CREATORS enables local initiators to create and operate advanced Community Energy Systems (CES) by supporting technical, financial and social processes. With the sector moving beyond inventor-lead pilots, local CES initiators lack the capacity for high-quality simulation, business modelling and automated operations that are required in communities with a range of vectors, 1000s of mixed members, and balancing/ trading that requires controls in milliseconds. Leading engineering firms Cordeel and COMSA work with specialists in simulation and energy trading (i.LECO), emulation for digital twins (Typhoon HIL), and financing (EnergyPro) to develop services that enable local professionals to apply state of the art energy system technologies. These applications and integrated packages will mature from TRL5-6 to TRL7-8 and eventually be offered as ´CES-as-a-Service´. The services will deliver 60% preparation and operational costs reductions, ensuring 99,95% uptime, 20-35% CAPEX reduction, and up to 40% additional incomes. The results are 5-10% local energy price reduction (below €0,18kWh) in systems covering all vectors, with 10³ - 10⁴ participants. The approach creates 2 fte jobs in each CES, whilst for partners remote services could reach 10% the system turnover, in what is a high growth market. In standardizing simulation and assessment tools in close collaboration with local stakeholders (30 LoS), the BRIDGE initiative and lenders (industry-lead Investor Confidence Protocols), CREATORS significantly advances commercial readiness (CRI3). The applications will be developed in 4 sites (Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Estonia), and replicated in another 6 (the Netherlands, Bulgaria, France, Spain). The pilots mix vectors, participants and business models, covering in total >2000 households, >500SMEs and >5 industrial sites. Ten more prospective CES will be supported in feasibility studies through a competitive process, which also aims to prepare for commercial market entry.

Energy utilities, investors and project developers are actively looking for decentralized solutions that combine sustainability with stable and risk-free energy production at low cost. Since wind and solar are highly intermittent, hydropower is to take an important role in the energy mix. An alternative to large dam facilities is small hydropower technologies but they still present the major challenge of size reduction in order to lower the usable head (water height) to under 3 meters. All kinds of hydropower techniques have been tried to scale down for local and to lower the usable head to under 3 meters, without success until now. TURBULENT provides a reliable, cost efficient, micro hydropower plant uniquely designed to use a very low head stream (50% . • Smaller, lighter, easier installation and maintenance. • Biomimic impeller design = Double energy production with same size • =Cheaper cost-of-energy €0,026/kWh. (Solar is € 0.06kWh) Current TRL is 7. 2 Real scale demonstrators and 1 commercial setting succesfully completed & in operation. MARKET: Global <3m hydropower installation potential of 341GW! This represents a global market opportunity of €1x10^12 (1 Billion €). Turbulent is unleashing the potential of micro hydropower and expanding the technology in EU & abroad countries through trained and certified distributors (Viral in social media +100M views = +3.5K requests received). The SME project will allow to accelerate the market entry and the company team growth (37 employees by 2023). In 2021 the company will reach profitability and the forecast show a cumulative EBITDA in 5 years of €64M. Funding needs. A first seed round of €1.6M has been signed with commitment to sum another €1.6M in 2020. In this project we request 2.3M to scale up.

B-WaterSmart will accelerate the transformation to water-smart economies and societies in coastal Europe and beyond. We will apply a large-scale systemic innovation approach to select, connect and demonstrate a tailored suite of technology, management and smart data solutions for multiple users and sectors, and create new business models based on circular economy and water-smartness. We bring together six cities and regions as living labs with high ambitions to address water-related challenges and opportunities – Alicante (ES), Bodø (NO), Flanders (BE), Lisbon (PT), East Frisia (DE), Venice (IT) – selected for complementarity of scale, users, sectors and challenges, and for opportunities of mutual learning, replication & upscaling through a network of followers already mobilised. We built each case around the actual problem-owner (water utility, municipality), a research partner, innovative solution providers and market-uptake partners (6 are SMEs), complemented by partners with specific crosscutting expertise (social sciences & humanities, IT, business development, water sector outreach). We will apply a participatory approach for co-creation & implementation of solutions through local Communities of Practice and a joint innovation alliance of problem owners, and develop recommendations for suitable governance models, regulation & policy instruments. We will deliver a novel framework to assess gains in water-smartness and sustainability at different scales. Our cases will demonstrate in real systems, at multiple scales, a range of promising technologies for water reuse/nutrient recovery, and smart data applications for more efficient, safe allocation & use of resources (water, energy, nutrients). For the apps, we build on FIWARE technology to enable interoperability and exchange across sectors, which is key for systemic change. All cases have defined criteria and target values to achieve by the project end and by 2040, and can build on synergies with other funding.