed HVDC grids and the respective cost-benefit analysis were presented and lead to valuable and intensive discussions among the Reference Group attendees.