The transition to the smart grid era is associated with the creation of a meshed network of data contributors that necessitates for the transformation of the traditional top-down business model, where power system optimization relied on centralized decisions based on data silos preserved by stakeholders, to a more horizontal one in which optimization decisions are based on interconnected data assets and collective intelligence. Consequently, the need for “end-to-end” coordination between the electricity stakeholders, not only in business terms but also in exchanging information is becoming a necessity to enable the enhancement of electricity networks’ stability and resilience, while satisfying individual business process optimization targets of all stakeholders involved in the value chain. SYNERGY introduces a novel reference big data architecture and platform that leverages data, primary or secondarily related to the electricity domain, coming from diverse sources (APIs, historical data, statistics, sensors/ IoT, weather, energy markets and various other open data sources) to help electricity stakeholders to simultaneously enhance their data reach, improve their internal intelligence on electricity-related optimization functions, while getting involved in novel data (intelligence) sharing/trading models, in order to shift individual decision-making at a collective intelligence level. To this end SYNERGY will develop a highly effective a Big Energy Data Platform and AI Analytics Marketplace, accompanied by big data-enabled applications for the totality of electricity value chain stakeholders (altogether integrated in the SYNERGY Big Data-driven EaaS Framework). SYNERGY will be validated in 5 large-scale demonstrators, in Greece, Spain, Austria, Finland and Croatia involving diverse actors and data sources, heterogeneous energy assets, varied voltage levels and network conditions and spanning different climatic, demographic and cultural characteristics.

Sustainable energy Positive & zero cARbon CommunitieS demonstrates and validates technically and socio-economically viable and replicable, innovative solutions for rolling out smart, integrated positive energy systems for the transition to a citizen centred zero carbon & resource efficient economy. SPARCS facilitates the participation of buildings to the energy market enabling new services and a virtual power plant concept, creating VirtualPositiveEnergy communities as energy democratic playground (positive energy districts can exchange energy with energy entities located outside the district). Seven cities will demonstrate 100+ actions turning buildings, blocks, and districts into energy prosumers. Impacts span economic growth, improved quality of life, and environmental benefits towards the EC policy framework for climate and energy, the SET plan and UN Sustainable Development goals. SPARCS co-creation brings together citizens, companies, research organizations, city planning and decision-making entities, transforming cities to carbon-free inclusive communities. Lighthouse cities Espoo (FI) and Leipzig (DE) implement large demonstrations. Fellow cities Reykjavik (IS), Maia (PT), Lviv (UA), Kifissia (EL) and Kladno (CZ) prepare replication with hands-on feasibility studies. SPARCs identifies bankable actions to accelerate market uptake, pioneers innovative, exploitable governance and business models boosting the transformation processes, joint procurement procedures and citizen engaging mechanisms in an overarching city planning instrument toward the bold City Vision 2050. SPARCS engages 30 partners from 8 EU Member States (FI, DE, PT, CY, EL, BE, CZ, IT) and 2 non-EU countries (UA, IS), representing key stakeholders within the value chain of urban challenges and smart, sustainable cities bringing together three distinct but also overlapping knowledge areas: (i) City Energy Systems, (ii) ICT and Interoperability, (iii) Business Innovation and Market Knowledge.

Despite the large economic energy saving potential in the EU, the energy service companies (ESCOs) market for residential buildings is much less developed than in other demand sectors (e.g. the industry or public/service sectors). Besides sector cross-cutting barriers (e.g. low energy prices, lack of information and awareness, lack of appropriate forms of finance) there are specific barriers which make a large-scale application of the ESCO model for residential buildings particularly difficult (e.g. lack scale or lack the necessary energy intensity to justify investment within the structure of present-day EPC model). In this context, frESCO aims to engage with ESCOs and aggregators and enable the deployment of innovative business models on the basis of novel integrated energy service bundles that properly combine and remunerate local flexibility for optimizing local energy performance both in the form of energy efficiency and demand side management. Such new service and business models will bring under common Pay for Performance Contracts (extended form of current EPCs) two currently differentiated service offerings to enable the realization of next-generation smart energy service packages. The strong presence of the industry in the consortium (2 ESCOs, 2 aggregators, 3 ICT and technology providers and 2 engineering companies) and the end-users (1 Cooperative and 1 Hotel), supported by 3 knowledgable RTOs, will ensure the market uptake of frESCOs new business models. frESCO's new business models will be demonstrated in 4 different pilots (Spain, France, Croatian and Greece) with complementary characteristics in terms of building typology (single-/multi-family), climate, regulation, energy consumption, energy assets, consumer groups, etc., thus facilitating the replicability of frESCO's solutions across Europe. Overall, frESCO aims to directly achieve a primary savings of 464 MWh/yr and a reduction of 108 tCO2/yr and trigger 28.3M€ investment during the replication

FUELPHORIA will demonstrate the establishment of sustainable complete value chains for advanced biofuels and RFNBOs for providing Europe with sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply schemes. The project will practically showcase a portfolio of nine complete Value Chains which will be set up and tested in real environment contexts with the active participation of all key players including: the feedstock suppliers (two biogas plants, a winery plant, an urban waste treatment plant); the technology providers who will convert through chemical, electrochemical, biological, thermochemical, and photobiological processes the feedstock (CO2, digestate, urban/ municipal biowaste) into an array of advanced biofuels and RFNBOs (light to long parafins i.e. CH4, medium/long chain hydrocarbons, esters i.e. biodiesel, and light alcohols i.e. ethanol, methanol) that meet quality specifications as defined by the end-users in the transport sector (aviation/maritime, road transport) and in the power production sector (gas or oil fired thermal plants), through four DEMOs in Europe (Belgium, Spain, Greece) while European export potential through international collaboration with Africa is also envisaged. Special emphasis will be also given to the logistics around the fuel production systems, i.e., for the sustainable supply of feedstock and the efficient transport of the final products to their end application. To do this, across the FUELPHORIA project the value chain approach is combined with the Life Cycle Assessment approach in order to not only consider all the different stages of the value chain from feedstock to end use but also to explore how the value chain operates as part of a larger system. FUELPHORIA will define and setup business models and marketing concepts and prepare market entry of the technology solutions as well as of the end-products, and will develop policy recommendations for realising the energy system transition potential.

PHOENIX aims at changing the role of buildings from unorganised energy consumers to active agents orchestrating and optimising their energy consumption, production and storage, with the goal of increasing energy performance, maximising occupants’ benefit, and facilitating grid operation. The project will design a portfolio of ICT solutions covering all aspects from hardware and software upgrades needed in legacy equipment and optimal deployment of sensors, to data analytics and services for both building users and energy utilities. PHOENIX will take advantage of artificial intelligence technologies, as well as edge/cloud computing methods, to provide the highest level of smartness to existing buildings. The tools that will result from the different work packages will offer the possibility of establishing a new framework that will enable the optimisation of the energy use and infrastructure exploitation, while at the same time facilitate the creation of new SMEs and Start-Up ideas to exploit new revenue streams and business opportunities. To achieve this ambitious goal, PHOENIX relies on a consortium which has the technological knowledge and expertise to understand the social and technical requirements and translate them into ICT innovations (i.e. IoT, AI and Data Analytics) for the integration and smartness upgrading of existing buildings with legacy equipment and systems. To demonstrate the real impact and replicability, the proposed solution with ICT innovations and cost-effective services will be validated in 5 different pilots at European level (i.e. Ireland, Greece, Sweden and Spain). Moreover, the consortia have high expertise and business capacities to disseminate and exploit the PHOENIX results. PHOENIX will provide a portfolio of ICT solutions to increase the smartness of legacy systems and appliances in existing buildings which will increase the SRI of existing buildings. These improvements will translate in human-centric new services.