Heritage conservation as basis for energy-positive cities
The new European project POCITYF helps historic cities like the Dutch city of Alkmaar transition to energy-positive neighborhoods, while preserving their cultural heritage.
Energy-positive neighborhoods with respect for history
The new EU-funded smart city project POCITYF supports cities with a rich cultural history in their sustainability efforts. The project, which launched on October 9th in Évora, Portugal, aims to transform historic urban areas into healthy, sustainable, and energy-efficient living environments. Heritage preservation is central to POCITYF.
New Energy Coalition is one of 46 partners from 13 countries collaborating on this project.
Positive Energy Districts at the core
At the heart of POCITYF are the so-called Positive Energy Blocks/Districts. These are groups of buildings that not only save energy themselves but also exchange energy within their surroundings and with the broader energy system. Annually, these districts generate more sustainable energy than they consume—thus achieving a positive energy balance.
These energy-positive neighborhoods are combined within POCITYF with, among others:
- Network flexibility
- Electric mobility
- Innovative ICT technologies
- Citizen participation
- And all this without affecting the character of culturally and historically valuable parts of the city.
Focus on heritage areas
POCITYF is unique because of its strong focus on heritage areas. We address legal and regulatory obstacles that currently hinder sustainability in protected areas. Many other historic cities can soon draw inspiration from this.
- POCITYF Project Coordinator João Maciel (EDP LABELEC)
Lighthouse cities: Évora and Alkmaar
The project will be implemented in two leading cities, the so-called Lighthouse Cities:
- Évora (Portugal)
- Alkmaar (Netherlands)
In addition, six Fellow Cities are participating and aim to replicate the solutions: Granada (Spain), Bari (Italy), Celje (Slovenia), Újpest (Hungary), Ioannina (Greece) and Hvidovre (Denmark).
Four energy transition pillars
The solutions are applied in four so-called Energy Transition Tracks:
- Innovative solutions for energy-positive buildings and districts
- Peer-to-peer energy management and storage for grid flexibility
- Integrating e-mobility into smart grids and urban planning
- Citizen-driven innovation in smart city development
This approach adds layers of "smartness" to existing urban infrastructure, technologies, and services. This creates new opportunities to make cities safer, greener, and more responsive for their residents and businesses.
Alkmaar: heritage and innovation
Alkmaar is not only a city with a rich historical heritage, but also a modern and entrepreneurial city. By collaborating with European and local partners, we accelerate innovations in energy-positive applications.
- Peter van den Dries, program manager of the Municipality of Alkmaar
Demonstration and scale-up
Within the project, Alkmaar and Évora demonstrate applications such as:
- High-quality insulation
- Energy generation via innovative solar panels
- The development of microgrids and smart grids
- Smart heating systems
Based on the results, we are developing scalable approaches and financing models that can be deployed across Europe. We are also incorporating lessons learned from the MAKING CITY project in Groningen to increase our impact.
- Mark de la Vieter, Team Manager Innovation and Energy Hub expert New Energy Coalition
