Integration of Innovative Technologies of Positive Energy Districts into a Holistic Architecture

INTERACT

interact

project

INTERACT – Integration of Innovative Technologies of Positive Energy Districts into a Holistic Architecture – is an international research and innovation project with a cross-sectional collaboration between academia, municipalities, and businesses with participants from Austria, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.

INTERACT boosts the emergence of Energy Communities as one crucial building block to achieve Positive Energy Districts. The project will design an optimal organization and structure for Energy Communities based on:

a. success-factors from a competence-network of existing PED/PEN approaches,
b. stakeholder needs and motivation,
c. the available technologies, and
d. a holistic architecture.

The project will develop a roadmap for the Energy Community’s secure and reliable embedding into the power system structure, focusing on two pilot regions in Sweden and Austria.

INTERACT is supported by the Austrian Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology (BMK), Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR) and Swedish Energy Agency / Viable Cities, Sweden. It has received funding in the framework of the PED Programme, which is implemented by the Joint Programming Initiative Urban Europe and SET Plan Action 3.2.

The project has been selected for funding in Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) pilot call JPI Urban Europe and is planned for 24 months with start in February 2021.

a. success-factors from a competence-network of existing PED/PEN approaches,

b. stakeholder needs and motivation,

c. the available technologies, and

d. a holistic architecture.

The project will develop a roadmap for the Energy Community’s secure and reliable embedding into the power system structure, focusing on two pilot regions in Sweden and Austria.

The project has been selected for funding in Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) pilot call JPI Urban Europe and is planned for 24 months with start in February 2021.

why energy communities and positive energy districts

Climatic conditions worldwide force the comprehensive integration of renewable and distributed energy resources into the power system, as well as the effective use of energy and of the existing infrastructure.

Business models in the energy sector are changing and becoming more customer-centric: The customers play an active role in energy supply. The way in which the power grid should be managed, as well as the interaction between all actors in the energy value chain, should become more direct, simpler and more structured.

Reducing waste energy, optimizing the allocation of energy produced, and increasing stability of the system are goals of Energy Communities, which shall lead to the establishment of Positive Energy Districts and Neighborhoods.

project objectives

The overall project goal is to develop a roadmap for the implementation of Energy Communities that operate in harmony with the grid and integrate the cross-vector and end-user sector coupling.

INTERACT focuses on developing Energy Communities by setting a triality of objectives: Environment & Society, Technology, and Regulatory Framework.

Based on a holistic approach, technological and market-related solutions are delivered that maximize the benefit for the environment and society. The regulatory framework, which incentivizes citizen engagement by enabling new business and contracting models, is defined in accordance with the relevant stakeholders. The triality of objectives focuses on environmental, social and economic sustainability.

project focus

INTERACT is an applied research project that focuses on establishing a roadmap for the design and implementation of Energy Communities as a major building block of Positive Energy Districts. Best practices from existing PED/PEN projects are incorporated to ensure the satisfaction of all stakeholder needs. The investigation of two specific regions, i.e. Großschönau in Austria and Fyllinge in Sweden, serves to derive the generic roadmap applicable also to other regions.

The LINK-based holistic architecture is used to ensure the integrity of the solution by harmonizing all interactions within the Energy Community itself and between it and the market and the European power system. Its standardized and flexible structure allows the straightforward application of the roadmap to perfectly meet the diverse necessities. INTERACT explores how energy communities can act coordinated and in harmony with the power grid, providing flexibility by integrating innovative technologies and solutions, such as e-mobility.

Great value is set on the scientific and non-scientific dissemination of the INTERACT project results. The Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, which belongs to the Technical University of Vienna, serves as the technical project coordinator that ensures the scientific approach of work and the comprehensive dissemination of the project outcomes.

In a second stage, the generated knowledge shall be used within a follow-up project that realizes the INTERACT Energy Communities within the focus regions.