ENERGATE participated at the 2nd #SmartEnergyCluster Collaboration Workshop, held on 9 April 2024, 11 A.M CET, organised by NTUA and IEECP. This online event underscored the collective commitment of the smart energy community to foster innovation, collaboration, and a sustainable energy future. 

During the workshop, 10 new projects since the 1st Collaboration Workshop presented their work, demonstrating the expanding scope and diversity of the #SmartEnergyCluster. These projects, BuiltHub, Crete Valley, DEDALUS, DEESME 2050, DigiBUILD, Enpower, FORTESIE, MODERATE, RENergetic, and Reschool, shared insights into their groundbreaking contributions.

A significant development revealed at the workshop was the introduction for a new #SmartEnergyCluster official website. This initiative is designed to streamline collaboration among projects, facilitate the dissemination of news, and enhance visibility within the cluster. The website aims to serve as a central platform for sharing achievements and updates, thereby strengthening the network and outreach of the cluster's initiatives.

The #SmartEnergyCluster now proudly encompasses 21 innovative projects, each contributing to the smart energy transition with unique approaches and solutions. This growth reflects the cluster's dedication to advancing sustainable energy initiatives and fostering a collaborative environment for all members. The projects are:

1. AUDIT-TO-MEASURE: The project will help companies to uptake measures necessary to reduce their energy consumption, thus supporting their energy transition. It will develop and implement a new engagement strategy (called “Audit2Action”) to put into action the opportunities emerging from energy audits.
2. BuiltHub: The EU-funded BuiltHub project will define a roadmap and vision for a durable data flow to characterise the EU building stock. It will develop an organised and inclusive data collection method and an easy-to-access-and-use datahub in the form of a structured web-based platform. The platform will ensure the long-lasting data flow through a benefits-based engagement strategy addressing data and metadata providers and simple users. The strategy will be applied through the development of value information services tailored to platform users.
3. BungEES: will develop an integrated package (a one-stop-shop package) of novel smart energy efficiency services (EES) integrating energy efficiency and distributed generation, demand response, e-mobility, energy storage/hybrid energy systems and integrating different energy sectors (e.g., electricity with heating and cooling), and to develop innovative financing and rewarding solutions. In addition, the integration of non-energy benefits and non-energy services will be investigated.
4. Crete Valley: The project aims to create a Renewable Energy Valley ‘Living Lab’ (REV-Lab) in Crete. It is envisioned as a decentralised renewable energy system that combines leading-edge ICT technologies, interoperable and open digital solutions (including data sovereignty), social innovation processes, and sound business models that are easy to adopt. Crete Valley will demonstrate a digitalised, distributed, renewable, low carbon landscape that is affordable for all and fully covers the local energy needs on an annual basis, utilizing multiple renewable energy carriers and leveraging energy storage technologies.
5. Dedalus: The EU-funded project aims to design, develop, and demonstrate an SSH-driven multi-value energy carrier agnostic demand response ecosystem, tailored to optimize and manage automated Demand response in residential buildings.
6. DEESME 2050: The project enhances companies' adoption of energy efficiency in the furniture sector across Bulgaria, France, Italy, and Poland by leveraging the DEESME multiple benefits approach. It aims to equip, support, and guide companies at various readiness levels in implementing energy efficiency practices. The project focuses on building staff capacities across all levels, promoting sustainability through financing, standardization, and replication efforts in collaboration with associations and policymakers.
7. DigiBUILD: It will develop and support novel digital building frameworks, transforming current data storage options into novel digital and more efficient ones. It will allow for improved ease of use and access to data and reduce emissions and costs.
8. ENERGATE: The project aims to facilitate the creation of an effective, ICT-enabled, energy efficiency marketplace bringing together energy services and sustainable finance to accelerate the renovation rate of buildings by increasing the chances for projects to be financed. ENERGATE envisions to transform the complex set of decision-making actions for targeted groups, even to non-experts, into a user-friendly and single-entry service.
9. Enpower: Enpower will design, develop, and demonstrate methodologies for data-driven, interactive, and closed-loop tools and services based on Smart Sustainable Homes (SSH) for energy-active citizens and energy-secure inter-sectoral communities towards a citizen-centric energy system.
10. EU-MORE: The project targets an early replacement of old electric motors that remain in service in industry and in the tertiary sector. Electric motors have long lifetimes (30-40 year), which means that their replacement rate is slow. As a result of these excessive lifetimes, the actual savings of energy efficiency regulations are lower than the projections calculated by the impact assessments. By taking swift action, at least part of this lost savings potential could be recuperated, with all the associated benefits.
11. FORTESIE: It will develop building renovation packages tailored to meet the needs of different target groups and optimised for improved energy performance, CO2 reduction and increased comfort levels. These renovation packages will combine state of the-art construction materials and technologies, including prefabricated facades, building-integrated photovoltaics and heat pumps. Overall, FORTESIE aims to accelerate the Renovation Wave in Europe and promote more sustainable practices in the building industry.
12. iFLEX: It aims to develop a digital agent to act between consumers, home or remote RES assets, and various stakeholders, enabling the consumers to achieve specific energy targets through local energy management and demand response opportunities. The proposed framework provides a common approach to enhance user experience, level of automation and personalization in a wide variety of demand response and energy services.
13. InEExS: The project focuses on integrating energy services across various sectors and using public blockchain for energy saving data, enhancing cooperation among market players. It aims to better implement the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) Art7, assisting Obligated Parties in offering services that save energy, improve system efficiency, and bring additional non-energy advantages. InEExS is dedicated to developing business models and contracts that support the use of smart energy services and sustainable technologies like renewables, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and IoT devices for energy efficiency.
14. InterConnect: InterConnect unites 50 European entities under a project approved by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 program to forge advanced connections between digital homes, buildings, and the electricity sector. Its primary aim is to make efficient energy management accessible to end-users through interoperable solutions that link smart homes, buildings, and grids. This initiative lays the groundwork for future smart energy management with seven large-scale test sites across Portugal, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, and France.
15. MODERATE: MODERATE will develop an open platform for this purpose, making use of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and the internet of things (IoT).
16. Neon: Neon aims to enhance building occupant quality of life, energy savings, and grid efficiency through integrated energy services. It optimizes building operations and energy use, focusing on comprehensive efficiency improvements, self-sufficiency through energy asset scheduling, advanced control of building systems, and demand response services for grid flexibility. Neon also ensures occupant comfort, health, and safety with tailored services.
17. PROBONO: The project envisions to establish a people-focused European construction industry, by working in harmony with the broader community of stakeholders, to deliver scalable, sustainable, and viable energy-positive and zero-carbon Green Buildings and Neighbourhoods (GBN). PROBONO will provide strong examples of how Green Building Neighbourhoods’ technological and social innovations can be applied, with a vision focused on building infrastructure and a renewed focus on people and sustainability, taking full advantage of digitalization and smart technologies for the benefit of society.
18. RENergetic: RENergetic empowers Renewable Energy Communities to inhabit Energy Islands based on an Economy of Quality (quality attributed to the value of living and working in a clean energy society), fuelling their involvement in processes traditionally hidden for local communities such as heat supply.
19. Reschool: The project will consider energy communities as a way to bring together and empower active consumers and prosumers as relevant energy stakeholders. The project will encourage citizen engagement, and facilitate their interaction with the grid as flexibility providers and their participation in electricity markets. RESCHOOL will deliver solutions and tools designed to support energy and flexibility management and interaction based on collaborative and gamification strategies.
20. SmartSPIN: Split incentives present a key challenge to the deployment of energy efficiency measures in buildings. This is because those who pay the energy bills are different from those who make investment decisions. With a focus on commercial buildings, the EU-funded SmartSPIN project will develop a new business model to improve their energy efficiency and flexibility. More specifically, the model will result in a greater uptake of smart energy services deployed via performance-based contracting in the sector. A SmartSPIN business model toolkit consisting of resources for stakeholders will also be created.
21. V2Market is an innovative service to incorporate EV batteries into the electricity system as storage and flexibility capacity using Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Building (V2B) technology. V2Market tackles system efficiency and uses big data and price forecasting ICT tools to extract the maximum value from pools of EVs. V2Market puts together all the relevant actors in the value chain to create new business models for aggregators, EV owners and flexibility buyers.

The 2nd #SmartEnergyCluster Collaboration Workshop marked another step forward in this collaborative journey. ENERGATE, along with other participants, showcased the power of collaboration in driving the transition towards a more sustainable and efficient energy landscape. The workshop not only highlighted the ongoing projects within the cluster but also set the stage for future innovations and partnerships in the smart energy domain.