The clean energy transition is an urgent priority in tackling climate change, requiring global solutions, coordinated policies, and strong collaboration between public and private entities across multiple sectors. Local Energy Communities (LECs) play a crucial role in this transition by promoting collective self-consumption, flexibility, and equitable access to energy services, while also integrating diverse market players into multi-vector energy markets. The increase in distributed energy generation, driven by higher adoption of renewable sources, has led to a decentralization of the energy value chain, positioning LECs and their innovative business models as key enablers in engaging citizens and local economic actors. Within this framework, and in alignment with the European Data Strategy, DATA CELLAR is developing an Energy Data Space to enhance Europe's energy competitiveness, sovereignty, and support LECs. The project’s goal is to unlock the full potential of energy-related data, facilitating the creation of new services and business models across different sectors. DATA CELLAR will implement a collaborative platform that provides an interoperable, secure, and federated energy data space. This platform will enable access to datasets, AI models, and decision-support tools, leveraging insights from previous EU projects. The DATA CELLAR data space will facilitate real-time and historical data sharing from private metering systems, while also integrating external data sources and EU-wide federated energy spaces. It will support energy utilities, energy communities, private businesses, and citizens, with validation through ) Validation Cases, each characterized by diverse regulatory, technological, and operational environments. The platform includes different tools:
- A Digital Twin for data-driven energy modeling.
- A comprehensive Decision Support System (DSS) for LEC planning and management, assisting energy utilities, DSOs, and technology providers in scenario evaluation.
- Environmental and economic assessment tools to enable real-time LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) and LCC (Life Cycle Costing) analysis for energy-related services.
- A data analytics and visualization platform to support energy analysts in designing data pipelines, leveraging machine learning and deep learning models.
- Additionally, DATA CELLAR will provide a decentralized, open marketplace for energy datasets and pre-trained AI models, fostering data monetization and exchange to support LECs.
A crucial element of the project is the Validation Case campaign, which will not only populate the data space but also test and refine the platform, AI services, Digital Twin, and DSS tools, ensuring they are robust, user-centric, and aligned with market needs.
Finally, DATA CELLAR is designed to be fully compliant and interoperable with major European initiatives, including Gaia-X and other sister projects, ensuring integration and scalability across the EU energy ecosystem.
