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SMARTER TOGETHERThe European lighthouse cities Vienna (Austria), Munich (Germany) and Lyon (France), the follower cities Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Venice (Italy), the observer cities Kiev (Ukraine) and Yokohama (Japan) come together to improve citizens’ quality of life. SMARTER TOGETHER... Continue readingFunding programme: H2020, SCC 1 - 2015: Smart Cities and Communities solutions integrating energy, transport, ICT sectors through lighthouse (large scale demonstration - first of the kind) projects
SCIS Clusters: Demonstration projects, Smart Cities and Communities, Integration of energy systems, ICT and transport in cities
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NEXT-BUILDINGSThe NEXT-Buildings project focuses on low energy buildings also called active houses, which are not only buildings, but active components in the overall integrated energy systems. The target is to demonstrate affordable solutions for social housing and revitalisation of town areas. The solutions... Continue readingFunding programme: FP7, Topic EeB.ENERGY.2011.8.1-1: Demonstration of very low energy new buildings
SCIS Clusters: Demonstration projects, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, New Buildings
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NEED4BNEED4B is a collaborative project that will demonstrate cost-effective and energy efficient technologies and methods for the design and construction of very low-energy new buildings. A series of pilots located in different European climates will show how to achieve a primary energy consumption... Continue readingFunding programme: FP7, Topic EeB.ENERGY.2011.8.1-1: Demonstration of very low energy new buildings
SCIS Clusters: Demonstration projects, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, New Buildings
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GrowSmarterGrowSmarter aims to stimulate city uptake of smart solutions by using the three Lighthouse cities Stockholm (Sweden), Cologne (Germany) and Barcelona (Spain) as a way to showcase 12 Smart City solutions: from advanced information and communication technology and better connected urban mobility, to... Continue readingFunding programme: H2020, SCC 1 - 2014 Smart Cities and Communities solutions integrating energy, transport, ICT sectors through lighthouse (large scale demonstration - first of the kind) projects
SCIS Clusters: Demonstration projects, Smart Cities and Communities, Integration of energy systems, ICT and transport in cities
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DIRECTIONDIRECTION aimed at demonstrating how the use of very innovative and cost-effective energy efficiency technologies can lead to the achievement of very low energy new buildings. This aim along with the effective adoption of low energy buildings was achieved by switching to a model whereby energy... Continue readingFunding programme: FP7, Topic EeB.ENERGY.2011.8.1-1: Demonstration of very low energy new buildings
SCIS Clusters: Demonstration projects, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, New Buildings
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Photovoltaic energy (PV) is one of the most important renewable energy sources in terms of global installed capacity. Although the majority of all new PV systems are based on crystalline silicon technology, novel technologies are being explored based on nanomaterials and organic cells which could give rise to breakthroughs in terms of efficiency. There is a wide range of options to convert sun into electricity such as Fresnel modules that use optical elements to increase the amount of sunlight onto a PV cell. Concentrating PV modules/arrays track the sun and use concentrating devices to reflect direct sunlight onto the solar cell to produce electricity directly. The main challenges for PV technology are to further improve solar cell efficiency while lowering production costs. Advances in efficiency, reliability and reproducibility require a better understanding of material properties and fabrication processes. Photovoltaic applications can be combined with practically any electrically powered load and controlled efficiently in a smart grid. They can be found in an industrial context, in new building construction and refurbishment projects.
Where history and presence lead into a smart future
Helsinki, the capital of Finland, has a population of over 626,300 inhabitants and greater Helsinki does even count up to 1.4 million. Helsinki is Finland´s major political, educational, financial, cultural and research centre as well as one of northern Europe´s major cities.
Lyon is one of the lighthouse cities in the SMARTER TOGETHER project. The demonstration area in focus is Lyon-Confluence, one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in France (150 ha – 600 000 m² existing floor area – 1 million m² of new buildings) and an area of many urban innovations.
Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm, has been working on climate change mitigation and adaptation since the 1990s. The city is a real frontrunner with well implemented climate action plans and pioneering policies to ensure it meets its ambitious environmental targets. The carbon dioxide emissions have been cut by 25 % per citizen since 1990.
The city of Helsingborg had adopted an ambitious climate action plan by which the city had already achieved 88 % CO2 emissions reductions (compared with the 1997 level) and a less than 20 % share of fossil fuel, the final goal being carbon neutrality, or even exporting carbon-neutral energy to neighbouring areas. With this aim, the NEXT-BUILDINGS project realised very low-energy buildings as the first phase of a huge and very ambitious 311 000 m2 ecodistrict development.
Houthaven used to be a harbour and timber handling area, situated close to Amsterdam city centre, where many wood factories and related companies were located. After a long history of industrial activities, Houthaven is being transformed into a residential area. In total, seven islands are under development, providing space for 2 200 dwellings, 70 houseboats and 50 000 m2 facilities. In the NEXT-BUILDINGS project, 30 000 m2 of net zero-energy buildings were realised within Houthaven in the area named Blok 0.
