1. Limerick · Trondheim · Alba Iulia · Písek · Sestao · Smolyan · Võru
Challenges in Replication and Scaling of PEDs –
Technical and Organisational Partnerships
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 824260.
NordicEdge 2021 Smart City Research Symposium | Workshop: Positive Energy Districts as
vehicle towards smart and sustainable cities | 22.09.2021
Dirk Ahlers, Annemie Wyckmans
NTNU – Smart Sustainable Cities Group
https://cityxchange.eu/ | https://www.ntnu.edu/smartcities

2. Cities

3. Consortium

4. City-Driven System Transition to Positive Energy
Blocks & Local Energy Transition

5. PEDs should be inherently designed
for scalability
• Starting from the idea of plus local generation
• Localised response to the European Energy Transition
• PED as process, not state
• Scaling by
• Growing PEDs
• Starting new PEDs
• Annual positive energy balance
➜ Surplus energy generated needs to be shared with
neighbours or the outside system
➜ PEDs can “carry” lower efficiency areas

6. Technical challenges
• Demo projects, first of a kind
• Co-creating future energy systems
• Cross-partner and cross-sector innovation
• Integration and agreement between building
owners, energy companies, suppliers, system
developers and integrators, municipalities,
tenants, citizens, external actors, etc.
• Ambition to build replicable solutions
• Investment and business models
• Regulatory mechanisms for sandboxes/pilots

7. Scaling

8. Starting from hubs
Powerhouse Brattøra,
Trondheim
[www.powerhouse.no]
Gardens International, Limerick
[www.limerick.ie]
Calle Txabarri, Sestao
[www.sestaoberri.eus]
Lysgården, Sluppen,
Trondheim
[www.lysgarden.no]

9. Quadruple Helix Innovation Model
• Method used in Innovation, Urban
Planning/Development, Citizen
engagement
• Co-Creation and Open Innovation
• Involvement and collaboration of
relevant actors
• Structural changes beyond any
one segment
• Smart city means involvement of
all stakeholders in urban
innovation, knowledge sharing,
collaboration
Participatory
Innovation
Industry
Academia
Civil Society
Government

10. Actors and context boundaries
Smart City
Company
1
Real
Estate
Energy/
Utility
Company
Company
...
Academia
Municipality
National
Actors
City
networks
European
Actors
Company
3
Citizens
Civil
society
Tenants

11. Strategy alignment: Bold City Vision Framework
[D3.1 Framework for Bold City Vision, Guidelines, and Incentive Schemes,
https://cityxchange.eu/knowledge-base/framework-for-bold-city-vision-guidelines-and-
incentive-schemes/ ]

12. Building local partnerships
Example: Trondheim
Innovation Lab: TK +
NTNU
Innovation Lab: TK +
Building Owner + Area
redevelopment
Innovation Lab: TK +
Real Estate
Bytorget: TK + TRD3.0
+ UN Centre
PEB: Real Estate, multiple building
owners, DSO, heating, Powerhouse,
flexibility markets, regulatory sandboxes,
mobility, e-buses, future e-ferries, linked
energy projects, …
Campus: Multiple research
departments, facility management,
mobility, campus development
Building owner, private
tenants, link with PEBs
Replication cases with multiple
owners, multiple projects
Building owners & real estate, ownership
structures, commercial tenants, rental and el
agreements, small industry, area
development, mobility, heating, buildings for
flexibility market, …

13. Knowledge sharing
SCIS Citizen Engagement Solution booklet, SCIS PED
Solution booklet [https://smart-cities-
marketplace.ec.europa.eu/insights/solutions]
[https://cityxchange.eu/knowledge-base/]
• Co-Creation and Open Innovation
• Involvement of all stakeholders
in urban innovation, knowledge
sharing, collaboration
• “Open by Default”
• cityxchange.eu/knowledge-base/

14. Q&A
Dr. Dirk Ahlers
dirk.ahlers@ntnu.no
https://www.ntnu.edu/smartcities
Website: cityxchange.eu
KB: cityxchange.eu/knowledge-base/
Twitter @plusCities
Mail: info@cityxchange.eu