The European project PICITYF tested more than 50 innovative solutions in Évora and Alkmaar, in the Netherlands, and demonstrated that “the energy transition can coexist with the preservation of historical heritage,” concluded EDP, the leader of the initiative.
“The energy transition and the preservation of historical heritage do not have to be incompatible objectives,” said EDP in a press release, marking the end of the project, whose conclusions and results have been presented in Évora since Tuesday and today.
According to the project’s lead coordinator, João Cravinho, cited in the press release, “the main message of POCITYF is that innovation and heritage preservation can go hand in hand and contribute to the same purpose.”
And the EDP’s research and innovation engineer continued, noting that when solutions were tested in a real context in a historic city such as Évora, it was possible to demonstrate “that it is possible to build the future without disfiguring the past.”
Funded by the European Union, through the Horizon 2020 program, POCITYF (POsitive Energy CITY Transformation Framework) involved 48 partner entities from 13 European countries, including municipalities, universities and companies.
Launched in September 2019 in Évora, the initiative aimed to implement energy, mobility, and urban digitalization solutions in this Alentejo city and the Dutch city of Alkmaar.
According to EDP, the project ends “after testing more than 50 innovative solutions” in the two pilot cities and leaves “a legacy of knowledge and best practices to support other European historic cities on the path to climate neutrality.”
Throughout implementation, the Portuguese company sought to “demonstrate how cities with strong heritage constraints can advance toward climate neutrality through integrated and replicable approaches.”
The more than 50 solutions tested fall into four main areas: energy-positive buildings and neighborhoods, smart energy management and storage, integration of electric mobility, and digital platforms for smart cities.
Photovoltaic systems integrated into buildings, such as roofing tiles and glass, energy communities, thermal and electrochemical batteries, energy management and flexibility platforms, and smart urban infrastructures for electric mobility were some of these solutions.
In the case of Évora, whose historic center is classified as UNESCO World Heritage, “the solutions were adapted to the specificities of the historic center, reconciling technological innovation and heritage preservation.”
According to EDP, the results point to average energy savings of between 16% and 20% in Évora and to an estimated 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The overall set of initiatives developed by the European consortium mobilized “more than 18 million euros in investment,” the leading company revealed.
Besides Évora and Alkmaar, the project worked with six partner European cities in sharing and adapting the solutions developed, helping to accelerate the adoption of similar approaches in other urban contexts.
Bari (Italy), Celje (Slovenia), Granada (Spain), Hvidovre (Denmark), Ioannina (Greece) and Újpest (Hungary) were the cities that participated in the replication and transfer of knowledge developed by POCITYF, EDP reported.
