Stronger together at Enlit
This year the ThumbsUp Project had the privilege of teaming up with 10 other European projects to coordinate a macro-booth at the European Project Zone at Enlit under the theme of “Flexible Solutions Empowering Citizens: Interoperable technologies for decentralized energy systems that provide flexibility to individuals and communities.”
It was the only booth grouping so many projects under a common cause. Having such a diverse yet complementary range of projects provided us with unique opportunities for networking and cross-project collaboration. Not only it allowed us to deepen our cooperation with our sister projects from TES Cluster, but also connect with other innovative actors working to provide end-users with solutions that support robust and resilient systems from the home to the district. It put the ThumsbUp technologies into perspective while highlighting their contribution to the value chain from compact thermal energy storage (TES) to positive energy districts (PED). The two speaking sessions organised during the conference are a clear illustration.
The “Thermal Storage and Smart Building Integration” session came first on Wednesday afternoon. The TES Cluster projects ECHO, Hystore, BEST-Storage, ThumbsUp first demonstrated how TES solutions facilitate the integration and maximize the use of renewable energy sources (RES) such as solar panels above people’s homes. BuildON then showed how their affordable and digital solutions can significantly improve buildings’ efficiency. Finally, oPEN Lab took it one step further by exemplifying how interconnected smart buildings in a neighborhood can create a real life technical playground to boost the scaling of these solutions from building to district. Together, these six projects demonstrated how interoperable solutions can empower citizens, enhance flexibility in local energy systems, and support the green energy transition one building at a time. Presentation slides are available here.
The “Energy Communities and Positive Energy Districts” session followed on Thursday morning. It explored how interconnected buildings can evolve into energy communities and scalable, cost-effective climate-neutral districts. The FEDECOM, NEUTRALPATH, InterPED, Harmonize and ASCEND projects showcased tools for optimizing the control and management of energy markets, communities and PEDs. They also shared best practices for business ecosystems, governance frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and other key enablers for urban energy transformation. The presentations and discussion addressed technical, operational as well as regulatory and market challenges that need to be overcome for the deployment of these innovative technologies to really take off. Presentation slides are available here.
With empowered citizens as a goal, the importance of proper stakeholder engagement and participatory design (or co-creation processes) every step of the way was emphasised during both speaking sessions. To conclude, we can create all the innovative solutions our imagination and funding can conceive, but if people are not willing to use them, they are useless. Therefore, the role of citizens as key enablers of the energy transition was noted as one of the main take-aways of the discussions. Particularly since they need to go from passive consumers to active prosumers in order for Europe and the world to achieve a net-zero economy reach the climate goals.
If you would like to know more about these projects, stay tuned for the Flexible Solutions Empowering Citizens Podcast which will come out in spring 2026. Click here to sign up for our mailing list to receive updates on the latest ThumbsUp developments, including invites to our upcomming knowledge exchange forums (KEFs).
