HARMONISE Advances Towards Integrated Smart Energy Communities at its 4th General Assembly in Zaragoza, Spain

Strengthening the Foundations of the HARMONISE Ecosystem

The General Assembly opened with an overview from the project coordinator, CERTH, highlighting major achievements accomplished during the second and third years of the project. Partners reviewed completed deliverables, ongoing activities, and upcoming milestones, while also discussing administrative developments, including the integration of MAPS Energy SRL into the consortium structure. A recurring theme throughout the meeting was the increasing maturity of the HARMONISE ecosystem. Many of the project’s core technologies have now moved beyond conceptual design and are entering testing, validation, and integration stages.

Significant Progress in the HARMONISE Interoperability Platform

A major focus of the meeting was Work Package 2, which is developing the End-to-End Interoperability Platform that serves as the digital backbone of HARMONISE. MAPS presented progress on the Common Information Model (CIM) and Context Repository, explaining how the framework continues to evolve to support the growing needs of the platform and pilots. The consortium reviewed the latest developments in interoperability and aggregation mechanisms that will allow diverse energy assets, services, and stakeholders to communicate seamlessly.

One of the highlights of the session was the presentation and live demonstration of the FSIID device by CERTH. Partners discussed deployment plans and finalized the number of physical and digital devices to be installed across the pilot sites. With installation activities scheduled to begin in the coming months, the FSIID technology is expected to play a central role in real-time data collection and interoperability.

CIRCE presented substantial progress on the project’s Security and Privacy Services (SPS), showcasing the validated infrastructure and the ongoing development of the blockchain-enabled security framework. The consortium also reviewed advancements in smart contracts and flexibility services, which are now entering testing and validation phases.

The discussions confirmed that the HARMONISE platform is steadily becoming a secure, interoperable, and scalable environment capable of supporting future energy communities and advanced energy services.

Intelligent Tools Reaching Integration Readiness

Work Package 3 demonstrated how HARMONISE is transforming data into actionable intelligence. DUTH reported that the Awareness and Forecasting Toolbox has successfully completed its first full operational cycle, connecting to the HARMONISE platform, retrieving data, performing forecasts, and returning results automatically. This achievement represents a major step towards real-time forecasting services for energy communities.

CERTH showcased progress in both Asset Management and Network Management decision-support tools. Initial results indicate strong performance, while future work will focus on real-world control actions, platform integration, and pilot validation. HEXERGY introduced the latest version of the Stakeholder Interaction Platform, demonstrating how future users will engage with HARMONISE services. The consortium explored opportunities for integrating pricing information, user incentives, and gamification features to encourage active participation in energy communities. Particularly noteworthy was the progress achieved in Positive Energy District (PED) planning tools. TalTech presented the successful operation of the PEDMapper, while CIRCE demonstrated the City Information Models and PED Design Toolbox, enabling cities and planners to evaluate, compare, and optimize urban energy scenarios.

The technical sessions concluded with MAPS demonstrating the end-to-end integration workflow of HARMONISE services, showcasing how the various platform components are beginning to operate together as a unified ecosystem.

Pilot Sites Prepare for Large-Scale Demonstrations

A key outcome of the discussions was the recognition that the project is entering a critical integration phase. To ensure successful demonstrations, partners agreed to organize dedicated technical workshops and coordination meetings focused on aligning use cases, data requirements, controllable assets, and platform functionalities. The Estonian pilot will serve as the first large-scale integration environment, allowing the consortium to establish methodologies and best practices that can subsequently be replicated across the remaining pilot sites.

Accelerating Exploitation Planning

KINNON presented the evolving exploitation strategy and introduced a portfolio of nine Key Exploitable Results (KERs) emerging from HARMONISE. Partners also reviewed intellectual property considerations and market opportunities, laying the foundation for long-term sustainability beyond the project’s lifetime.

Strengthening European Collaboration

ECD presented efforts to position HARMONISE within the broader European energy innovation landscape. Connections with initiatives such as BRIDGE, Driving Urban Transitions, and Smart Data Models are helping ensure that HARMONISE contributes to emerging European approaches for interoperability and urban energy systems.

Expanding Stakeholder Participation

ENGREEN reported strong progress in stakeholder recruitment and engagement activities. Participation Clubs are now being established across all pilot regions, bringing together citizens, energy stakeholders, local authorities, and community representatives. These groups will play a vital role in co-designing solutions, validating technologies, and ensuring that HARMONISE innovations respond to real-world user needs.

Advancing Standardization

UNE introduced the project’s first standardization activities and identified relevant technical committees and standards bodies. Future work will focus on collecting stakeholder feedback and strengthening HARMONISE’s contribution to emerging standards in smart energy systems and interoperability.

Interactive Workshop Boosts Communication Activities

An engaging dissemination and communication workshop organized by KINNON brought partners together to design future outreach activities. Working in teams, participants developed concepts for upcoming webinars that will showcase project achievements and engage external audiences. The workshop reinforced the consortium’s commitment to sharing knowledge, increasing visibility, and ensuring that HARMONISE outcomes reach key stakeholders across Europe.

Looking Ahead: From Development to Demonstration

The 4th General Assembly clearly demonstrated that HARMONISE is entering a decisive stage of its journey. Many of the project’s core technologies have successfully progressed from design and development into testing and integration. Pilot sites are preparing for large-scale deployment, interoperability mechanisms are becoming operational, and intelligent tools are beginning to interact seamlessly through the HARMONISE platform.

Over the coming months, the consortium will focus on:

• Deploying FSIID devices across pilot sites.

• Finalizing integration of technical tools and services.

• Aligning use cases, assets, and data requirements.

• Launching pilot demonstrations.

• Expanding stakeholder engagement activities.

• Advancing exploitation and standardization efforts.

• Preparing the next generation of HARMONISE deliverables and demonstrations.

The Zaragoza meeting confirmed that the consortium is well-positioned to transform its vision into tangible impact, bringing Europe one step closer to the future of integrated smart energy communities.