INTRODUCTION
Internal workshop on Open Energy Services for Buildings and End-Users Workshop
Following the first co-creation workshop on stakeholder engagement, META BUILD and WeForming came together once again - this time with the added participation of EVELIXIA, a sister Horizon Europe project.
The second workshop expanded the discussion to focus on the value of open energy services for end-users and how collaboration can drive more impactful and user-friendly solutions. While each project has a unique focus, they all share a common vision: making energy systems in buildings smarter, more efficient, and more responsive to people’s needs. EVELIXIA’s involvement brought new perspectives on how to design flexible, open services that empower users and support the energy transition on a broader scale. The workshop served as a space for exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, and identifying new synergies. It demonstrated how closer cooperation between projects can lead to better outcomes - not only for the technologies being developed but also for the people and communities who will benefit from them.
The workshop brought together 50 participants to discuss the future of open energy services, share challenges, and align on the best practices for the 3 projects. The session explored innovative solutions for sustainable energy management and the role of digital platforms in accelerating decarbonisation.
The event was introduced by Ângelo Casaleiro, who welcomed attendees and set the stage for an engaging exchange of ideas. "It’s not just about reducing emissions - it’s about optimising energy use, ensuring that what we produce is used efficiently and effectively."
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
WeForming: Intelligent Grid-Forming Buildings
Konstantinos Kotsalos from European Dynamics introduced WeForming, a project involving 30 partners from 10 countries. The project's core concept, "intelligent grid-forming buildings (iGFB)," seeks to integrate various technologies to enable buildings to interact with system operators, other buildings, energy communities, and stakeholders. Key components include real-time controllers, power processing hubs, hybrid storage technologies, digital twin services, and AI/machine learning tools. The project is structured around several pillars:
- Building Operational Pillar: Focuses on software and hardware integration.
- Interoperability Assurance Pillar: Emphasises common semantics and open services. • Data Spaces: Aims to connect buildings within a broader energy context.
- Business Pillar: Explores new business models to facilitate building integration into the grid.
- WeForming Sustainable Hub Ecosystem: Promotes collaboration with other projects through workshops and online platforms. Konstantinos stressed the importance of open services, emphasising interoperability, semantic standards, and common protocols.
METABUILD: Decarbonisation Through Open Energy Services
Alexios Lekidis from META BUILD presented the project’s mission to accelerate the decarbonisation of the EU building stock by developing and testing modular, replicable, and open energy services. At its core, META BUILD focuses on helping buildings become active, flexible energy players, equipped with electrification technologies such as heat pumps, photovoltaic-thermal systems, and second-life battery storage.
The project operates through two types of sites: front-runners, which lead on implementation and testing, and replicators, which adopt and adapt successful solutions. These real-life environments ensure that services developed are not only innovative but also applicable across different building types and local contexts.
By placing a strong emphasis on data-driven services - including digital twins, predictive control systems, and smart renovation support - META BUILD contributes to a more open and interoperable energy landscape. Its holistic approach bridges technology with user needs, reinforcing the importance of designing services that are transparent, accessible, and aligned with EU climate targets.
EVELIXIA: Transforming Buildings into Active Utility Nodes
Stavos Koltsios from EVELIXIA introduced the project, which aims to transform buildings into active utility nodes. The project addresses the issue of buildings being perceived as isolated and passive infrastructures. EVELIXIAplatform integrates various stakeholders, including building owners, system operators, and energy market participants. The platform offers five pathways:
- Building-to-Grid Services: Helps end-users offer services to the grid.
- Grid-to-Building Services: Enables system operators to optimise grid assets.
- Human-to-Building Interfaces: Provides a web platform for accessing services.
- Systems Interoperability: Integrates data from the field and ensures security.
- Innovative Hardware Solutions: Utilises technologies like geothermal heat pumps and hydrogen storage.
Stavos detailed the various services offered by the EVELIXIA platform, including day-ahead optimisation, investment planning, and maintenance tools for both building and grid levels.
OPEN ENERGY SERVICES
WeForming
David Pera from LIST elaborated on the concept of "intelligent grid-forming buildings," emphasising their transformation from passive structures to active, interconnected components within multi-energy networks. These buildings leverage a range of technologies to provide not only thermal comfort and building-level services but also to facilitate broader grid services such as emergency support and grid security. "These buildings are no longer isolated entities," David explained. "They engage in a symbiotic interaction with neighbouring buildings and energy networks, unlocking a spectrum of services beyond mere energy provision." Inspired by pilot projects in Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain, WeForming aims to demonstrate the diverse applications of this concept. Each pilot showcases unique scenarios and target users:
- Luxembourg: A multi-energy grid interactive district, integrating electricity and geothermal-based district heating, along with a large EV charging infrastructure. Services focus on energy efficiency, multi-energy system optimisation, and grid flexibility.
- Portugal: A large commercial mall with significant thermal and electrical energy storage capacity, targeting flexibility services for the Transmission System Operator (TSO) and enhanced energy management through HVAC system optimisation.
- Spain: A rural energy community relying on solar energy and storage technologies, focusing on optimising energy consumption among community members and providing aggregated flexibility services to grid operators.
As David highlighted, "The end-users of these intelligent grid-forming buildings are diverse, ranging from TSO/DSO EV fleet operators to individual households, necessitating open, transversal, and accessible tools."
Gregory Baltas further detailed the project's efforts to integrate diverse digital tools and platforms used across the demonstration sites. Recognising the absence of a one-size-fits-all solution, WeForming is addressing the challenges of:
- Identity and Access Management Integration: Unifying various existing systems.
- Data Harmonisation and Interoperability: Standardising data models across different use cases.
- Security and Policy Compliance: Protecting sensitive data and ensuring regulatory adherence.
To overcome these challenges WeForming is developing a "bridge" or gateway to facilitate data exchange with the W-IBRA Data Space Connector, a common component across all project participants.
This gateway aims to streamline data provision and consumption while minimising modifications to existing systems. The project's development activities are divided into two phases:
- Gateway Development: Creating an entry point for the data space connector, handling core functionalities like logging, authentication, security, and data transformation.
- Deployment and Testing: Deploying the data space connector in each demonstration site and conducting thorough testing to ensure seamless operation. "We are confident that this approach will provide a solution that is easily adoptable by existing and new demonstration sites, establishing a framework for accommodating future services and participants," Gregory concluded.
META BUILD
Symeon Chorozoglou from NTUA introduced one of META BUILD’s key tools: the Decarbonisation Platform. This digital tool is designed to help building owners and professionals figure out how to reduce their building’s carbon footprint - in a clear, data-driven, and user-friendly way. So, how does it work? The platform takes in information provided by the user about the building and runs a series of energy assessments based on real-world data and physics-based calculations. From there, it generates a tailored plan to reduce emissions and improve energy performance - while also showing the potential financial and environmental benefits. Here’s what it offers:
- Baseline Energy Analysis
First, the platform gathers data on both passive features (like insulation and building envelope) and active systems (like heating, lighting, and renewable installations). It then calculates current CO₂ emissions, energy use, and operational costs to create a reliable starting point for planning improvements. - Decarbonisation Action Proposals
Based on this baseline, the tool uses an optimisation engine to suggest the best renovation actions to cut emissions - taking into account budget limits and what’s technically possible. It doesn’t stop at one option: it also provides one or two alternative solutions to give users flexibility and choice. - Post-Renovation Impact Analysis
After renovations are done, the platform recalculates performance metrics to show how much the building has improved. It also estimates the return on investment (ROI), so users can clearly see the financial and environmental payoff.
This tool reflects META BUILD’s broader goal: to make decarbonisation easier, more transparent, and more accessible - no matter the size or type of building. It’s a great example of how digital services can support smarter renovation choices and help move us closer to climate-neutral buildings - a key ambition shared across all the projects in this joint workshop.
EVELIXIA
Stavos from EVELIXIA provided a detailed overview of the project's service framework, which is structured around two levels: building level (building-to-grid) and grid level (grid-to-building). These services are designed to align with the project's first two innovative pathways, empowering users to actively participate in energy management.
At the building level, services include:
- Day-ahead optimisation for reducing energy costs while maintaining comfort;
- A Building Investment Planning Assistant, featuring tools like the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) and VARY, to guide renovation decisions through life cycle and cost analysis;
- A Maintenance Toolbox that uses sensor data to monitor equipment health and prevent failures.
At the grid level, services support:
- Day-ahead planning for grid assets;
- Peer-to-peer flexibility trading to enable local energy exchanges;
- Portfolio and investment planning for aggregators and grid operators;
- Predictive maintenance scheduling, helping operators keep equipment in good condition.
"These services are designed to empower end-users, whether building owners or grid operators, to make informed decisions and optimise their energy management," Stavos emphasised. By providing these tools, EVELIXIA aims to significantly enhance the interactivity between buildings and the energy grid.
Collaborative Insights and Future Directions
The workshop discussions highlighted the challenges and opportunities in developing open energy services. Participants identified technical, regulatory, and user engagement barriers (e.g., RAP policies).
They discussed the importance of data privacy, user training, and creating compelling value propositions for end-users. The projects are exploring various strategies to overcome these challenges, including:
- Developing intuitive and user-friendly interfaces.
- Providing comprehensive training and tutorials.
- Establishing clear metrics for return on investment.
- Collaborating on data standardisation and interoperability.
- Exploring innovative business models and incentives.
- METABUILD emphasised the potential to test software in other projects, providing data and services for initiatives like WeForming. The workshop concluded with a commitment to continued collaboration and knowledge sharing, with a focus on driving the adoption of open energy services to create a more sustainable and efficient energy future. The participants agreed that simplifying the tools, and bringing the value to the end user in a clear way, would be a major key to user adoption.