RELflex at EU Sustainable Energy Week, 19 June 2020

Beyond the Crisis: Clean Energy for Green Recovery and Growth was the theme of the European Sustainable Week 2020.

During EUSEW on June 19, the online-session about User-centred Smart Energy Systems for Real Life Communities took place. The event was organized and moderated by the Joint Programming Platform ERA-Net Smart Energy Systems (JPP ERA-Net SES). The conference aims at shaping the transition to a low carbon ecosystem with new and improved technologies in combination with societal innovation processes.

The invited experts from governance, economy, academia and research discussed among others the role of Living Labs (LLs) for the integration of new technical and societal solutions in energy transition, which can help preparing our digital societies for a post-COVID future. LLs are user-centred, open innovation ecosystems based on systematic user co-creation approach, integrating research and innovation processes in real life communities and settings.

The RELflex project was presented by Bartlomiej Areandarski from Fraunhofer IFF, as an example of possible implementation of digital solutions for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in order to increase their efficiency, competition and customer interest. The living ecosystem of a production company can be operated as a net-zero-energy factory through optimal monitoring, forecasting and control of consumption and energy demand of the production process, self-generation from PV and activation of flexibility options. Thus, RELflex solutions provide a small piece to a large-scale puzzle of clean energy transformation.