In the beginning of 2019 the University of the Algarve (UAlg), in collaboration with the Culatra Island Residents' Association (Associação de Moradores da Ilha da Culatra, AMIC), submitted a proposal to the Secretariat of the Clear Energy for EU Islands, European Commission. Resulting from this application, the Culatra Island was selected as one of the six pilot islands that receives technical support to define an Agenda for Energy Transition.

The ‘Culatra 2030 - Sustainable Energy Community’ initiative is a demonstration project on the island of Culatra in the Algarve, Portugal, covering various aspects of the ecological transition. It implements the ambitions of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) in the Algarve, using a new Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) to create a real laboratory for the ecological transition, focusing on the specific needs of the island and capitalising on its assets.