The EU-funded NEON project will deliver next-generation integrated energy services for citizen energy communities to enhance the quality of life of building occupants, save energy along the value chain, and improve grid operation. The concept maximises the impact of traditional energy efficiency services through holistic optimisation of building operation and energy asset utilisation. 

NEON aims to enable integration of energy efficiency services for multi-measure building efficiency improvement; optimal energy asset scheduling for improved self-sufficiency, virtual power plant/virtual energy storage; advanced building control for optimal operation of heating/cooling systems, lighting, smart appliances, etc.; demand response services for grid flexibility improvement via explicit and implicit mechanisms; and use-tailored services for ensuring comfort, health and safety requirements.

Objective

While building on results of recently (or soon to be) concluded EU projects, NEON will undertake coordination and support activities to advance the leveraging technologies and concepts in order to deliver the next-generation integrated energy services for communities, targeted to enhance the life quality of European citizens, while improving the performance of energy system. In this endeavour, NEON will exploit building energy efficiency, renewable energy generation and storage, and demand flexibility to increase energy savings, reduce CO2 emissions, and provide cost savings across sectors. 

NEON will engage grid stakeholders, service providers and final consumers to establish, in co-creation, the cross-sectoral arrangements and underlying service concepts. NEON will join multi-measure energy efficiency interventions and advanced control capabilities to maximize the positive impact of energy efficiency by improving the building operation performance and make the demand-side flexibility as manageable and procurable resource. NEON will advance the energy efficiency services already available on the market and couple them with other energy services and non-energy benefits, providing an integrated approach to energy generation, storage and consumption management. 

To enable servitization of proposed concepts, NEON will bring innovative business and contracting models by integrating EPC with P4P schemes, and establish innovative M&V methodology. The concept of Citizen Energy Communities (CECs), as introduced by Directive (EU) 2019/944, will be leveraged to set the legal and business foundations to enable faster market uptake, and facilitate communities, both residential and non-residential, in becoming energy-efficient. 

The proposed service concepts and business models will be showcased in 4 CEC setups (residential, non-residential and mixed) serving as early adopters, whereby follow-up replication plans across 7 “follower” communities will be developed during the project.

Partners

• ENGIE
• AXPO ENERGY SOLUTIONS ITALIA-SOCIETA PER AZIONI
• ALBEDO ENERGIE
• R2M SOLUTION SPAIN SL
• GRID ABILITY SCARL
• FORUM PER LA FINANZA SOSTENIBILE
• INSTITUTO PARA LA DIVERSIFICACION Y AHORRO DE LA ENERGIA
• ASOCIACION DE EMPRESAS DE ENERGIAS RENOVABLES - APPA
• UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS
• CSEM CENTRE SUISSE D'ELECTRONIQUE ET DE MICROTECHNIQUE SA - RECHERCHE ET DEVELOPPEMENT
• INSTITUT MIHAJLO PUPIN
• TRAZA TERRITORIO, S.L.L.
• COMET GLOBAL INNOVATION, SL

Start date: 1 September 2021 - End date: 29 February 2024