An increasing role is foreseen in Europe for local energy communities (LECs) to speed up the grid integration of RES. To-day, the enabling role of DSOs in support of LECs is hampered by a lack of flexibility when planning cost-efficient LEC connections to their network at MV level, and by a lack of digitalization of the LV networks to make LEC’s smart prosumers benefit economically when serving the DSO flexibility needs. Four European DSOs (E.ON, ENEDIS, E.DIS, Güssing Stadtwerke) and an Indian DSO (TATA) have joined with IT-based, innovative product and solution providers, and technology and research centers, to demonstrate the combined roles of innovative functionalities serving the MV and LV networks, when implemented in 5 different regulatory regimes (Austria, France, Hungary, Germany, India- state of Delhi-). For MV networks, a mobile storage concept at substation level is demonstrated in Hungary, Germany and Austria. It enables DSOs to reduce investment uncertainties, avoid hindering future renewables connection and foster the local use of flexibility with participating non-regulated market solutions (Demand Side Response-DR-). For LV networks, 3 functional use cases served by ATOS and Schneider are tested simultaneously in Austria and India with prosumer support: i) Forecasting/scheduling of Distributed Energy Resources for the optimized energy management of Local Energy Systems, ii) Customized, human-centric prosumer participation in explicit DR programs using context-aware flexibility profiles, iii) Grid-forming/islanding capabilities in Local Energy Communities to optimize their energy system resilience. The joint work of DSOS aims at accelerating scaling up and replication tested by HEDNO (Greece) and E.ON (Sweden). Dissemination towards players of the energy value chain recommends business models, possible regulatory adjustments and deployment roadmaps of the most promising use cases, in support of the implementation of the Clean Energy Package.

DigInTraCE aims at the development of i)transparent and interoperableDecentralised Traceability platform using novel tracking, sensing and sorting techniques ii)Dynamically updated DPPschemes supporting certification and quality validation iii)AI based and decision making mechanisms for process and lifecycle optimisation iv)up-cycling, reuse and upgrade technologies for improved secondary raw materials use v)contribute to standardization, open and easy accessible data vi)business models creating new economic opportunities and learning resources for employees, promoting new digital skills and meeting regional social needs. The solutions are demonstrated in the sectors of a) Pulp & Paper focused in 2 cases: composite wood and furniture; and wood and Pulp & Paper and b) Chemicals focused in 2 cases: plastic parts from ICT equipment and automotive market; and polymers and textiles: in 4 countries, while composite wood case combines both the 2 main sectors.

Building Information Modelling is a critical element in the digitalization of the construction industry, which is necessary in order to unleash huge efficiency and productivity improvements. BIMERR will design and develop a Renovation 4.0 toolkit which will comprise tools to support renovation stakeholders throughout the renovation process of existing buildings, from project conception to delivery. It comprises tools for the automated creation of enhanced building information models, a renovation decision support system to aid the designer in exploring available renovation options through an the accurate estimation of renovation impact on building performance as well as a process management tool that will optimize the design and on-site construction process toward optimal coordination and minimization of renovation time and cost. At the heart of the BIMERR toolkit lies an interoperability framework, which will enforce semantic interoperability among BIMERR tools as well as with third-party legacy ICT tools to enable seamless BIM creation and information exchange among AEC stakeholders in an effort to enhance the rapid adoption of BIM in renovation of the existing EU building stock. The BIMERR toolkit will be validated and demonstrated in 4 buildings in 3 European Member States. Two buildings will be used for pre-validation and implementation refinement and the refined BIMERR toolkit will support the actual renovation design and works in one residential building in Poland and a second one in Spain. The assessment and evaluation of the BIMERR toolkit after these real-life activities will feed material into two supporting horizontal project activities: i) dissemination and exploitation of project outcomes through the creation of best practice examples of BIMERR use that will guide further replication effort, and ii) promotion of BIMERR outcome to the most relevant standardization bodies.

E2DRIVER will develop a collaborative-cooperative training platform boosting the automotive supply industry collective intelligence on energy efficiency. The platform will provide access to training material, online lessons, guidelines, energy and financial tools, virtual reality modules and a community of key actors in the sector for SMEs to undergo energy audits and implement their recommendations. To this end, E2DRIVER training methodology will enable the development of specific training plan itineraries based on the company’s needs and trainees’ role in the company, which will increase the effectiveness of the training sessions and the awareness on energy issues among the staff. The development of E2DRIVER platform will not be a static action resulting from the project execution, but will enable a continuous update of the training material, best practices, benchmarking analysis and guidelines due to the implementation of an ontological flip teaching method, which enables trainees to generate their own knowledge and training materials to be shared through E2DRIVER cooperative networks. E2DRIVER platform will be tested and validated in 40 companies from the automotive supply industry in four countries that represent over 50% of the EU employees in this sector: Spain, France, Italy and Germany. Moreover, a total of 60 trainers will be certified in E2DRIVER training methodology, which will ease the replication of the project results and the business consolidation of E2DRIVER platform. E2DRIVER gender-balanced consortium includes three well-known research institutions with expertise in energy efficiency, social science and decision-making processes. In addition, a partner in charge of training at national level and an association as multiplier organization has been involved in every pilot country. Finally, this competitive consortium is complemented by two research oriented SMEs focussed on exploitation and dissemination issues.

The de-centralization of electricity generation requires equally de-centralized and affordable solutions to integrate more RES, increase the security of supply and decarbonize the EU energy future. The combination and unique integration of de-centralized storage with technologies for local energy system optimization, including demand response, electric vehicle charging optimization and synergies with other energy vectors at the local level, can offer a cost-efficient pathway (in comparison to high-CAPEX grid upgrade investments) for local energy systems optimization in presence of high volumes of volatile and intermittent RES, since huge amounts of currently non-utilized flexibility can be unleashed to ensure optimal congestion management and effective tackling of local instabilities and imbalances. MERLON introduces an Integrated Modular Local Energy Management Framework for the Holistic Operational Optimization of Local Energy Systems in presence of high shares of volatile distributed RES. Optimization in MERLON applies to multiple levels spanning optimal coordination of local generation, with demand and storage flexibility, as well as flexibility offered by EVs and CHP Plants to facilitate maximum RES integration, avoidance of curtailment and satisfaction of balancing/ ancillary grid needs. MERLON will enable the realization of novel business models, allowing local energy communities to introduce themselves in local flexibility markets, while paving the way for the realization of novel Microgrid-as-a-Service models, assigning to local DSOs the role of “Aggregator of Aggregators” for the provision of added value services to the overlay distribution grid. It equips local stakeholders (DSOs, energy cooperatives, prosumers) with innovative and highly effective tools for the establishment of robust business practices to exploit their microgrids and dynamic VPPs as balancing and ancillary assets toward grid stability and alleviation of network constraints.