4A4PEDs – Availability, Accessibility, Affordability and Alliance Principles for Energy Resilient Positive Energy Districts
Promoting regional energy self-sufficiency in Europe.
The objective of 4A4PEDs project is to help cities become energy-efficient and energy-flexible by exploring regional energy self-sufficiency in terms of energy availability, accessibility, and cost. It will also involve activating various stakeholders to participate in the design and implementation of these areas. The project also seeks to combat energy poverty in Europe by promoting regional energy self-sufficiency.
Living Labs across Europe
Several European cities will serve as Living Lab environments in the project for analyzing energy resilience. A Living Lab is an open innovation ecosystem where new ideas and solutions are developed and tested in a real-world context. In a Living Lab, the development process moves forward in iterative stages, with feedback collected from users at each stage. This continuous feedback allows for the adaptation and improvement of innovations during their development, resulting in a better-functioning solution that meets user needs.
- Metropolia coordinates the implementation of its own Living Lab environment in collaboration with the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa, as well as two data processing companies, Eeneman and Nordic Data Exchange.
- Metropolia focuses on data collection and its utilization to develop new solutions, such as the use of micro-level weather forecasts as well as visualization of data to engage consumers and to support political decision-making.
- A key research tool in the project is the PED framework, which supports the decentralization of energy systems. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences is the project coordinator and partners are the City of Helsinki and Aalto University.
Project Consortium
The project is conducted by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences together with partners from the U!REKA European University Alliance. The 4A4PEDs project brings together expertise from Metropolia's Smart and Creative City innovation hub and the School of Real Estate and Construction. Other international actors are EURAC Research, which coordinates the entire project, various European cities, and U!REKA partners such as the Amsterdam and Frankfurt Universities of Applied Sciences and VSB Technical University of Ostrava.
Funding
The project is funded through the EU's Driving Urban Transition (DUT) program, that supports the transformation of urban areas in their effort to become more sustainable and energy-efficient while promoting the well-being of residents.
The project's budget exceeds 700,000 euros, with around 480,000 euros of the funding in Finland provided through Business Finland.
Contact
Paula Naukkarinen,
Project Manager at Metropolia UAS
Ellamari Koutonen,
Project Communication Manager
The four A's
Availability refers to ensuring sustainable energy availability in Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) with a focus on resilience. This dimension explores the critical issue of having enough energy within PEDs to build resilience. Key aspects of Availability as considered in this project include:
- Diversity of clean energy sources: This involves using a variety of renewable energy options within the PED. The project aims to move from PEDs to Positive Clean Energy Districts (PCEDs) . Examples of local renewable energy generation include combined heat and power, wind energy, photovoltaic systems, solar thermal energy, heat pumps, district heating solutions, geothermal energy systems, and waste heat utilization.
- Storage (backup) solutions: The presence of energy storage options is crucial for ensuring a reliable energy supply. This includes batteries, thermal storage systems, phase change materials, and electric vehicles (potentially used for vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-building technology.
- Energy exchange: The ability to exchange energy between and outside the PED (peer-to-peer or P2P) is important for integrating PEDs into the wider urban and regional energy systems and can act as a backup when needed. The 4A4PEDs project includes a P2P integration and exchange concept in PEDs.
- Energy flexibility and efficiency: Optimizing energy use and having the capacity to adjust to varying demands are key components of availability.
- Information databases and monitoring systems: Establishing these systems provides valuable data to inform decision-making and enhance overall resilience regarding energy availability.
Work package 1 will focus on availability and it's lead by Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.