Representatives of mySMARTLife (City of Helsinki, Forum Virium Helsinki, VTT), STARDUST (VTT), NOBEL GRID (UNINOVA), Sharing Cities (EDP CNET), DOMINOES (EDP CNET), FIWARE (FIWARE foundation), Cellular data from connected objects (Berges-Levrault) met at the end of September at the IEEE on Madeira Island in Portugal to present in a smart city workshop. The Workshop was co-planned and co-chaired by UNINOVA, VTT (mySMARTLife & STARDUST) and EDP.
The goal of this workshop was to share experiences and lessons learned in the field of Smart Cities and Buildings. With the increasing decentralisation of energy production, the seamless integration of renewable energy sources (in cities and buildings), combined with new energy efficiency methodologies and strategies, will be a crucial element in today/tomorrows’ way of living. The inclusion of ICT in cities, homes, appliances, EVs, storage and production devices will allow new services leading to better living environment at lower energy costs for consumers whilst enabling their active participation in the energy system and markets.
The participants of the workshop shared experiences and lessons learned (drivers and barriers) in the field of Smart Cities and Buildings about today/tomorrows’ way of living, enabling citizen active participation in the energy system and markets within the urban context. Distinct objectives will be considered (Technical, Economical and Social) leading from inputs to results.
The discussion drew attention of fundamental prerequisites, needed for setting up and execute a Smart city projects. Among these the most relevant one are: careful planning, setting appealing citizen engaging strategies, having a strong political support and using lab-tested technologies. All the participants emphasized that EU funded projects establish a positive engagement of developers, start-ups and SMEs as well as large corporates with a global reach, supporting the penetration of new services and technologies to the EU market. Finally, joining forces within Europe gives us all the chance in the B2B arena against other global competitors.
