Europe’s energy transition is moving beyond individual buildings. The next challenge is creating entire districts capable of producing, managing and sharing clean energy intelligently. HARMONISE addresses this challenge by developing a new generation of interoperable digital solutions that enable Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) to become more efficient, resilient and citizen-centred.
Funded under Horizon Europe, HARMONISE combines advanced energy management, digital technologies and stakeholder engagement to help cities transform traditional neighbourhoods into integrated smart energy ecosystems. The project delivers an end-to-end platform that connects electricity, heating, mobility and energy storage while supporting active participation from citizens, businesses and local authorities.
Why it matters
Decarbonising cities is no longer only about installing renewable generation. As distributed energy resources continue to grow, cities need digital systems capable of coordinating increasingly complex energy flows while keeping citizens at the centre of decision-making.
Positive Energy Districts represent one of Europe’s most promising pathways towards climate neutrality, but their deployment remains limited by fragmented technologies, interoperability challenges and insufficient stakeholder engagement.
HARMONISE addresses these barriers by creating a common digital framework that enables multiple energy systems to communicate seamlessly, optimises resource management across districts and encourages communities to actively participate in the energy transition.
What the project does
HARMONISE develops an interoperable and hierarchical energy management ecosystem capable of integrating multiple technologies and services into a single operational framework for Positive Energy Districts.
The project combines:
- Hierarchical energy management systems that optimise energy production, storage and consumption.
- Open-standard interfaces, APIs and interoperable digital architectures that connect existing energy platforms.
- Blockchain-enabled transactive energy solutions supporting secure energy exchanges and smart contracts.
- Advanced forecasting and decision-support tools to improve network management.
- User engagement applications that promote energy awareness, entrepreneurship and participation.
- Demonstration activities across four physical pilot sites and one digital pilot validating the scalability and replicability of the solution across Europe.
Expected impact
HARMONISE will contribute to accelerating the deployment of Positive Energy Districts across Europe by providing practical digital tools that cities and energy stakeholders can adopt and replicate.
The project is expected to:
- Improve integration of renewable energy within urban districts.
- Optimise electricity, heating, storage and mobility systems through coordinated management.
- Increase interoperability between digital energy platforms.
- Enable more secure and transparent local energy transactions.
- Strengthen citizen participation through user-centred digital services and stakeholder engagement.
- Create scalable solutions supporting Europe’s transition towards climate-neutral and interconnected energy communities.
Engreen’s role
Engreen leads the project’s stakeholder engagement and training activities supporting the implementation of the Italian demonstration site.
Working closely with municipalities, local communities, businesses and energy stakeholders, Engreen ensures that technological innovation is accompanied by social acceptance and meaningful participation. The company coordinates engagement activities that encourage citizens to become active participants in Positive Energy Districts while also promoting social entrepreneurship initiatives across the pilot sites.
This human-centred approach helps ensure that innovative energy management solutions are not only technically effective but also embraced by the communities they are designed to serve.
Consortium
Coordinator
- Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) – Greece
Partners
- Fundación CIRCE – Spain
- MAPS S.p.A. – Italy
- Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) – Estonia
- Asociación Española de Normalización (UNE) – Spain
- Smart Innovation Norway AS – Norway
- Hexergy Srl – Italy
- Energy Cluster Denmark – Denmark
- Kinnon Legal Services S.R.L. – Romania
- International Hellenic University (IHU) – Greece
- My Energia Oner SL – Spain
- Engreen Srl – Italy
- Inspecciones Técnicas Albacete SL (ITA) – Spain
- Hive Power SA – Switzerland
- Azienda Elettrica di Massagno (AEM SA) – Switzerland
Official website: https://harmonise-horizon.eu/
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101138595. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
