The lighthouse City of Évora, part of the POCITYF project, deploying smart technologies in a heritage city
Évora is a city rich in history and culture, and for this reason, it will be the European Capital of Culture in 2027. Historical cities, however, face legal restrictions in the retrofitting of buildings of historical interest which make their ecological transition slower than others.
The City's challenge is to maintain its historical and cultural heritage while implementing smart technologies to combat climate change – which will be largely possible thanks to the support of the EU-funded POCITYF (Positive Energy CITY Transformation Framework) project. The project aims to bring smart technology solutions by engaging with city administrators, planners, universities, entrepreneurs and citizens.
The cities of Évora and Alkmaar (Netherlands) are two pilot projects that will be replicated in the following cities: Granada (Spain), Bari (Italy), Celje (Slovenia), Ujpest (a district of Budapest, Hungary), Ioannina (Greece) and Hvidovre (Denmark).
POCITYF started on October 1st, 2019, and will be carried out until September 30th, 2024, with a total budget of 22.494.291,76 €, resulting in a contribution of 19.998.275,34 € from the European Commission.
Among the project’s objectives is the creation of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), the possibility to trade energy between grids with peer-to-peer energy management and storage solutions (P2P), the integration of E-mobility into smart grid and the enhancement of city platforms to facilitate citizen’s engagement.
“POCITYF aims to test innovative solutions for energy production, particularly focused on contexts of high heritage importance. While respecting the cultural heritage, it intends to advance in the necessary process of decarbonizing societies.” Head of the Environment and Mobility Service of the Municipality, Daniel Alexandre Ferreira Valente
What the project proposes to overcome is the problem of deploying solutions that modify façades and roofs of historical buildings with photovoltaic glasses, canopies and clay tiles - despite having a similar technology of traditional photovoltaic (PV) they can be placed in the historical centre thanks to their aesthetic design.
POCITYF is looking to promote an energy model that uses grid-connected energy storage solutions to enhance the smart management and distribution of energy through peer-to-peer energy management and storage solutions (P2P). This technology allows users to sell any surplus of renewable energy to others that are unable to install PVs and to donate it to those who cannot afford it.
PEDs will use waste streams originating from different sources as a highly efficient alternative to respond to energy needs and reduce waste. An example of this is second life residential batteries - they reuse battery modules of electric vehicles, enhancing the circular economy.
The Renewable Energies Chair – University of Évora is testing the reuse of batteries from electric vehicles which will be installed in buildings that already use photovoltaic panel systems in the rural village of Valverde in the countryside of Évora.
When it comes to the integration of E-mobility into smart grids, the foreseen solution is to use vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging stations allowing the surplus energy to overflow from the station to the energy grid, as well as smart solar power-driven charging stations within a sharing scheme for municipality-owned electric vehicles.
Lastly, the Evora smart-city platform was created to facilitate citizen engagement; Citizens are invited to participate in meetings on their city’s sustainability plans. The gamification platform allows them to be rewarded for actions they take towards energy reductions, making them contributors to the change.
This project places Évora, a member of the Covenant of Mayors Europe and engaged in the Green City Accord, at the forefront of the use of smart technologies that benefit the environment while preserving historical heritage.
CDP-ICLEI Track 2022: https://data.cdp.net/
POCITYF: https://pocityf.eu/about/
https://pocityf.eu/city/evora/
Renewable Energies Chair – University of Évora:
Renewable Energies Chair (uevora.pt)
Evora smart-city: https://citizens.evoralab.pt/
Green City Accord: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/urban-environment/green-city-accord_en
Covenant of Mayors Europe: https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/region/european-union-and-western-europe/