With the objectives of the Green Deal in mind, COSMIC aims to provide IT systems that address large-scale energy resource optimization challenges by leveraging AI and data solutions. It will foster collaboration between small and large companies to create industrial ecosystems, focused on key applications with the potential for substantial and escalable impact. COSMIC´s ecosystems are composed by 1) large-industries - facilitating big datasets and large-scale pilots, 2) core technical partners - providing transversal-to-sector technical solutions, 3) SMEs and start-ups – bringing specific data/AI based assets through open calls. The project will offer a set of data/AI based platforms, solutions and modules as transversal core infrastructures able to accommodate external IT assets. Third Parties, mainly SMEs and start-ups, will bring these assets in the form of data/AI based services and solutions, that are specific-to an energy resources optimization key applications. The integration of these core and application-oriented technologies will result in a set of Integrated AI Systems (IAIS) for Key Energy Resource Optimization Applications capable to scale-up to cover more key applications. COSMIC will test these systems in 14 large-scale pilots in 5 countries: Spain, Belgium, Portugal, France and Finland, and at European level, together with the validation of end-user and final beneficiaries' acceptance of social-science methods. To foster replicability, a package will be offer including the lessons learned and recommendations for future adoption, including suggestions for feasible win-win industrial partnerships, and guidance on ecosystems sustainability. These ambitious objectives will be realized by a consortium of experienced and highly complementary partners from both research institutions, industrial partners, public authorities and NGOs from eight European countries.

SEEDS unites a multidisciplinary and complementary team of SMEs, LEs, RTOs, and stakeholders that constitute the whole (local) value chain of energy efficiency in buildings and thermal demand electrification, from planning, design, and construction to operation and commissioning. SEEDS is built upon the consortium's vast experience in developing, testing, and valorizing decarbonization solutions, supervising real-life demonstrations of building renovation and smartification, and deploying energy flexibility. SEEDS demonstrate replicable heat pump solutions integrated with renewable energy to decarbonize buildings' thermal demand. Addressing that every building is unique and requires tailored solutions to be cost-efficient and energy efficient, we develop scalable and generic design and operational optimization methodologies, deploy multiple proven heat pump technologies at scale, and optimally integrate them into the building and broader energy system. SEEDS demonstrates these (up to TRL6-8) in 6 pilot sites (incl. 1 replication site), providing real-world settings spread across the different climate zones and European construction markets. SEEDS is centered around three key themes: cost efficiency through optimization, system integration through holistic design and control, and replicability through configuration modularity and scalable building types. These are addressed in 7 focus areas: 1) Iterative design of the component and integrated system, 2) Secure and interoperable data platforms and IoT, 3) Integrated system optimization for energy efficiency and flexibility, 4) Deploying energy flexibility to enhance grid stability, 5) Replication strategies, exploitation, and business models, 6) Decision making support framework for replication, and 7) Dissemination, communication, and stakeholder outreach. Thanks to the 27 partners' wide-reached field of impact and networks, SEEDS is set out to boost the electrification of thermal demand in buildings.

The aim of the oPEN Lab is to identify replicable, commercially viable solution packages enabling the achievement of positive energy neighbourhoods within existing urban contexts that are seamlessly integrated into the local energy system as an active micro-energy hub, and to test these technologies and package as an integrated solution at neighbourhood scale. Three open innovation living labs in the cities of Genk (BE), Pamplona (ES) and Tartu (EE) will test combinations of different close-to-market ready technologies and services and study their performance as a unique operating system. Focus is on demonstrating innovations in an integrated approach combining sustainable design tailored to the local context, seamless industrial renovation workflows, renewable energy generation combined with energy storage systems, urban service facilities and smart operation, life cycle thinking and circularity, and this across the whole value chain, targeting the whole life cycle of the building and its neighbourhood, in view of scaling up and wide replication. A user driven and participatory approach with the neighbourhood?s community will be rolled out for a holistic and positive energy vision for the neighbourhood, going beyond citizen awareness raising activities. oPEN Lab is a unique collaboration aligned with the Open Innovation quadruple helix model where a) industry (SMEs, large companies, start-ups and scale-ups in both construction and energy value chains), b) government (local public administration), c) academia/RTOs and d) civil participants (end users, NGOs) work together to co-create and drive structural changes that will result in high TRL levels, with great focus on exploitation of results and wide replication.

InterConnect envisages to contribute for the democratization of efficient energy management, through a flexible and interoperable ecosystem where demand side flexibility can be soundly integrated with effective benefits to end-users. In fact, over the last few years several projects and technology providers have come up with solutions that allow every energy user to have awareness and control over his appliances, but there has always been a major issue with interoperability. End-users should be able to choose and change their technology providers, without having to replace their installation, every time they feel this need and still be able to adopt sustainable behaviour and benefit from technological advances. In the energy sector, a steep move towards digital is occurring and becoming tremendously user-centric and market-driven. The system dimension is significant, as the number of energy service providers is increasing thanks to favourable regulatory environment and technology advancements for monitoring and control. This is the reason why this consortium integrates relevant partners from all the representative stakeholders in this new energy paradigm. Specific competences in ICT, IoT, energy, data science, software, were included and the full value chain, from R&D institutions, manufacturers, DSO, retailers, IT providers, and energy users is represented. To guarantee a higher Europe-wide impact, several relevant associations related with ICT and energy are also involved. To achieve a significant dimension, 7 large scale pilots, in different countries and with different end-users, are foreseen to guarantee representativeness and dimension in terms of number of appliances and services. The overarching objective of these pilots is to demonstrate a real digital market environment over electrical systems with significant amounts of DSF, reducing operational and investment costs that will benefit energy end-users and help EU achieve its energy efficiency objectives.