LOIs for knowledge transfer and promotion of the energy transition signed with the city of Santa Catarina (Mexico) and the province of Tucumán (Argentina) in Chicago / Jana Liebe presents Nalco Water with the ACE Certificate of Recognition
Erfurt, May 8, 2025: ThEEN Managing Director Jana Liebe was part of the delegation of the 20th ACE - Americas Competitiveness Exchange, which took place in the state of Illinois (U.S.A.). ACE is the leading network for economic development, innovation and entrepreneurship in North and South America. Hosted by the Organization of American States (OAS), the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Commerce, the exchange connects leaders from around the world to drive innovation.
The Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) took place in Illinois, U.S.A. from April 27 to May 2, 2025. After successfully completing the application process, Jana Liebe was the only German representative this time and represented ThEEN in the United States. During the week-long delegation trip this year, 50 high-ranking decision-makers from over 20 countries explored Illinois' ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship and networked with each other. ThEEN took away valuable impulses for the further development of its own cluster work and was able to gain new cooperation partners.
“The state of Illinois remains committed to its NetZero strategy and its implementation by 2050. Illinois continues to focus on clean energy and supports transformation processes with numerous innovations.” Jana Liebe summarizes her findings from the U.S. “Energy efficiency and renewable energies are an increasingly important topic, especially for production processes in industry. Illinois is very pleased about Thuringian, German and international cooperation and the establishment of new companies,” says the ThEEN Managing Director.
“There was great interest in working together on the development of a climate-neutral industry, for example in Mexico,” says Jana Liebe. The results and tools from the energy research project ZO.RRO II (Zero Carbon Cross Energy System), among others, were met with great interest. At the ACE delegation's closing reception, Jana Liebe signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for future cooperation with Jorge Andrés Cervantes Aquirre, representative of the government of the city of Santa Catarina (Mexico), on May 2, 2025.
An LOI was also signed with the government of the province of Tucumán (Argentina), represented by State Secretary Virginia Avila. Both LOIs commit the parties to initiating joint initiatives and projects to transfer knowledge and promote the energy transition in their regions and to intensify cooperation.
Since 2018, there has also been a joint declaration between the Free State of Thuringia and the province of Tucumán on cooperation in the fields of business, science and culture. In addition, the city of San Miguel de Tucumán has been a twin city of the city of Erfurt since 1993.
At ECOLAB and its subsidiary Nalco Water - the headquarters of the global player in water treatment, water technologies and water management, Jana Liebe in Naperville (Illinois) had the great honor of presenting Executive Vice President Joshua Magnuson with the ACE Certificate of Recognition for his leadership in driving partnerships to promote economic growth in the ACE program.
ACE is hosted by the Organization of American States (OAS), the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Economic Development Administration - EDA and International Trade Administration, and the U.S. Department of State, Permanent Mission to the OAS. The local organizer and host was the State of Illinois, represented by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the University of Illinois System.
ACE is a powerful catalyst for strengthening international cooperation and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the participating regions. The ACE program has been held worldwide since 2014. Jana Liebe was already there in Colorado in 2021.
About ZO.RRO: https://zorro-thueringen.de/en
Photo source: Harvey Tillis / ACE Illinois 2025
Press contact: ThEEN e.V., Maria Siegl, e-mail: maria.siegl@theen-ev.de, phone: 0361 663 82 286
About ThEEN e.V.
As an innovation cluster and competence network for transformation technologies, the Thuringian Renewable Energy Network (ThEEN) e.V. represents more than 300 companies through its member associations Arbeitsgemeinschaft Thüringer Wasserkraftwerke, Bundesverband WindEnergie - Landesgruppe Thüringen, Fachverband Biogas - Regionalbüro Ost, SolarInput as well as numerous individual members, companies, research facilities, municipalities and institutions. www.theen-ev.de