Data is central for energy research and analysis. Unfortunately, energy data is often difficult to find, mixed in different repositories, and generally fragmented. This results in a lack of efficiency for research and energy transition management. EnerMaps aims to improve data availability, data quality, and data management for industry (in particular renewable technology industry), energy planners, energy utilities, energy managers, energy consultants, public administration officers specialised in the energy sector and policy decision makers as well as social innovation experts and data providers, applying FAIR principles. To this end, we focus on three axes: a) The creation of two tools working in conjunction: a scientific community dashboard providing a critical mass of energy datasets in one common tool, and a data management tool providing a quality-check selection of crucial data with an integrated visualization and calculation modules. Both tools will be freely accessible to all users. b) Scientific communication: we increase current capacities of publicly-financed R&I projects to communicate their newly created datasets through enrichment and promotion activities. The aim is to increase the probability of seeing these datasets reused. c) Capacity building on data management: an extensive set of formation is organized for lead-user representatives. The use of action-learning techniques and the application of a “train the trainer” approach ensures the efficiency of the training programs. The project collaborates actively with European-wide data management initiatives such as the European Open Science Cloud Initiative and integrates actively its future users into the development of the different tools to insure their usefulness.

Heating and cooling (H&C) accounts for about half of Europe’s total energy needs with 75% still dependent on fossil fuels. Thus, rapid and significant change is needed to reach the EU 2050 goals. Due to the local nature of H&C systems, action has to be taken at local level involving a variety of stakeholders. This has been recognised in recent years and activities have been started like developing best practice policies and open source analysis tools. However, (efficient) H&C planning and project development are still not commonplace in most European municipalities. The objectives of Act!onHeat are to further disseminate and take up the concept and methods for strategic H&C planning, increase its quality and to push the development and implementation of identified measures. To reach these goals Act!onHeat will implement the following activities: (i) identify the success factors of strong and efficient existing H&C plans and develop a workflow for strategic H&C planning and project development based on the existing open source tools Hotmaps and THERMOS, (ii) support at least 120 municipalities in strategic H&C planning and the development of at least 30 pre-feasibility studies for related individual projects with a mix of tailored individual and group support activities, (iii) train stakeholders who can actively contribute to decarbonisation in the use of workflows, processes and tools through a dedicated training programme, and (iv) leverage additional impact with a mix of Europe-wide roadshow events, acceleration dialogues, webinars and further promotional activities. The consortium is perfectly suited for these activities bringing together leading European experts in strategic H&C planning and policy analysis, local governments networking, capacity building and investment support. A remarkable number of letters of support show the interest of the target group as well as the well-established connections between the target group and the consortium members.

The EU 2050 Long-term Strategy develops scenarios for a climate-neutral EU in 2050 that aim at full deployment of low-carbon technologies or assume increased climate awareness of EU citizens translating into lifestyle changes, consumer choices, and a more circular economy. While these scenarios integrate societal trends, further progress is necessary to enhance the empirical basis for such New Societal Trends and their representation in models. New Societal Trends have potentially a large (increasing or decreasing) impact on energy consumption and might lead to cross-sectoral demand shifts that go beyond extrapolation of presently observed trends (continuous trends) and may speed up when they are embraced by larger parts of the society (disruptive trends). Such trends include in particular: digitalisation of the economy and of private lives, Circular Economy and Low-carbon industry, and Shared Economy, which will be the main focus of the present project. The novelty of our project arises from three perspectives: A thematic perspective identifying and quantifying how New Societal Trends affect energy demand, using trend-evolution pathways. A methodological perspective combining qualitative (foresight methods) with quantitative cross-sectoral modelling and exploring how energy demand models are to be improved to represent New Societal Trends. Several well-established models build the core of this project (INVERT/EE-Lab, FORECAST bottom-up model family, PRIMES energy system model, GEM-E3(-FIT)). All of which have been used extensively in the EU context for long-term projections and will be enhanced in this project. Further, policies will be represented in the demand models that influence such trends in the light of the EE1 Principle. Finally, a data perspective enhancing the empirical basis for modelling the impact of new societal trends through exploitation of new data sources (e.g. smart meter data) and empirical data (e.g. on behavioural changes).

FlexGeo aims to develop innovative geothermal energy system designs for maximized systems performance and flexibility. Pathing the way for the market entry of commercial modular reversible ORC systems will be, together with advanced smart control strategies and operational tools, the backbone of our concept. The proposed key-innovations will make geothermal systems more flexible, more efficient, more economically viable and adaptable for an implementation and market update across Europe and beyond. A modular rev. 200 kWel ORC unit with advanced control strategies and operational tool will be installed and demonstrated at a real district heating system at the TUM Campus in Garching, Germany. The first-time demonstration of this innovative technology on a TRL 7 level will directly path the way to its market entry after the project, since due to the attractive modular approach, the demonstrator already has the same capacity as the future commercial product. Furthermore, innovative geothermal system designs considering high- and low-temperature Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) systems, advanced closed-loop systems (AGS) and enhanced flexibility of district heating (DH) and district cooling (DC) networks (DHCN), are pathing the way to a broad spread of the FlexGeo solutions across Europe and the world, resulting in largescale CO2 emission reductions.

Heating and cooling in buildings and industry accounts for half of the EU’s energy consumption, making it the biggest energy end-use sector ahead of both, transport and electricity. Approximately 75% of heating and cooling is still generated from fossil fuels while only 22% is generated from renewable energy. District heating and cooling networks supplied by renewable energy sources can be a solution to all these issues, offering a clean, energy-efficient, and cost-effective alternative to individual fossil-fuel heating systems. Geothermal energy has the potential to play a vital role inside heating and cooling networks by offering zero emission stable base load supply and heat storage in the subsurface. Still, geothermal energy supplied heating and cooling networks (‘geoHC networks’) cover a small niche of around 1% inside the European heating and cooling sector, which is a result of primarily non-technological market barriers. SAPHEA addresses the uptake of multivalent heating and cooling networks supplied by geothermal energy by creating a durable digital market uptake hub. The hub contains toolboxes and guidelines to support stakeholders in early stage investment decisions and strategy planning activities and addresses market actors in districts or municipalities all across Europe. SAPHEA will therefore combine, adapt and expand existing tools (e.g., Hotmaps or EnerMaps) considering a set of market ready and emerging technological concepts linked to geoHC networks. The users of the hub, represented by local authorities, community services and energy suppliers will be empowered by targeted trainings to draft development scenarios and roadmaps taking into consideration the specific geological and socio-economic boundary conditions in their respective region. Dedicated communication activities will lead to the establishment to a lively network around the market uptake hub of public and private market actors as well as researchers beyond the lifetime of SAPHEA.