Events

The Smart Energy Cluster brings together a dynamic group of EU-funded projects that accelerate the energy transition through cutting-edge technologies and community-led approaches. Building on the success of the 5th International Workshop at IISA 2025, this 6th edition welcomes a new wave of pioneering initiatives – STUNNED, SMARTeeSTORY, AI-EFFECT, ENPOWER, REN+HOMES and PVSmile – that together push forward the development of scalable, replicable and inclusive solutions for a more sustainable, flexible and efficient energy system across Europe. 

These projects explore a broad spectrum of innovations, from European AI Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) for the energy sector and GenAI-driven Digital Twins for utility-scale photovoltaics, to smart energy citizenship models, blockchain-enabled flexibility markets, Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) frameworks for historical buildings and positive-energy home methodologies. They combine technical excellence with a deep commitment to social engagement and trustworthy AI, empowering both individuals and institutions to take active roles in shaping the energy systems of tomorrow. 

For example, ENPOWER transforms traditional passive consumers into active energy citizens by integrating cross-sector value chains across food, agriculture, blue economy and tourism, with six pilots ranging from a P2P real-time marketplace in Austria to a small-DSO-led energy community in Spain, and from cross-sector community services in Ireland to virtual community flexibility in Portugal. STUNNED adopts a multi-domain approach that integrates renewables, electric vehicles and energy management systems to enable communities in Italy, Spain and France to participate in flexibility markets. REN+HOMES complements these efforts by developing a universal methodology for positive energy homes and residential districts – combining 9 hardware, 7 software and 7 circular plus-energy home (CPEH) packages – validated in Austria, Estonia, Romania and Spain. 

On the digital side, AI-EFFECT (coordinated by EPRI Europe) is establishing a European Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) for trustworthy AI in the energy sector – a virtual network of distributed labs and computing resources, with four demonstration nodes in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal addressing multi-energy systems, congestion management, energy efficiency and DER integration, in full alignment with the EU AI Act. SMARTeeSTORY applies the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) to three historical buildings in Delft, Granada and Riga, balancing energy efficiency with heritage preservation and user comfort, and is developing a dedicated SRI webtool. PVSmile transforms passive utility-scale PV systems into flexible, community-integrated assets through advanced ICT, AI/ML, cybersecurity-enhanced energy data spaces and a GenAI-powered Digital Twin, demonstrating across nine sites in Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye, Morocco and Tunisia. 

Collectively, these initiatives deploy pilots and demonstrators across 15 European countries – Austria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain – extending also to Türkiye, Morocco and Tunisia in the Mediterranean basin. This broad geographic footprint ensures that the solutions developed are validated across diverse climates, building stocks, regulatory frameworks and social contexts. 

Together, these projects form a holistic ecosystem. Their collective mission is to overcome the key barriers – technological, financial, regulatory and behavioural – by delivering actionable models that can scale and replicate across diverse European contexts. 

This workshop will explore how these initiatives are contributing to Europe’s energy and climate goals through two thematic sessions: 

• Empowering Citizens and Communities for an Inclusive Energy Transition – focused on energy citizenship, community participation in flexibility markets, and replicable positive-energy home solutions. 

• Digital Intelligence and Smart Solutions for Buildings and Grids – highlighting trustworthy AI testing facilities, digital twins, smart readiness frameworks and data-driven approaches for buildings and large-scale renewables. 

Participants will gain insight into innovative approaches that merge technical advancement with social participation, while also engaging in cross-sector dialogue on how to co-create resilient, efficient and inclusive energy systems. 

Draft agenda