Important: Option for networking meetings prolonged until 19 June! Just login on our event page, make yourself available and book meeting slots with participants. Instructions here.
Please note that this was a rolling news item that was updated updated at the end of every matchmaking day over the course of the three days event 15 to 17 June 2020. You can find the reports from day 1 and 2 further down.
Overall numbers:
- 209 registration for whole matchmaking (all three days)
- Interested in Day 3/ICT Day: 152
- 113 of the overall participants bookable for matchmaking activities
Day 3 – ICT Day (17 June 2020)
Some numbers for the day:
People that booked sessions in their agenda specifically
- Join Boost Sustain: ICT Solutions bringing sustainability and resilience for urban areas: 116
- Explore Smart ICT Solutions: Rotterdam - a universal approach to developing, procuring & deploying IoT: 119
- Explore Smart ICT Solutions: Porto as one of the best practices from Europe: 122
You can find the web stream from today here and a message from Georg Houben (European Commission, DG Energy) summarising today’s event below:
Setting the scene from the start of the event, Georg Houben and Svetoslav Mihaylov emphasised the role of cities and them being in the driving seat for innovation. Key is thinking about the cities and how they will cope with COVID-19. The EU supports cities through the European Deal by delivering a massive renovation wave as well as transport and logistics just to name a few opportunities/programmes. For all these, ICT plays an important role and is one of the main tools and the focus theme today.
Join Boost Sustain: ICT solutions bringing sustainability and resilience for urban areas
Panel discussion in collaboration with Join, Boost, Sustain initiatives:
Join Boost Sustain: ICT solutions bringing sustainability and resilience for urban areas I How can cities and private partners profit from ICT solutions and how can you use ICT to make urban areas more sustainable and resilient.
Participants:
- Svetoslav Mihaylov (Moderator), Project officer, DG Connect, European Commission
- Georg Houben, Project officer, DG Energy, European Commission
- Victoire Champenois, Project officer, DG MOVE, European Commission
- Graham Colclough, Partner, Urban DNA
- Martin Brynskov, Associate Professor / Chair, Aarhus University / Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC)
- Wim De Kinderen, International Project Manager, Brainport Development / City of Eindhoven, representing also Eurocities & ENoLL
Main take aways and quotes:
- We can only make a meaning full difference by working together when it comes to ICT. There is the need to upscale digital solutions and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. So, we are looking at customised upscaling rather than replication.
- Cities are like humans – they are individualistic. But we need to try to understand their common DNA. Using packaging is an example to not having to start from scratch but using a set of materials that cities have confidence in. Importance of the mid-size cities that are interested in rolling out ICT innovations and the need to aggregate demand.
- EC supports cross sectorial approach, especially regarding creating more data. At the same time, there is the need to integrate data in order to support the development of services for example travel data. Moving towards a Single European Transport Area requires a digital layer interlinking all the elements of transport. Building up this Digital Architecture involves open and common standards and interfaces and an efficient but secure data ecosystem.
- Therefore, Member States are setting up their National Access Points; to facilitate access, easy exchange and reuse of transport related data, in order to help support the provision of EU-wide interoperable travel and traffic services to end users. ( see link for more: https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/its/road/action_plan/nap_en)
- In times when cities and communities are looking to digital solutions to tackle a growing range of interconnected challenges, we must boost these efforts through a ‘European Way’ where digital solutions help to create places where people enjoy living and working.
- Digital solutions are broad and include approaches to smart urban mobility, energy efficiency, sustainable housing, digital public services, and civic-led governance. Large-scale uptake and upscale of these solutions are crucial to help our cities and communities meet their climate targets and reduce their environmental footprint, while fostering citizen participation and bringing prosperity to all types of business, including SMEs and start-ups.
- Through co-creation with citizens, the living-in.eu initiative aims to bring the economic and social benefits of this transformation to all local communities and implement an inclusive digital Europe, with powerful digital services, technologies, infrastructures and skills. (see link for more: https://www.living-in.eu/)
- Smart Cities Marketplace brings as a one stop shop that brings together initiatives, guidance, standards and toolkits, it is the one place where everything comes together and the matchmaking kicks in.
- COVID-19 should be perceived as an opportunity, with the focus on communalities and not differences. And from the investors side, there is an interest in long-term investment.
A universal approach to developing, procuring & deploying IoT in Rotterdam
Being smart with ICT explores best practice smart city case studies from Europe with a focus on developing, procuring & deploying IoT.
- Roland van der Heijden Programme Manager Digital City, Municipality of Rotterdam
Deep dive into city example delivered by Roland van der Heijden as Programme manager Digital City.
At the forefront of the Digital City Movement is the Dutch City of Rotterdam. The historic port city has been developing and applying a variety of smart solutions to urban problems in recent years. A smart thermal grid is being constructed, for example, that will facilitate heat exchange between buildings and make entire neighbourhoods more energy efficient. Smart parking and intelligent (electric) mobility are supporting better traffic flow, and a range of other benefits are helping make life better for inhabitants.
Now, Rotterdam is going one step further by creating a “digital twin” for the city, which will act as a platform for a new era of digital city applications. A digital twin is a smart 3D model of the city that accurately represents the streets, buildings, public spaces, and so on, of the physical city. Sensors and data-streams around the city feed into the model meaning many digital elements are updated in real-time, such as the movement of people or vehicles, which can be incorporated into the system. The digital twin can also provide real-time visibility of power and water flow, maintenance work, or monitor the location of emergency services to better respond to emergencies. All data that describes the current reality of the city can be a part of the Digital Twin. A video on 3D Digital City Heart of South Rotterdam you can find here.
More information on the Rotterdam digital twin, project part of the H2020 funded RUGGEDISESD project, you can find here.
As part of the EU smart city project RUGGEDISED and in collaboration with the EU SCC-network of smart city projects and the EIP-SCC Marketplace, the Erasmus University Rotterdam researched and gathered data from more than 100 respondents in 80 European cities, most municipality staff responsible for urban data platform development, and 85% were partners in one of the EU SCC Lighthouse projects, funded by the European Commission. The study concluded in mid-January 2020 and you can find it here.
Porto | SynchroniCity: the project, lessons learned and practical implementation
Paulo Calçada from Porto Digital, a public company established by the City of Porto, provided insights into his work for the Synchronicity project. The Synchronicity project finished in 2019 but has interesting lessons to share from its work to create a universal approach to developing, procuring and deploying IoT- and AI-enabled services.
The main concept was developed with an open source methodology known as Minimal Interoperability Mechanism (MIM).
Paulo Calçada explained:
“The Minimal Interoperability Mechanism now being pushed by Open and Agile Cities is key in our view for continuously pushing and continuously developing this concept for open data platforms. It will allow us to develop a very flexible and efficient platform that is vendor independent while at the same time working very close with vendors – with SMEs and companies developing value on top of the platform," he said.
Learn more about MIMs here:
Learn more about the work of Porto Digital and their projects here:
Day 2 – Smart Mobility & Transport (16 June 2020)
Some numbers for the day:
- Interested in Day 2 / Mobility & Transport: 165
- Panel: Mobility and Transport: Smart City Solutions for replication & upscaling: 133
- Explore Smart Mobility & Transport Solutions: Your insights from the two Action Cluster initiatives New Mobility Services (NMS) & Intelligent Mobility For Energy Transition (IMET): 132
- Explore Smart Mobility & Transport Solutions: Your insights from the two Action Cluster initiatives Urban Air Mobility (UAM) & New Mobility Services (NMS): 122
You can find the web stream from today here and a message from Georg Houben (European Commission, DG Energy) summarising today’s event below:
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Mobility and Transport: Smart City Solutions for replication & upscaling Panel
The panel discussion focused on the implementation, replication or upscaling of Mobility Smart City solutions as well as project bankability in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Participants:
- Dr. Lutz Heuser (Moderator), CEO [ui!] - the urban institute and Action Cluster Leader for the EIP-SCC Initiative, the urban institute
- Shiva Dustdar, Head of Division, Innovation Finance Advisory, European Investment Bank
- Luana Bidasca, Project Officer, DG Move, EC
- Francisco José López Carmona, Project Coordinator for CIVITAS ECCENTRIC, City of Madrid
- Anna Craciun, Innovation Strategy Officer at Transport for Greater Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester
Take aways and main points:
- During COVID-19, there is some learning regarding the gaps we experienced when it comes to mobility; we have learned that we do not know everything and open cooperation with open arms. (Anna Craciun, Innovation Strategy Officer at Transport for Greater Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester)
- If you would like to have funding for your mobility project, then do get in touch with the EIP (European Investment Bank) – speak to us (find EIB resources here: https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/eib-and-you.htm) (Shiva Dustdar, Head of Division, Innovation Finance Advisory, European Investment Bank)
- Civitas and all the cities involved is a repository of bankable solutions – if you are looking for funding, keep an eye on the Green Deal topic funding. (Luana Bidasca, Project Officer, DG Move, EC)
- Discussion points about hydro energy and the role it plays in the energy mix for mobility: EC considers hydro as part of the energy mix, right fuel for the right use (there will be a Green Deal call on topics covering hydro energy)
- Discussion how COVID-19 influences the choices of transport, not everyone has the capability to work from home. We are looking for answers how to social distance in public transport. Need to re-allocate some road space for improving the cycle infrastructure.
Explore smart Mobility & Transport solutions: your insights from the AC initiatives - Part 1
- Deployment of new mobility services creating more liveable cities, Edwin Mermans, Senior advisor international affairs of Province of Noord-Brabant & Coordinator of New Mobility Services initiative
- Smart Cycling and Walking, Eléonore Venin
- Smart Parking Solutions, Theo Thuis
- Intelligent Mobility for Energy Transition: Accelerating towards more Sustainable Societies, Ricardo Poeta, Co-lead of the Intelligent Mobility for Energy Transition Initiative
- Anna Domènech Abella, Section Manager, External and Government Affairs
Part 2: Intelligent Mobility For Energy Transition (IMET)
- Intelligent Mobility for Energy Transition: Accelerating towards more Sustainable Societies
- Anna Domènech Abella - Section Manager - External and Government Affairs - Nissan & Leader of the IMET initiative
- Ricardo Poeta - Co-lead of the IMET initiative - EIP-SCC
- Marek Stawinski - CEO - Naviparking
Urban Air Mobility for Smart Cities
The second Explore session of the day began with presentations of the work being done in the Urban Air Mobility Initiative by the EIP-SCC Action Clusters. Sharing the background for the initiative was Vassilis Agouridas of AIRBUS, presenting why the Action Cluster is a mix of both cities and private companies:
“The actors really driving this initiative are the cities. The focus is not just to integrate the new opportunities in terms of technology but also to work to socially embrace this. The cities are establishing the private and public support that is required”, he said.
The presentation was followed by city-cases from Hamburg with Andreas Richter, Franziska Biermann and Christina Große-Möller, and Toulouse represented by Kumar Rohit. Both cities are working with new approaches to Urban Air Mobility. In Toulouse, the city is working to attract private investment and businesses to join a large testing area for Urban Air Mobility which will be built in partnership with private partners. In Hamburg, the city is involved with three different projects to test the possibilities of Urban Air Mobility. These projects are focused on ensuring efficiency, safety and security.
All the presenters agreed on the importance of testing, of social acceptance and on the need for regulatory frameworks helping to improve the possibility for upscaling.
New innovative Mobility Services
Next up, the EIP-SCC Initiative on New Mobility Services (NMS) presented their work to push the boundaries of smart mobility. Edwin Mermans, Leader of the Initiative, introduced the session while underlying the importance of supporting the work:
“It is about large scale implementation of new Mobility Services in a Smart Cities context”, he said and added: “It is about making cities better. We want to create an impact in cities and regions and deal with challenges such as congestion, lack of space and clean air. But also to create jobs.“
Then, Daniëlle de Boer from the City of Venlo (NL) presented the work being done on Urban Freight with the EIP-SCC Action Clusters. Starting with the question “How can we upscale the solutions already here”, she emphasized the importance of avoiding having freight and urban mobility in different silos. Currently, the initiative is working to upscale some of the successful technology already being implemented and proven in other projects.
Finally, to round off the session on the mobility of the future, Gert Blom from the City of Helmond (NL) presented on Intelligent Speed Assistance by the Initiative. Expected to bring up to a 20% reduction in road deaths, Intelligent Speed Assistance will become law in all new vehicles in the EU from 2022. Gert Blom encouraged all cities to support this work by joining the Intelligent Speed Assistance Manifesto and to support the system with supplying speed-limit-data. You can do so here.
Day 1 – Being Smart with Energy (15 June 2020)
Some numbers for the day:
- Interested in Day 1/Energy Day: 142
- Almost 100 of them participating in matchmaking activities
- Energy Smart City Solutions: Implementation, replication & project bankability in the wake of the pandemic: 113 participants
- Explore Smart Energy Solutions: Making-City & SPARCS - two best practices from Europe: 102 participants
- Explore Smart Energy Solutions: The European City Facility – designed by cities for cities to support local investments in sustainable energy: 99 participants
Live Stream:
- 136 viewers
Meetings:
- Over 20 networking meetings took place on Monday, first day of the EIP-SCC Online Matchmaking
You can find the full web stream from today here and a message from Georg Houben (European Commission, DG Energy) summarising today’s below:
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After a short introduction from Eelco Kruzinga (EIP-SCC consortium), Georg Houben (DG Energy, European Commission) set the scene for this second matchmaking event focusing on the role of cities.
The following panel discussion featured investors as well as smart city representatives discussing the city as well as the investors perspective when it comes to investment. Points of discussion included questions such as how is COVID-19 influencing the current investment climate and why are matchmaking events necessary.
Participants of the panel discussion where: Georg Houben (Moderator, DG Energy, European Commission), Rahul Pratap Singh (Investment Manager, DWS Group), Remi Cuer (Senior Investment, KYOTHERM), Antoni Macia (Investment Director,Suma Capital SGEIC, S.A) and Shaun Gibbons (Project Manager - Energy Systems & representative of the project Sharing Cities, Greater London Authority).
Energy Smart City solutions: implementation, replication & project bankability in the wake of the pandemic. I Panel focusing the implementation, replication or upscaling of Energy Smart City solutions. Discussion addressed project bankability in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak..
Followed by two presentations to explore smart energy solutions – one from Making-City and one from SPARCS.
Making-City (presented by Cecilia Sanz, CARTIF)
Coordinated by the CARTIF Foundation, MAKING-CITY is a 60-month Horizon 2020 project launched in December 2018. It aims to address and demonstrate the urban energy system transformation towards smart and low-carbon cities, based on the Positive Energy District (PED) concept.
Today cities have an essential role to play in tackling climate change by significantly reducing their carbon emissions. The PED operational models developed in MAKING-CITY will help European and other cities around the world to adopt a long-term City Vision 2050 for energy transition and sustainable urbanisation whilst turning citizens into actors of this transformation.
The PED concept will be tested and validated in two Lighthouse Cities: Groningen (Netherlands) and Oulu (Finland). It will be then replicated in 6 Follower Cities: Bassano del Grappa (Italy), Kadiköy (Turkey), León (Spain), Lublin (Poland), Trenčín (Slovakia), and Vidin (Bulgaria).
SPARCS (presented by Mari Hukkalainen, VTT)
The overall goal of SPARCS is to demonstrate and validate innovative solutions for planning, deploying and rolling out smart and integrated energy systems that will transform cities into sustainable, citizen-centred, zero carbon ecosystems that offer a high quality of life for all urban dwellers.
SPARCS solutions will integrate key factors such as technologies for energy positivity in buildings and districts, flexible grid management, energy storage and e-mobility.
Espoo is the fastest growing city in Finland and an integral part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. As the most sustainable city in Europe, Espoo is a frontrunner in smart city development and won the International Intelligent Community Award 2018.
Supporting Urban Energy Projects: EIP-SCC and the EU City Facility
The day also offered a presentation from the EIP-SCC’s Matchmaking expert and the European City Facility offering insight into how cities can find support for their urban energy projects. The presentations encouraged anyone with project ideas to submit them either through the EIP-SCC Project intake form or submit them in the call for proposals out from the EU City Facility.
“We have an investor network covering different kinds of investors covering different types of technology and different size of investments. What we do is we support cities in the development of a concept note and then we bring in one of these investors,” Jorge Rodrigues de Almeida, Matchmaker of the EIP-SCC said.
“We want to unlock local potential and remove the barriers cities are facing when it comes sustainable energy investments," Tatjana Veith, Project Manager and representative of The European City Facility (EUCF) said, referring especially to small- and medium sized cities..
This was the second event of a series of matchmaking activities, but the first that is delivered fully online. Just as in our first event, that took place in Brussels back in February 2020 it offered a unique opportunity for the stakeholders in charge of policy-making, representing cities/regions or offering advice to cities to learn from best practices, to present projects and to find investors. We offered a forum for discussions, assisted in the development of innovative urban ideas and brought together urban innovators, developers as well as investors and private equity.
The EIP-SCC Matchmaking fosters the much-needed collaboration between city/regional representatives, policy makers as well as business representatives and investors under consideration of COVID-19. This is a unique occasion to network and explore investment opportunities with key smart cities decision-makers such as local authorities, research institutions as well as leading smart cities and infrastructure investors during this challenging time period.
Participants learn about existing smart city best practices in the areas of mobility & transport, ICT and energy in our Explore Zone during livestreams by best practice smart city projects. Experts assisted in shaping the concept of planned smart city project or planned investments in a round-table virtual peer assist format during our Shape discussions. Finally, you can engage in 1:1 virtual meetings between solution providers and the investment community during our focused Deal matchmaking sessions on Smart Cities and Communities (pre-registration required).