Periodic Reporting for period 4 - CityxChange (Positive City ExChange)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-05-01 al 2023-10-31
In order to have livable and functioning cities, municipalities must improve how they engage with technology, citizens, energy, and planning as smart cities, reached within an open innovation model.
The +CityxChange project is coordinated by NTNU with 33 partners, including 7 cities, large-scale industry, SMEs, NGOs, and academia. Trondheim Kommune (TK) and Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) as Lighthouse Cities together with Alba Iulia (MAI), Písek (MP), Sestao (SB), Smolyan (SMO, and Võru (VORU) as Fellow Cities develop feasible and realistic demonstration projects towards Positive Energy Blocks.
These showcase urban, digital, and energy transitions towards climate-friendly and sustainable urban environments, improved quality of life, and greener business development.
+CityxChange creates solutions for Positive Energy Blocks leading to Positive Energy Districts and Cities through (i) decision support tools, urban planning support, city strategy development, and transforming urban environments, which enable informed decisions to be made by all stakeholders in the community, (ii) an approach to creating a Positive Energy Block through energy reduction and efficiency measures, local renewable, local storage, flexibility and peer-to-peer energy trading and (iii) community engagement driven by the local authority and bottom-up citizen engagement to change people’s mindsets, and develop, inform, include, educate, and drive behavioural change.
The +CityxChange vision is to co-create the future we want to live in. The following framework is being adopted:
(i) Prototype the Future – Integrated Planning and Design
(ii) Enable the Future – Creation of a Common Energy Market
(iii) Accelerate the Future – CommunityxChange
This framework incorporates 11 Demonstration Projects which will be carried out in the Lighthouse Cities and replicated in the Follower Cities.
The 11 Demonstration Projects have the following objectives:
- Collecting data and providing integrated decision support to the cities (DP01, Model)
- Co-creating a Bold City Vision to plan, implement, replicate and scale-up to positive Energy Districts and Cities (DP02, Vision)
- Co-creating Distributed Positive Energy Blocks through citizen participation (DP03, Engage)
- Enabling innovation through regulation mechanisms (DP04, Regulatory Zone);
- Accelerating change and disruptive solutions through innovation playgrounds (DP05, Playground)
- Creating DPEBs through improved energy performance and integration with the energy system (DP06, DPEB)
- Creating the +CityxChange approach to community grids (DP07, Microgrids)
- Integrating seamless eMobility within the DPEB (DP08, eMaaS)
- Enabling local energy trading within the DPEB (DP09, Local Trading)
- Enabling a fair deal to all consumers through a local flexibility market (DP10, Flexibility Market)
- Enabling public and private stakeholders to invest in their buildings (DP11, Sustainable Investments)
These projects encompass the environmental, spatial, social, technical, digital, economic, governance, regulatory and legal aspects required to deliver Positive Energy Blocks/Districts (PEB/D). They enable scale-up and replication of PEB/Ds within and across cities and across the EU. At the end of the project all cities have made significant progress towards their PEBs, 2 are fully operational, and others are close to reaching a positive energy balance. Supporting innovations have been demonstrated across all cities and are expected to continue operation after the project completion, including strategic alignment work, citizen engagement and Innovation Labs, mobility apps, and ongoing investment and retrofit activities.
The +CityxChange project is coordinated by NTNU with 33 partners, including 7 cities, large-scale industry, SMEs, NGOs, and academia. Trondheim Kommune (TK) and Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) as Lighthouse Cities together with Alba Iulia (MAI), Písek (MP), Sestao (SB), Smolyan (SMO, and Võru (VORU) as Fellow Cities develop feasible and realistic demonstration projects towards Positive Energy Blocks.
These showcase urban, digital, and energy transitions towards climate-friendly and sustainable urban environments, improved quality of life, and greener business development.
+CityxChange creates solutions for Positive Energy Blocks leading to Positive Energy Districts and Cities through (i) decision support tools, urban planning support, city strategy development, and transforming urban environments, which enable informed decisions to be made by all stakeholders in the community, (ii) an approach to creating a Positive Energy Block through energy reduction and efficiency measures, local renewable, local storage, flexibility and peer-to-peer energy trading and (iii) community engagement driven by the local authority and bottom-up citizen engagement to change people’s mindsets, and develop, inform, include, educate, and drive behavioural change.
The +CityxChange vision is to co-create the future we want to live in. The following framework is being adopted:
(i) Prototype the Future – Integrated Planning and Design
(ii) Enable the Future – Creation of a Common Energy Market
(iii) Accelerate the Future – CommunityxChange
This framework incorporates 11 Demonstration Projects which will be carried out in the Lighthouse Cities and replicated in the Follower Cities.
The 11 Demonstration Projects have the following objectives:
- Collecting data and providing integrated decision support to the cities (DP01, Model)
- Co-creating a Bold City Vision to plan, implement, replicate and scale-up to positive Energy Districts and Cities (DP02, Vision)
- Co-creating Distributed Positive Energy Blocks through citizen participation (DP03, Engage)
- Enabling innovation through regulation mechanisms (DP04, Regulatory Zone);
- Accelerating change and disruptive solutions through innovation playgrounds (DP05, Playground)
- Creating DPEBs through improved energy performance and integration with the energy system (DP06, DPEB)
- Creating the +CityxChange approach to community grids (DP07, Microgrids)
- Integrating seamless eMobility within the DPEB (DP08, eMaaS)
- Enabling local energy trading within the DPEB (DP09, Local Trading)
- Enabling a fair deal to all consumers through a local flexibility market (DP10, Flexibility Market)
- Enabling public and private stakeholders to invest in their buildings (DP11, Sustainable Investments)
These projects encompass the environmental, spatial, social, technical, digital, economic, governance, regulatory and legal aspects required to deliver Positive Energy Blocks/Districts (PEB/D). They enable scale-up and replication of PEB/Ds within and across cities and across the EU. At the end of the project all cities have made significant progress towards their PEBs, 2 are fully operational, and others are close to reaching a positive energy balance. Supporting innovations have been demonstrated across all cities and are expected to continue operation after the project completion, including strategic alignment work, citizen engagement and Innovation Labs, mobility apps, and ongoing investment and retrofit activities.
After its 5-year period, +CityxChange has reached most of its objectives and unlocked numerous additional co-benefits for its cities and partners:
- 2 fully operational and integrated PEBs in Trondheim
-Progress in each city towards developing functional PEBs
-Joint cross-cutting demos such as strategy, engagement, investment realised in all cities
-Adaptation of PEB concept in different local contexts
–Sustainable investment and business models developed
-Limerick GKIN tidal turbine in late stage testing and demonstrator deployment carried out in Limerick
-GKinetic Blade Pitching Technology Patent filed
-Local energy and flexibility market operation & price model live in Trondheim
-Sestao secured 3 million EUR for retrofitting and piloted a VR application for retrofit visualisation.
-Alba Iulia expanded deployment projects over 60 million EUR in the areas of mobility, public lighting, and energy efficiency of buildings
-Písek established a municipal company dedicated to the development of municipal energy and the promotion of community energy
-Smolyan developed short- and long-term strategies that incorporate the vision and concrete goals towards a greener and more sustainable city.
-Võru initiated regulatory change to incentivise holders of unused grid capacity to release it, enabling efficient grid supply and supporting PEB development
-Citizen and Stakeholder Engagement ongoing in all Cities
-Long-term sustainability of +CxC being anchored within cities
-Ongoing alignment of PEB/PED definition with other EU initiatives
-Significant Replication and spin-off projects
-New ways of working in participating organisations, triggering strategic transformations
-How to PEB, The +CityxChange Cookbook (Experience and guidelines on Positive Energy Districts) published
-All Public Deliverables published on the project website: https://cityxchange.eu/knowledge-base/
- 2 fully operational and integrated PEBs in Trondheim
-Progress in each city towards developing functional PEBs
-Joint cross-cutting demos such as strategy, engagement, investment realised in all cities
-Adaptation of PEB concept in different local contexts
–Sustainable investment and business models developed
-Limerick GKIN tidal turbine in late stage testing and demonstrator deployment carried out in Limerick
-GKinetic Blade Pitching Technology Patent filed
-Local energy and flexibility market operation & price model live in Trondheim
-Sestao secured 3 million EUR for retrofitting and piloted a VR application for retrofit visualisation.
-Alba Iulia expanded deployment projects over 60 million EUR in the areas of mobility, public lighting, and energy efficiency of buildings
-Písek established a municipal company dedicated to the development of municipal energy and the promotion of community energy
-Smolyan developed short- and long-term strategies that incorporate the vision and concrete goals towards a greener and more sustainable city.
-Võru initiated regulatory change to incentivise holders of unused grid capacity to release it, enabling efficient grid supply and supporting PEB development
-Citizen and Stakeholder Engagement ongoing in all Cities
-Long-term sustainability of +CxC being anchored within cities
-Ongoing alignment of PEB/PED definition with other EU initiatives
-Significant Replication and spin-off projects
-New ways of working in participating organisations, triggering strategic transformations
-How to PEB, The +CityxChange Cookbook (Experience and guidelines on Positive Energy Districts) published
-All Public Deliverables published on the project website: https://cityxchange.eu/knowledge-base/
+CityxChange could show that PEBs are feasible in urban contexts and can be shaped to make economic sense. The progress was supported by enabling local stakeholder and citizens to work towards the energy transition. The open innovation approach allowed for collaboration across sectors. Cities made improvements in their local grids, citizen engagement and upgrading their energy system. Each of the cities made progress towards climate neutrality, developed networks and found new opportunities beyond the project.
CommunityxChange: As a result of this process, all of the cities have hosted citizen engagement events.+CityxChange has involved businesses, city officials, politicians, and locals of all ages in new modes of collaboration. They have created ways for stakeholders to participate in the co-creation of PEB solutions in their city.
Modelling: Modelling enables testing and improvement of various aspects before starting actual construction. By modelling smart city scenarios, cities can use these alternatives to support their visions and provide data-based evidence to share with stakeholders.
Energy: +CityxChange has tested and implemented the local trading of energy, user flexibility and system services, and the coordination of energy utilisation. Energy utilisation includes developing a local energy and flexibility market where neighbourhoods exchange energy capacity and system services.
Investment: Partnership and finance models are needed to support the direct development and implementation of Positive Energy Blocks, as well as their scaling-up, growth, and replication. The aim is to establish sustainable and self-supporting mechanisms.
CommunityxChange: As a result of this process, all of the cities have hosted citizen engagement events.+CityxChange has involved businesses, city officials, politicians, and locals of all ages in new modes of collaboration. They have created ways for stakeholders to participate in the co-creation of PEB solutions in their city.
Modelling: Modelling enables testing and improvement of various aspects before starting actual construction. By modelling smart city scenarios, cities can use these alternatives to support their visions and provide data-based evidence to share with stakeholders.
Energy: +CityxChange has tested and implemented the local trading of energy, user flexibility and system services, and the coordination of energy utilisation. Energy utilisation includes developing a local energy and flexibility market where neighbourhoods exchange energy capacity and system services.
Investment: Partnership and finance models are needed to support the direct development and implementation of Positive Energy Blocks, as well as their scaling-up, growth, and replication. The aim is to establish sustainable and self-supporting mechanisms.