The EU Energy Projects Podcast

A growing number of projects are drawing on space-based data, with its potential to deliver near real time mapping and monitoring of the Earth and support the development of more and more use cases.

One of the early projects is BLUE-X – the ‘Blue energy offshore installation accelerator’ – which is focussed on accelerating offshore renewable energy deployment.

“The idea is to bring together Earth observation data, high resolution environmental datasets and analytics into one web based decision support tool,” explains project manager Simone Zepp, project manager at EOMAP.

José Pablo Chaves Ávila from BeFlexible and Katerina Drivakou from ENFLATE explore the growing role of flexibility in the energy system.

BeFlexible and ENFLATE, both part of the Energy Nexus cluster, approach flexibility from two different but complementary aspects – BeFlexible on regulatory strategies and market frameworks to incentivise system operators to procure flexibility and ENFLATE on how to engage end users in flexibility provision.

They also are equally important. José Pablo positions regulatory design as the “hidden engine” in the energy transition, stating that if the regulatory framework rewards the DSOs for building more cables rather than procurement of flexibility, then it won’t be deployed at scale.

Likewise Katerina highlights the need to put “citizens at the centre” of the transition, with ENFLATE taking the novel approach of combining other services such as mobility and healthcare – a health monitoring app is in development, for example – to stimulate engagement.

In the latest episode of the EU Energy Projects Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou spoke with Jens Merten of CEA, coordinator of the EU-funded DC Power project, about how medium voltage DC grids could transform the way energy is distributed and consumed across industrial sites, data centres and future large-scale electrification projects.

The project will demonstrate its technology at two real-scale industrial sites, including a data centre and an electrolyser installation in Greece. By reducing unnecessary power conversions between AC and DC, the consortium aims to significantly improve energy efficiency while lowering material requirements and system complexity.

In the latest episode of the EU Energy Projects Podcast, Alicia Kalms of OpenLab and Sofía Mulero of BuildON discuss how their EU-funded projects are using digitalisation, innovation and community engagement to create more sustainable and energy-efficient living environments.

While both projects share the goal of supporting Europe’s clean energy transition, they approach the challenge from different angles. BuildON focuses on individual buildings, developing digital twins, artificial intelligence tools and advanced optimisation services to improve energy performance, increase flexibility and enhance user interaction. OpenLab, meanwhile, works at neighbourhood scale, transforming urban districts into Positive Energy Neighbourhoods where buildings, renewable energy sources, storage systems and residents operate as part of an integrated energy ecosystem.

For this special episode, Helena Gerard (EU-DREAM) steps in as guest host, joining Kostas Tsatsakis (DIGITISE) and Simone Nicolussi (CELINE) for a discussion on how digital tools, data platforms and consumer-focused services can help transform passive consumers into active participants in the energy transition.

The discussion highlights common themes emerging across the three projects, including interoperability, data management, privacy, cybersecurity, digital literacy and citizen engagement. The speakers emphasise that while technological innovation is advancing rapidly, success will ultimately depend on trust, accessibility and ensuring that no consumer group is left behind.