At the end of October 2025, ACCU project partners met at the Technical University of Eindhoven in The Netherlands for two days of collaboration focused on advancing local energy communities (LECs). With Europe’s energy transition gaining speed, the gathering offered a valuable moment to align progress, compare pilot challenges, and refine a shared strategy for smart local energy systems. Here are the highlights of the meeting.
Strengthening Collaboration to Support Pilots
Why does collaboration matter? Because continuous learning, sharing practical insights, and integrating community voices earlier in the process ensure fair and inclusive business models. With pilots and research activities progressing in parallel, clear communication between them is essential—especially for early-stage pilots like Fourmies and Bruges.
ACCU partners worked on a project implementation roadmap and discussed how bottom-up initiatives fit there. In particular, the challenge of involving communities facing energy poverty. Early resident involvement will be key to long-term engagement and equitable benefit sharing.
Exploring Synergies with SmartCORE
Prof. Anna Wieczorek presented the sister Interreg NWE SmartCORE project and shared her fresh perspective on Europe’s changing energy landscape. As grid congestion intensifies and flexibility markets open up, SmartCORE is testing ways for energy communities to manage local renewable production and support grid stability.
The discussion revealed meaningful overlap between the two projects. Both are developing sociotechnical solutions that combine technology, governance, and community engagement. Opportunities emerged for collaboration on heat-electricity integration, cooperative business models, and cross-country mentoring between advanced local energy communities.
Pilots’ Progress and Adjustments
The three ACCU pilots are making progress on their LEC concepts. Although operating in very different contexts, they all are working to align technical solutions with residents’ needs and local social priorities.
Fourmies
Feasibility studies showed that solar PVT (thermal) panels are not suited to supply the high-temperature heat needed for the planned district heating system. The team proposed shifting focus to a solar PV plant and local heating systems with storage. The municipality plans to establish a Fourmies City Energy Cooperative, supported by local ambassadors and a social housing partner to address energy poverty.
Bruges
Bruges is comparing three heating options for apartment buildings. Vivendo, the social housing corporation, will offer energy-as-a-service, making tenant involvement crucial. A collective low-temperature system offers strong social value but comes with higher costs, making transparent multi-criteria decision-making essential.
Arnhem
Arnhem is developing an integrated system combining solar PV, heat storage, EV charging, and a local heat network, guided by principles of fairness and transparency. A large heat-storage bunker will help absorb surplus solar power as Dutch feed-in tariffs phase out. Procurement for major system components begins in early 2026.
Building Tools for Fair and Practical Implementation
Research partners shared progress on the ACCU Implementation Guide, which will include pathways for energy sharing, EMS procurement guidelines, technical selection criteria, and financial tools to support each pilot. Fairness—how benefits and decision-making are shared—remains a key focus. To avoid burdening residents, we will rely on lightweight monitoring tools, interviews, and workshops to understand motivations and engagement barriers.
Looking Ahead
Partners closed the meeting with concrete next steps: refining implementation phases to strengthen community engagement, advancing procurement planning, continuing collaboration talks with SmartCORE and other projects, and preparing for the next consortium meeting in France.
The
Eindhoven meeting left the consortium aligned, energized, and ready to
accelerate the development of local energy systems across Northwest Europe.