eNeuron

eNeuron is an EU-funded project aimed at setting out a practical and evidence-based framework for optimising the design and operation of local integrated energy communities (LECs) acting as energy hubs. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 957779 Local energy communities offer a decentralised and bottom-up approach to producing, managing and using energy. This makes them an optimal solution for energy islands in particular and for confined systems in general. Through this approach, renewables and other emerging technologies can be efficiently integrated into the energy network. It turns passive consumers into active prosumers while having the whole energy value chain cater for the needs of each community through innovative schemes and services. Local energy communities therefore stand to play a key role in the EU's climate-change mitigation strategy. They are, however, complex to design and roll out due to multiple stakeholders and a range of energy carriers such as renewables, transport, thermal, H2, storage and biomass. They may also take on various legal and business forms. To address these challenges, the 4-year eNeuron project will deliver a set of tools for optimising LECs which draw on pioneering technology and business models that will be tested in real conditions at four pilot sites across Europe.