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.

The RESONANCE project develops an innovative software framework that provides means for rapid development and plug-and-play deployment of standard-compliant Customer Energy Manager (CEM), Resource Manager (RM), and their aggregation solutions. The CEM, specified in the EN 50491-12 standard family, is the next-generation demand-side flexibility management (DSFM) solution in Europe. CEM is a software agent that automates DSFM by interacting with smart appliances (represented by RMs), aggregators, and the markets to maximize customer benefits. According to the new EN 50491-12-2 standard, CEMs are envisioned to 1) provide a more deterministic demand response, and 2) be able to optimize consumer benefits with respect to multiple incentives and optimization targets. To achieve this, there is a need for accurate models of flexible assets (smart appliances) and model predictive control techniques to automate the decision-making within the customer premises. The RESONANCE Framework will facilitate the adoption of CEMs as the next generation DSFM system by significantly reducing the development efforts and costs. This is achieved with 1) a standard-compliant and modular system architecture, and 2) an innovative modeling pipeline that combines automated machine learning (AutoML) with physics-based modeling to provide accurate and robust models of flexible assets with minimum effort. The project brings together 19 partners (including a cluster with 40 organizations) with inter-disciplinary expertise and forms a basis for a cross-sector energy ecosystem that significantly contributes to the mobilization of DSFM at a large scale. Large scale piloting in six member states with a variety of consumer sectors, flexible assets (e.g. electric vehicles, HVAC systems, and white goods), stakeholders, and market settings (including sector integration with district heating) is utilized for demonstrating and validating the scalability and replication potential of the solutions.

BIM4EEB aims to foster the renovation industry by developing an attractive and powerful BIM-based toolset able to support designers in the design and planning phase, construction companies to efficiently carry out the work and service companies to provide attractive solutions for building retrofitting. Additionally, public and private owners will be able to use a tool that eases decision making and asset management, thanks to the exploitation of augmented reality and the use of updated digital logbooks. BIM4EEB will deliver an innovative common BIM management system with linked data and a set of tools. This toolkit is the basic instrument for increasing semantic interoperability between software and stakeholders involved along the overall renovation process (design, planning, construction, performance assessment and management). End-users of the entire renovation process will actively participate to the development phases ensuring the full matching of project deliveries with the market expectations and maximizing the value of what is produced. In particular, two public administrations and two general contractor companies will validate the toolset in a social housing setting and private residential buildings in Italy, Poland and Finland. Inhabitants will benefit by the increase of building performances, quality and comfort. A focused market analysis will ensure effective market strategies. BIM4EEB will focus on delivering high levels of modularity between tools enabling the commercial exploitation as standalone products or services, or as part of a consolidated market offering, usable for AEC end users, consulting services or by other IT business areas if required. The developed best practices and guidelines for BIM adoption for public administrators and private stakeholders will be the bases of extensive dissemination actions to support the wide uptake of the project results and ensuring acceptance of BIM4EEB toolset by all stakeholders.

SPHERE’s ultimate goal is the Improvement and optimisation of buildings’ energy design, construction, performance, and management, reducing construction costs and their environmental impact while increasing overall energy performance. SPHERE project will integrate two planes of research, innovation and improvement: • integration of the processes under the Digital Twin Concept involving not only the Design and Construction of the Building but including also the Manufacturing and the Operational phases • integrated platform that will be achieved through an underlying ICT Systems of Systems infrastructure based on Platform as a Service (PaaS) service to allow large scale data, information and knowledge integration and synchronization thus allowing a better handling and processing e.g BIMBots, machine learning , simulation etc. This Digital Twin concept is in fact a distributed but coordinated Database, including geometrical objects information that forms a unique synchronized virtual model of the reality. As has been proven in other fields, twinning this virtual information model with the reality helps significantly in decision-making during each phase of the whole building’s lifespan (manufacturing, design, construction, maintenance, operation, retrofitting and even demolition). The SPHERE cloud-ICT platform will allow to interact all different stakeholders during any phase of the asset with a building Digital Twin model of information of the building and a scalable set of different software tools, such as energy demand/performance simulation tools, Decision Support and Coaching Systems, BEMs or IoT enabled Predictive Maintenance Algorithms. The Digital Twin Concept, platform and Tools will be tested in four real pilots and finally validateted both technically and especially final social acceptance to accelerate market uptake.