+CityxChange is a smart city project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Seven cities will develop and deploy Positive Energy Blocks and Districts and scale these out as part of a Clean Energy Transition. Solutions are aimed to improve the quality of life for citizens and establish urban ecosystems that have zero emissions.
The +CityxChange consortium consists of 24 partners who are working together with the two Lighthouse Cities: Trondheim (NO) and Limerick (IE), and five Follower Cities: Alba Iulia (RO), Pisek (CZ), Võru (EST), Smolyan (BG) and Sestao (ES).
IES' role on the project is the modelling and analysis of the buildings, grid and any renewable infrastructure within the identified Positive Energy Blocks for each of the seven cities. Through the use smart sensors, connected devices and the integration of ICL tools, IES will enable improved decision support that allows Municipalities and Citizens to visualise the impacts of decisions to be made in their city.
A Digital Twins model of the buildings in each block will be generated using physics-driven simulation connected with operational data. IES’s consultants will then virtually test out the impact of making a series of operational and retrofit changes to the buildings in order to reduce the energy demand as low as possible before looking at ways energy can be shared and demand met by the installation of renewable or low energy technology in order to create a Positive Energy Block.
A Positive Energy Block is a group of three or more buildings that produce more energy than they consume in an annual period. IES will create a workflow tool that guides districts and cities through the process of creating a Positive Energy block using our ICL tools.
Using learning from this project and IES’s years of experience in this area, the tool will first look at improving efficiency measures, and then at integrating local renewable production and management of the energy at a block or building level. Using demand response and flexibility to ensure energy demand is met and exceeded and a Positive Energy Block created.
Socio-economic modelling and e-mobility impacts will be integrated into the model. so that potential changes in energy supply and demand can be understood through the wider frame of socio-economics. For example, if we improve the efficiency of a block of buildings, how does that affect citizen health, and reduce fuel poverty? Or if we were to add EV charging stations, where would citizens want them, how do we ensure they are accessible and how would we decide where to put them from an electricity network perspective?
IES will also create a public dashboard and 3D community engagement model in order to drive bottom-up citizen engagement to inform, educate and elicit behavioural change. Dashboards and customised displays will be designed for both technical users and the general public, allowing for informed decisions relating to all areas of spatial, economic, technical, environmental and social context as well as public consultation.
Use the VE to model buildings across the city and connect with live data in the iSCAN to create a digital twin.
Connect to the VE and create calibrated Digital Twin models of existing buildings and recommend energy efficiency improvements.
Create a masterplan for each city and map a bold city vision towards 2050.
Model buildings and connected networks to make recommendations for demand response and flexibility.
Engage citizens via a cloud based 3D model across dashboards and customised displays.
Limerick, the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, aims to demonstrate to the rest of Europe how to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of urban areas using five buildings within its Georgian district.
Trondheim wants to create a greener energy-positive city. To make this happen, innovation is needed for new energy solutions in transportation and buildings.
Ask us how our technology can help you deliver resilient, zero-carbon cities.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 824260. This page reflects only the authors’ views and the European Commission/INEA is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
