Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal call projects.
Date: 2023-10-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU energy policy, EU research policy, Framework Programme for Research and Development, clean technology, digitisation, energy grid, energy transition, innovation, report, research programme, research project, scientific research, soft energy

Green Deal Projects Support Office
Clean energy and digitalisation  
as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 
Green Deal Call Projects 

Independent 
Expert 
Report

Research and 
Research and
Innovation 
Innovation

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects – Report Three

European Commission
Directorate B – Healthy Planet
Directorate RTD Research and Innovation
Unit C.5 — Ecological and Social Transitions

Contact 
Email 

Emilie Vandam 
RTD-GREEN-DEAL-CALL-COORDINATION@ec.europa.eu 
Emilie.VANDAM@ec.europa.eu
support@greendealprojects.eu 
RTD-PUBLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu

European Commission
B-1049 Brussels

Manuscript completed in September 2023 
1st edition.

This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission 
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Clean energy and digitalisation  
as a key enabler for
Horizon 2020 Green 
Deal Call Projects 
Green Deal Projects Support Office

Adrian Lotter 
Ricardo

The Green Deal Projects Support Office is operated for the European Commission  
– DG RTD by Ecorys and Ricardo

2023

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

CONTENTS

1.  Policy and research drivers towards a clean energy transition in Europe 

1.1  Clean energy policy framework in Europe 

1.2  The research response to support the clean energy transition 

2.  Digitalisation in the clean energy context 

2.1  Introduction to digitalisation 

2.2  Research and innovation to support digitalisation of the energy system 

3.  Opportunities and challenges of clean energy projects, and potential  

response strategies 

3.1  Common challenges among the Green Deal Call clean energy projects 

3.2  Opportunities to leverage digitalisation in support of clean energy technologies 

4.  Examples of Green Deal funded clean energy projects 

1.  HYPERGRYD 

2.  Bio-FlexGen 

3.  EU-SCORES 

4.  SESA 

5.  SophiA 

6.  REFFECT AFRICA 

5.  Summary and conclusions 

4

4

6

9

9

12

15

15

20

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

About the  
Green Deal Projects 
Support Office

The  Green  Deal  Projects  Support  Office 
has  been  developed  to  facilitate  coordination 
between  projects  funded  under  the  Horizon 
2020  Green  Deal  Call  and  to  maximise  their 
positive  impact  in  the  longer  term.  The  Green 
Deal  Projects  Support  Office  will  operate 
until  November  2026  and  the  key  activities 
it  carries  out  include  supporting  Green  Deal 

projects  to  engage  in  effective  collaboration, 
providing  networking  and  knowledge  exchange 
opportunities  to  develop  synergies,  and  helping 
projects  boost  efforts  to  communicate  their 
results.  The  Green  Deal  Projects  Support  Office 
supports  networking,  knowledge  exchange  and 
common capacity-building activities through five 
working groups:

Climate Change 
and Biodiversity

Clean Energy

Knowledge  
and Citizens

Urban Environment 
and Mobility

Food and 
Health

For more information on the Green Deal Projects Support Office,  
please contact: support@greendealprojects.eu 

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

1

Policy and research drivers 
towards a clean energy 
transition in Europe 

1.1 Clean energy policy  
framework in Europe
Climate change and environmental degradation 
are an existential threat to Europe and the world. 
Recognising this, in 2019 the European Union (EU) 
responded  by  introducing  the  European  Green 
Deal  to  overcome  these  challenges,  outlining 
an ambitious set of sustainability targets to be 
achieved over the next few decades.

The European Green Deal will transform the EU 
into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive 
economy, ensuring:

•  no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050

•  economic growth is decoupled from resource use

•  no person and no place is left behind.

Against  the  backdrop  of  a  rapidly  changing  and 
constantly  developing  energy  landscape,  clean 
and  renewable  energies  form  a  cornerstone  of 
the  transition  to  decarbonising  economies  and 
promoting sustainable development. Clean energy 
provides not only a way to decarbonise our energy 
system but also to embed resilience and dynamic 
response  into  the  system,  while  developing  local 
industry  and  ensuring  responsible  consumption. 
These  benefits  range  from  developing  greenfield 
industries like hydrogen to training and employing 
solar  technicians  to  deploying  community-driven 
microgrids ensuring reliable and affordable energy 
supply. Energy also underpins most other sectors, 

including  transport,  agriculture,  and 
industry. 
As  such,  clean  energy  provides  a  mechanism 
through  which  to  drive  the  multiplier  effects  of 
decarbonisation beyond just the energy sector.

energy 

existing 

systems, 
Decarbonising 
innovative  new  solutions,  and 
developing 
improving  energy  efficiency  are  all  critical  to 
achieving  the  ambitions  of  the  Green  Deal. 
The  clean  energy  transition  will  need  new 
approaches, 
technologies, 
revolutionary 
renewed  paradigms  for  planning  and 
and 
implementing  these.  Digitalisation  in  particular 
holds immense promise to serve as a catalyst for 
enabling  the  technologies  and  delivery  models 
needed to support the transition to clean energy. 
As a case in point, smart grids based on digital 
systems  are  much  better  for  the  integration  of 
distributed  energy  resources  (DER)1  or  dynamic 
load balancing, for example shifting consumption 
to times when energy prices are lowest. 

In  line  with  these  requirements,  the  EU  is 
developing policies to support the clean energy 
transition. The policy support packages discussed 
below  provide  an  overview  of  the  Green  Deal 
Call  clean  energy  projects  that  aim  to  develop, 
test,  refine,  demonstrate,  and  replicate  these 
novel  solutions.  While  the  following  list  is 
not  exhaustive,  it  provides  a  useful  prefatory 
framework for the clean energy policy landscape.

1.1.1 Fit for 55
Fit for 55 is a package of policy initiatives under 

1 DER are local energy generation technologies which produce, store, and manage energy, oftentimes from renewable 
energy sources (RES) by integrating solar panels, small wind farms and battery storage systems.

   
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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

the Green Deal that aims to reduce the EU's net 
greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. The 
package was released in two batches, in July and 
December 2021, and includes drafts of EU climate 
and energy legislation to underpin the EU’s political 
pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 
55%  in  2030  compared  with  1990  levels.  This 
target, a more ambitious one than the previously 
agreed 40% reduction goal for 2030, is part of the 
EU’s aim to become climate-neutral by 2050 – and 
to spur the rest of the world to act under the 2015 
Paris Agreement to fight climate change.2

The  Fit  for  55  package  is  a  major  revision  of 
climate  and  energy  legislation  and  comprises 
a  set  of  interconnected  proposals  that  aim  to 
achieve the following industrial objectives:

•  to  reduce  reliance  on  fossil  fuels  including 

imports.  Reducing  or  optimising  demand  by 
improving  energy  efficiency  is  also  a  prudent 
undertaking  before 
in  additional 
supply,  as  it  usually  complements  clean  and 
decentralised energy projects.

investing 

•  Producing clean energy

A core part of the REPowerEU plan is accelerating 
the  green  transition  and  promoting  significant 
investment in clean and renewable energy. Key 
achievements  over  the  year  to  March  2023 
have included generating, for the first time, more 
electricity  from  wind  and  solar  than  from  gas, 
reaching  a  record  new  solar  installed  capacity 
of 41 gigawatts (GW), increasing wind capacity 
by 16 GW, and obtaining 39% of total electricity 
from renewables. 

coal, oil, and natural gas

•  Diversifying energy supplies

•  to  expand  the  use  of  renewable  energy 
sources, including solar, wind, and hydropower

•  to accelerate the development of electric cars

•  to  spur  clean  energy  options  for  aviation  

and shipping.

Within these proposals is the revision of two major 
existing  energy  directives,  namely  the  Energy 
Efficiency  Directive  (EED)  to  speed  up  the  efforts 
to  drive  energy  efficiency  and  the  Renewable 
Energy Directive (RED) to promote and support the 
adoption of renewable energy sources.

1.1.2 REPowerEU3 

REPowerEU  is  the  European  Commission's  plan 
to  end  reliance  on  Russian  fossil  fuels  by  2030. 
It was proposed in May 2022 in response to the 
challenges and disruptions resulting from Russia’s 
invasion of Ukraine, with the following goals:

•  Saving energy

Saving  energy  is  a  low-hanging  fruit  among 
interventions  as  it  provides  a  cheap,  safe,  and 
clean  option  to  reduce  reliance  on  fossil  fuel 

Diversifying  Europe’s  energy  supplies,  and  the 
infrastructure  that  supports  those  supplies,  can 
improve  the  resilience  of  the  energy  system 
and  help  address  high  energy  costs  that  result 
from  economic  and  geopolitical  shocks.  Driven 
by the EU Energy Platform, diversification across 
sources  of  energy,  technologies,  and  strategic 
partnerships  has  reduced  EU  gas  imports  from 
Russian pipeline gas from 41% in August 2021 
to 9% in the same period in 2022.

1.1.3 Clean Energy for all 
Europeans

Under  the  Clean  Energy  for  all  Europeans 
Package,  Europe  has  adopted  the  Renewable 
Energy Directive (RED), one of the world's most 
renewable  energy  policies4.  The 
ambitious 
package  combines  a  range  of  mechanisms 
across  six  categories,  including  increasing  the 
energy  performance  of  buildings,  renewable 
energy,  energy  efficiency,  governance  and 
regulation, and electricity market design. 

2 The ‘Fit For 55’ package at a glance – European Climate Foundation
3 REPowerEU: affordable, secure and sustainable energy for Europe (europa.eu)
4 directive_renewable_factsheet_0.pdf (europa.eu)

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

1.1.4. EU Hydrogen Strategy5
The EU's Hydrogen Strategy and REPowerEU plan 
have  put  forward  a  comprehensive  framework 
to  support  the  uptake  of  renewable  and  low-
carbon  hydrogen  to  help  decarbonise  the  EU  in 
a cost-effective way and reduce its dependence 
on  imported  fossil  fuels.  The  hydrogen  strategy 
for  a  climate-neutral  Europe  was  adopted  in 
July 2020 and lays out a range of initiatives to 
support and scale the sector including a Hydrogen 
accelerator,  a  European  Hydrogen  Bank,  and  a 
Hydrogen Energy Network, among others. 

1.1.5 Green Deal Industrial 
Plan and its reform of the 
electricity market

In  February  2023  the  Commission  presented 
a  Green  Deal  Industrial  Plan  to  enhance  the 
competitiveness  of  Europe's  net-zero  industry 
and  support  the  fast  transition  to  climate 
neutrality6. The framework will be complemented 
by the reform of the electricity market design7, to 
make consumers benefit from the lower costs of 
renewables.

1.2 The research 

response to 
support the clean 
energy transition
With  the  aim  of  supporting  and  mainstreaming 
the  policy  transition  towards  clean  energy,  the 
Horizon  2020  call  to  support  the  Green  Deal 
included  a  dedicated  topic  on  clean  energies. 

There is a clear need to transition to cleaner and 
more  sustainable  energy  production,  transport, 
storage, and consumption in both the European 
African  contexts.  To  understand  the  motivation 
behind,  and  importance  of,  this  transition,  it 
is  helpful  to  look  at  the  main  definitions  and 
drivers of clean energy, as well as the range of 
initiatives that support the development of new 
approaches and technologies. 

1.2.1 What are clean energy 
projects?

production, 

large-scale 

The  clean  energy  projects  funded  under  the 
Horizon  2020  Green  Deal  Call  aim  to  develop 
solutions in land-based and offshore renewable 
energy 
hydrogen 
production, and the conversion of CO₂ emissions 
from  industrial  processes  into  synthetic  fuels, 
and to accelerate the green transition in Europe 
and  energy  access  in  Africa.  These  projects  are 
primarily  focused  on  energy  decarbonisation 
deployment, 
through 
innovative 
and  continuous 
technologies and their integration into the current 
energy system. 

development, 
improvement  of 

the 

The  Green  Deal  Projects  Support  Office8  has 
clustered  these  projects  together  into  a  Clean 
Energy Working Group, with the aim of increasing 
coordination between them, fostering the creation 
of synergies among them, and facilitating wider 
communication  of  their  impacts.  This  is  being 
achieved through regular exchanges, networking 
opportunities,  and 
the  development  and 
dissemination  of  communication  materials  and 
technical reports. 

5 Energy | Hydrogen (europa.eu)

6 The Green Deal Industrial Plan: putting Europe's net-zero industry in the lead (Europa.eu)

7 Electricity market design (europa.eu) 

8 The Green Deal Projects Support Office is a contract funded by DG-RTD to support the coordination and maximisation 

of impacts from the Green Deal Call projects through a series of joint activities that promote and disseminate synergies 

towards the generation of broader combined impacts. For more information visit the website: Green Deal Projects Support 
Office | Research and Innovation (europa.eu)

    
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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

1.2.2 Rationale for clean 
energy

The  Green  Deal  Call  priority  areas,  and 
particularly the projects selected under the Clean 
Energy  Working  Group,  share  many  objectives 
and  design  elements  with  the  Clean  Energy 
for  all  Europeans  Package  and  other  policies 
outlined  in  Section  1.1.  Even  projects  that  are 
Africa-focused  incorporate  core  features  from 
these policies, like strengthening knowledge and 
empowering  citizens.  Common  characteristics 
evident  from  projects  that  support  policy 
objectives include:

•  Reducing emissions

The production and use of energy accounts for 
more  than  75%  of  the  EU’s  greenhouse  gas 
emissions9. Buildings are responsible for around 
40%  of  energy  consumption  and  36%  of  CO₂ 
emissions  in  the  EU,  making  them  the  single 
largest energy consumer in Europe10. Transport, 
industrial processes, commercial activities, food 
cultivation, and many other daily activities also 
rely on energy consumption and in the process 
contribute to CO₂ emissions if energy is derived 
from fossil fuel sources. 

Generating  energy  from  sources  that  do  not 
produce  greenhouse  gas  emissions  effectively 
decouples energy consumption from emissions, 
and  allows  households,  businesses,  and 
industries to use energy without having negative 
impacts on the environment or climate change. 

•  Reducing reliance on imports

In  addition  to  reducing  emissions,  reducing 
or  eliminating  the  EU’s  reliance  on  imports  of 
energy and fossil fuels is a key priority in regard 
to  ensuring  the  sustainability  of  the  regional 
energy  supply.  The  recent  energy  crisis  in  the 
EU11,  with  unprecedented  increases  in  energy 
prices  and  ensuing  hardship  for  the  region’s 
citizens,  has  put  into  sharp  focus  the  need 
for  strong  action  towards  achieving  energy 
sovereignty. 

The  need  for  energy  security  and  autonomy 
is  similarly  important  in  developing  contexts 
like  Africa,  where  transport  and  electric  grid 
infrastructure is weak, supply chain disruptions 
are  common,  and  energy  poverty  remains 
pervasive.  In  this  context,  renewables  offer  a 
feasible and cost-effective option for generating 
energy  domestically,  reducing  the  need  for 
energy imports.

•  Improving accessibility and affordability

Renewables  are  the  cheapest  and  cleanest 
energy  available  and  can  be  generated 
domestically  and  locally  in  most  countries12. 
In  Europe,  the  EU  introduced  the  Clean  Energy 
for  all  Europeans  Package  to  address  several 
elements  of  the  energy  equation.  Intervention 
levers  under 
from 
the  package 
improving energy efficiency and building energy 
performance  to  transforming  governance  and 
regulation and optimising energy market design, 
with the aim of making energy as available and 
affordable as possible. 

range 

9 Clean Energy | Research and Innovation (europa.eu)

10 Clean energy for all Europeans package (europa.eu)

11 EU action to address the energy crisis (europa.eu)

12 Clean Energy Factsheet (europa.eu)

    
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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

places in the world.

Conclusion
The Green Deal Call-funded clean energy projects 
promote and support the adoption and scale-up 
of  clean  energy  technologies  as  well  as  faster 
electrification  and  replacement  of  fossil-based 
heat  and  fuel  in  industry,  buildings,  and  the 
transport sector. The clean energy transition will 
help  reduce  energy  prices,  energy  dependency, 
and  greenhouse  gas  emissions  over  time,  and 
will ultimately drive modern, sustainable energy 
infrastructure.

There is also a clear need for systemic solutions 
that  address  accessibility  and  affordability 
challenges in Africa, particularly in Sub-Saharan 
Africa,  where  nearly  half  of  the  population 
currently lacks access to electricity13 and lives in 
poverty. Cost-effective and fit-for-purpose clean 
energy technologies deployed in a manner that 
responds  to  unique  local  needs  and  operating 
conditions  in  developing  areas  are  therefore 
critical 
to  establishing  sustainable  energy 
systems in this region. 

clean 

energy 

solutions 

Fortunately, 
like 
renewables  become  cheaper  as  production  and 
installed capacity are increased, unlike electricity 
from nuclear and fossil fuels14. This means that 
the unit cost decreases as production increases. 
This is not to mention the social, environmental, 
and  economic  benefits  of  developing  new, 
climate-friendly domestic industries. Investments 
to  scale  up  energy  production  from  renewable 
sources  are  therefore  not  only  an  opportunity 
to  reduce  emissions  but  also  to  achieve  more 
economic  growth  –  particularly  for  the  poorest 

13 African Presidential Roundtable on Securing Africa’s Universal Energy Access (worldbank.org)

14 Why did renewables become so cheap so fast?  – Our World in Data

    
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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three
The Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change: opporunties for the Green Deal Call projects ‒ Report Three

2

Digitalisation in the 
clean energy context

infrastructure 
Digital  tools,  technology,  and 
increasingly underpin the energy systems we use 
today and will intrinsically determine the way we 
plan and deploy energy systems in the future. To 
effectively navigate the complex dynamics at the 
intersection of digitalisation and clean energy, we 
need a better understanding of several different 
dimensions.  First,  identifying  the  most  critical 
gaps  and  needs,  including  knowledge,  skills, 
and  technologies.  Secondly,  taking  advantage 
of current and emerging opportunities to better 
integrate  digital  solutions  with  clean  energy 
technologies and maximise the mutual benefits 
of  each.  And  thirdly,  exploring  and  testing  how 
transitional mechanisms can be incorporated into 
policies and programmes in Europe and beyond. 

2.1 Introduction to 
digitalisation

In  a  world  driven  by  technological  advancement 
and ever-increasing complexity, digital integration 
is  no  longer  a  luxury  reserved  for  first  adopters 
and frontier technology companies. Rather, digital 
transformation and its effective integration form a 
critical part of most modern systems, including the 
energy system, all the way from energy generation 
through to energy governance. While digitalisation 
has long been seen as a necessary inconvenience, 
often perceived as adding undue complexity and 
points  of  failure,  concerted  digital  reform  and 
the  appropriate  application  of  digital  tools  hold 
immense  potential  for  improving  technological 

efficiency  and  accessibility.  The  benefits  and 
potential gains from introducing digital tools and 
smart systems are set out in the next sub-section.

2.1.1 Benefits of digitalisation
•  Digital  planning  tools  are  used  to  inform 
data-driven  decision-making,  optimise  system 
design, and derive market design intelligence. 

•  Digital  platforms  streamline 

technical, 
financial, and social processes and coordinate a 
range of stakeholders within a pre-determined 
environment.  Examples 
technical 
fault  reporting  (e.g.,  power  outages),  raising 
investment (e.g., crowdfunding), and community 
engagement (e.g., enabling transparent energy 
consumption). 

include 

•  Digital  operations  improve  responsiveness 
and  enable  energy  system  optimisation  while 
reducing operating costs. Solutions include real-
time load balancing, time-of-use optimisation, 
early  warning  systems,  and  accurate  load 
forecasting and response.

•  Digital  payments  enable  easy  and  efficient 
transactions  between 
customers,  energy 
service providers, and other actors. Consumers 
can  pay  for  the  energy  they  consume,  adjust 
their consumption based on changes in energy 
prices,  and  even  receive  payment  for  excess 
energy sold to the community or the grid. 

The need for a system-wide approach is clear, not 
only  to  maximise  the  benefits  outlined  above 
but also to ensure fair and effective integration, 

    
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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

application,  and  distribution  of  these  benefits. 
Information from digital operations can be used 
to  inform  subsequent  digital  planning.  Digital 
payments improve the user experience on digital 
platforms.  Improved  digital  access  and  reduced 
transaction costs enable even the lowest income 
groups  to  participate  in  the  digital  energy 
economy. 

2.1.2 Digitalisation in the 
European energy context
The growing digitalisation of energy systems and 
the benefits it brings will be critical to achieving 
the  ambitious  climate  and  energy  targets  set 
out  in  the  Fit  for  55  and  REPowerEU  packages 
described  above.  The  Green  Deal  Call  clean 
energy  projects  already  highlight  many  of 
these  benefits,  including  network  integration, 
load  balancing,  intelligent  consumption,  local 
integration  of  renewable  energy,  and  efficiency 
gains  through  data 
insights  and  optimised 
system control. The Green Deal Call emphasises 
the  importance  of  developing  ‘smart’  energy 
systems  to  ensure  they  remain  future-proofed 
and avoid premature obsolescence. 

learning 

Smart systems are relevant for, and hold promise 
for,  projects  that  require  dynamic  flexibility  or 
seek  to  integrate  variable  energy  sources.  For 
example,  HYPERGRYD  is  using  data  analytics 
and  machine 
to  forecast  energy 
generation  and  demand  to  create  a  hybrid 
coupled  network  for  thermal-electric  integrated 
smart  energy  districts.  BioFlex-Gen  similarly 
uses  a  combined  heat  and  power  plant  (CHP) 
system with hourly, daily, and seasonal flexibility 
through  producing  hydrogen  from  biomass. 
These  examples  demonstrate  how  digital  tools 
can help increase flexibility and optimise energy 
consumption through the use of data, algorithms, 
and smart management systems. 

Smart integrated systems also allow consumers 
who  produce  their  own  energy  to  respond  to 

changing  prices  and  to  sell  excess  energy  back 
to  the  grid.  Moreover,  smart  energy  networks 
enable  market  actors, 
including  suppliers, 
energy  communities,  aggregators,  and  energy 
service  companies,  to  offer  innovative  services, 
empowering 
their 
consumption and to receive the benefits of grid 
flexibility. Governments and industry alike should 
seek  to  employ  digitalisation  to  develop  new 
levels  of  agility,  flexibility,  and  insight,  but  be 
careful not to make any trade-off with efficiency, 
viability, and sustainability15. 

to  adjust 

consumers 

2.1.3 Outline of the EU 
digitalisation action plan
The ongoing European transition to clean energy 
demands simultaneous digital reform while also 
accelerating  the  deployment  of  clean  energy 
technologies. To respond to this dual challenge, 
in  October  2022  the  European  Commission 
adopted  the  Digitalising  the  energy  system 
– EU action plan, a system-wide digitalisation 
energy action plan that aims to contribute to the 
EU  energy  policy  objectives  by  supporting  the 
development  of  a  sustainable,  (cyber)secure, 
transparent,  and  competitive  market  for  digital 
energy  services,  ensuring  data  privacy  and 
sovereignty, and supporting investment in digital 
energy infrastructure16. 

The  action  plan  emphasises  many  elements 
which  can  already  be  seen  in  the  planning 
and  implementation  of  the  Green  Deal  Call 
clean  energy  projects  discussed  in  this  report, 
including  how  new  technologies  can  enable 
greater  integration  of  renewables  into  the  grid, 
optimise  the  use  of  energy,  and  reduce  costs 
for  consumers  and  companies  alike.  Examples 
include the following:

•  Developing  digital  tools,  digital  twinning,  and 
experimentation  platforms  which  is  being 
carried out by HYPERGRYD’s Living Labs.

15 Digitalization is How Industry Gets Fit for 55, AspenTech, July 2021.
16 Digitalisation of the energy system (europa.eu)

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

investment 

•  Promoting  and  optimising 

in 
infrastructure,  as  is  being  done  by  EU-
SCORES,  which 
is  centralising  hybrid 
offshore  renewable  energy  plants,  thereby 
concentrating interconnection infrastructure. 

•  Improving  interoperability,  as  will  be  done 
through  GreenHyScale’s  planned  use 
of  SymbiosisNet,  a  smart  energy  and 
data  network  that  in  the  future  will  allow 
companies to share their surplus energy and 
resources.

The Digitalising the energy system – EU action 
plan further outlines a series of strategies and 
actions that demonstrate best practices, as well 
as  national  initiatives  and  successful  projects. 
Figure 1 below provides an at-a-glance view of 
initiatives  and  support  actions,  alongside  the 
timeline from research through to infrastructure, 
and the technology maturity level.

2.2 Research and 
innovation to support 
digitalisation of the 
energy system
Research  and  innovation  are  key  to  developing 
and deploying digital solutions for clean energy at 
scale17. Unlocking the benefits that digitalisation 
offers  for  the  clean  energy  transition  requires 
in 
an  exploratory  yet  systematic  approach 
order  to  test,  refine,  integrate,  and  optimise 
solutions  across  technical,  economic,  and  social 
dimensions. Horizon Europe, the EU’s Framework 
Programme for research and innovation following 
the  completion  of  Horizon  2020,  supports  the 
development and integration of digital solutions 
in the energy system, to make it more efficient, 
resilient, and able to integrate a higher share of 
renewable energies.

Info days on 2023 calls
Launch of Mission Implementation 
Platform Start of the 1st Mission 
Projects (2021 call)

Energy-eﬃcient Cloud & Data Centres

Policy & Regulation: 
SmartGrids Task Force

Policy & Strategy: 
Digitalisation of Energy
Action Plan

Standardisation:
SAREF (Smart Appliances
REFerence ontoglogy) – SAREF4Energy; 
ICT Standardisation Rolling Plan (smart 
grids & IoT chapters

Coordination: Bridge cluster of smart grids & storage projects – data management working group

Cross-sector/system-level interoperability: OpenDEI, AloTI

Connecting Europe Facility 2:
Operational Digital Platforms for the Energy Sector
Energy-eﬃcient cloud-edge

Horizon 2020: Digitising European Industry 
Large-Scale Pilots in Energy: 60 M€. 
Smart Grids & Home: Interconnect
Smart Home: Synergy, Platoon BD40PEN

Digital Europe: 2023-24
Energy Data Spaces (planned
Energy-eﬃcient cloud-edge

Horizon Europe – Cluster 5:
Replicable solutions, interoperability 
& energy data space

Horizon Europe – Cluster 4:
Cloud-Edge-IoT: Horizontal with vertical use cases
Energy, mobility, building, & x-sector ...)
All deployed ICT infrastructures should be sustainable

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

Infrastucture

Deployment

Innovation

Research

Figure 1: The Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) 
support actions for the digitalisation of the energy system. © European Commission
17 Research & innovation to support the digitalisation of the energy system (europa.eu)

12

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

Energy communities of energy-related citizens’ organisations 
encourage consumers to have a direct stake in producing, using or 
sharing energy. The COMPILE project is creating a toolset to show the 
opportunities of remote areas or areas weakly connected to the grid 
(so-called energy islands) for decarbonisation of energy supply, 
community building and creating environmental and socioeconomic 
beneﬁts. These opportunities will be demonstrated at 5 pilot sites.

EMPOWERING
CITIZENS TO 
PARTICIPATE
IN THE ENERGY 
MARKET

A EUROPEAN 
DATA-SHARING
INFRASTRUCTURE 
FOR NEW ENERGY 
SERVICES

Future energy grids will be more open and 
participatory, becoming the entry point fro new energy 
players. CoordiNet is taking the ﬁrst steps towards a 
uniﬁed European electricity market platform that joins 
all parties across the entire electricity value chain – 
electricity carriers, distributors and consumers.

Most data centres consume almost as much electricity in their cooling 
systems as in their servers. At a typical data centre, about 40% of the 
electrcity is consumed by cooling systems. Data centres. use about 3% 
of Europe’s electricity, and hence the impact on the environment is 
becoming a growing concern. The BodeTypeDC project has constrcuted, 
tested and validated a data centre that is both energy and cost 
eﬃcient. It runs on renewable energy and relies on free air and 
evaporative cooling technologies without the need for refrigerants.

CLIMATE 
NEUTRALITY IN 
THE IT SECTOR

Digitalisation improves the sa—ey, productivity, accessibility 
and sustainability of energy systems, but it also brings new 
challenges for the sector, in particularr with respect to cyber 
security. The EnergyShield project has developed solutions to 
increase resilience against diﬀerent types and levels of cyber 
and privacy attacks and data breaches, by adapting and 
integrating technologies for vulnerability assessment, 
supervision and protection in a defensive toolkit.

CYBERSECURITY
OF THE ENERGY
SECTOR

ENHANCING THE UPTAKE 
OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES 
IN THE ENERGY SECTOR, 
AND PROMOTING THE 
MARKET UPTAKE OF 
INVESTMENBT IN 
RESEARCH AND 
INNOVATIONS

The EU aims to increase its oﬀshore wind capacity from the current 
level of 12 gigawatts (GW) to at least 60 GW by 2030 and to 300 GW 
by 2050. Technology improvement and cost reductions are key to the 
rapid deployment of oﬀshore wind capacity. The ROMEO project has 
delivered a decision support system to better understan the real time 
behaviour of wind turbine generator systems under operational 
conditions, maximising their life span and minimizing operations
and maintenance costs.

Figure 2: Five key areas for EU research and innovation relating to digitalisation of the energy sector
Research & innovation to support the digitalisation of the energy system – Publications Office of the EU (europa.eu) 18

13

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

Digitalisation  is  an  ongoing  process  that  is 
dependent  on  research  and  innovation  that 
is  rooted  in  iterative  learning  and  continuous 
improvement.  As  digital  tools  continue  to 
infiltrate  the  project  and  business  lifecycles, 
from  early-stage  research  and  development 
through  to  implementation  coordination  and 
post hoc monitoring, reporting, and verification, 
the  need  for  continued  development  is  ever 
more critical. 

To  support  this,  since  2016  (and  before  the 
Green Deal Call) the Horizon 2020 programme 
has funded 11 research and innovation projects 
on  this  topic,  for  more  than  EUR  125  million. 
A  thematic  collection  of  innovative  EU-funded 
research  results  can  be  found  in  the  CORDIS 
Results Pack on the digitalisation of the 
energy system, which explores the results of 
EU-funded  research  projects  that  address  five 
areas that are key to energy and digitalisation.19 
Digitalisation’s  potential  to  benefit  the  clean 
energy  sector  in  Africa  is  equally  promising, 
despite  the  fact  that  it  will  need  to  address  a 
completely  different  set  of  challenges.  Unlike 
in  Europe,  the  challenges  facing  clean  energy 
deployment  and  adoption 
in  Africa  relate 
mostly  to  a  lack  of  energy  access,  availability, 
and affordability. With over 640 million people 
on the continent without any access to electrical 
energy20,  and  millions  more  without  access  to 
reasonably reliable energy supplies21, the need 
for, role of, and potential impact of clean energy 
technologies are substantial. Energy poverty in 
Africa  also  disproportionately  affects  certain 
groups,  often  including  women,  low-income 
households, and those in rural areas.

Digital  clean  energy  solutions  can  help  African 
countries  and  projects  leap-frog  conventional 

increased 

efficiency, 

development. 

energy  development  trajectories  and  avoid 
Improved 
carbon-intensive 
operational 
system 
flexibility, and enhanced resilience are just some 
of the benefits of digitalisation that can help tip 
the economic balance of energy projects in Africa 
over  the  viability  threshold.  Similarly,  digital 
tools  like  mobile  payments,  remote  customer 
support,  and  system  monitoring  through  smart 
meters can also increase transparency and drive 
social acceptance of new technologies, thereby 
enabling adoption at scale. 

The experience of REFFECT  AFRICA, which is 
developing sustainable energy solutions based 
on  the  valorisation  of  biomass  waste  from 
agriculture and the food industry, provides two 
notable examples of digitalisation in action:

•  a digitally integrated data system that allows 
researchers  to  receive  results  from  biomass 
tests at the demo sites in real-time remotely

•  an  experimental  marketplace  app 

that 
will  match  the  demand  for  feedstocks  and 
potential local suppliers

Digital  tools  enable  a  range  of  institutional 
stakeholders,  like  investors,  governments,  and 
development finance institutions, to streamline 
policy  and  planning  processes.  Recent  leaps 
in  digital  capability  now  allow  quick  and  easy 
integration  of  actionable  insights,  from  least-
cost  electrification  planning  in  countries  with 
limited  electric  grid  access  to  data-driven 
risk  assessment  that  eliminates  the  need 
for  complex  and  expensive  investment  due 
diligence. Figure 3 below summarises the utility 
and impact of specific solutions for a range of 
sector stakeholders in the African context.

19 Digitalisation of the energy system (europa.eu)
20 Light Up and Power Africa – A New Deal on Energy for Africa | African Development Bank (afdb.org)
21 John Ayaburi, Morgan Bazilian, Jacob Kincer, Todd Moss. “Measuring ‘Reasonably Reliable’ access to electricity services.”  
The Electricity Journal, Volume 33, Issue 7, 2020, 106828. ISSN 1040-6190, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tej.2020.106828.

Opportunities and challenges 

of clean energy projects, and  

potential response strategies 

14

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

Solutions

Users

Digital 
planning

Digital 
platforms

Digital 
operations

Digital 
payments

Governments 
and DFIs

Electriﬁcation planning

Tender management

Tender preparation

Quality assurance

Data on industry 
performance (indirectly)

Data on industry 
performance (indirectly)

Investors
and banks

Due diligence

Strategic ﬁnancing

Aggregation

Due diligence
Results-based ﬁnance

Due diligence
Results-based ﬁnancing

Due diligence
Results-based ﬁnancing

Mini-grid
companies

OGS
companies

Site identiﬁcation
Project aggregation 
for investors
Impact measurements

Standardised reporting
Access to funding

Lower operating costs
Input for future
system design

Lower operating costs
Less fraud

Lower operating costs
Input for future
product design

PAYGO business model 
Lower operating costs
Less fraud

Scalability

Cost reduction

Risk reduction

Figure 3: Possible impacts of digital solutions on energy access in Africa22

Africa’s  enabling  environment 
for  digital-
enabled  clean  energy  is  steadily  improving, 
yet  there  remains  a  need  for  concerted  action 
and  support.  With  promising  policy  reforms, 
a  wealth  of  clean  energy  potential,  and,  more 
recently, a rapidly developing digital ecosystem, 
the continent is well-positioned to leverage the 
dual  development  symbiosis  of  energy  and 
digital infrastructure. Large projected increases 
in population, urbanisation, and income are set 
to increase energy demand by a third between 

2020  and  2030.  However,  without  the  digital 
tools to scale the deployment and decrease the 
costs of meeting this demand with clean energy 
sources, there is a real risk that decision-makers 
will  revert  to  conventional  carbon-intensive 
options.  Projects  that  promote  cooperation 
and  frontier  innovation,  like  those  discussed  in 
Section 4, are therefore vital in order to drive the 
global clean energy transition.

22 "Energy access, data and digital solutions”, TFE Africa, 2020.

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

3

Opportunities and challenges 
of clean energy projects, and  
potential response strategies 

Clean  energy,  and  the  digital  development 
that  underpins  it,  offers  a  range  of  benefits 
and  opportunities;  however,  several  challenges 
remain  that  can  impact  the  effectiveness  of 
its  implementation.  With  careful  consideration 
and  planning,  many  of  these  challenges  can 
be  effectively  mitigated  and  most  of  the 
opportunities  can  be  unlocked.  This  chapter 
highlights some of the most difficult challenges 
faced  by  the  cohort  of  Green  Deal  funded 
clean energy projects, and discusses mitigation 
strategies,  including  those  that  rely  on  digital 
tools and infrastructure.

3.1 Common challenges 
among the Green Deal 
Call clean energy 
projects

3.1.1 Energy system integration 
remains a challenge for many 
projects due to complexities at 
the  technical,  organisational, 
and regulatory levels 
Energy  system  integration  (ESI)  is  the  process 
of  coordinating  the  operation  and  planning 
of  energy  systems  across  multiple  pathways 
and/or  geographical  scales  to  deliver  reliable, 
that  have 
cost-effective  energy  services 

minimal  impact  on  the  environment23.  Barriers 
to  effective  ESI  vary  widely,  depending  on  the 
technology and local operating context, though 
most relate to the following issues:

•  Grid  interconnection  or  feed-in  is  simply  not 
allowed,  as  is  the  case  in  non-liberalised 
energy  markets  or  vertically  integrated  and 
monopolistic utilities. 

lack  appropriate  application 
•  Authorities 
standards, 
procedures 
limiting  the  ability  of  energy  suppliers  and 
prosumers24 to supply energy to the grid. 

technical 

and 

•  Complex 

coordination  and  burdensome 
bureaucracy increase costs and cause delays, 
which  erodes  the  feasibility  of  projects, 
especially during the development stages. 

The  importance  of  ESI  is  recognised  globally 
and  forms  a  central  theme  of  the  European 
Commission’s Strategic Energy Technology 
(SET)  Plan.  ESI  is  critical  to  achieving  a  low-
carbon energy system with affordable, efficient, 
and secure supplies of energy. 

Mitigation strategy
Creating  an  environment 
in  which  system 
integration  serves  as  an  enabler  rather  than 
a  barrier  requires  stakeholders  to  understand 
the  value,  applications,  and  impact  of  system 
integration. In order to create this understanding 
there  is  a  need  for  concerted  effort  to  do  the 
following:

23 Energy Systems Integration: Defining and Describing the Value Proposition (nrel.gov)
24 Prosumers refers to energy consumers that generate their own energy and can sell excess energy. 

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

•  Communicate the importance of ESI to 

all stakeholders

Effective  communication  that  highlights  the 
significance  of 
integration  will  help  focus 
attention  and  resources  on  related  challenges 
and  opportunities  across  different  levels,  from 
households  to  communities  to  the  national 
grid,  and  throughout  project  lifetimes.  Part  of 
the  communication  strategy  should 
include 
identifying  and  emphasising  the  benefits  of 
robust  integration,  such  as  unlocking  additional 
revenue  from  grid  feed-in  or  improving  the 
security of supply by diversifying energy sources. 

•  Encourage  and  support  dedicated 
education programmes to help produce 
the human resources that are required 
to deliver on the potential of ESI

Developing  internal  capability,  and  deploying 
this  capability  throughout  the  project  planning 
and  implementation  stages,  will  ensure  design 
decisions are made with ESI in mind. A proactive 
approach to ESI-related education and capacity 
building requires that a range of DER technology 
options  be  considered,  and  that  technical  and 
operational configuration can be easily optimised. 
A  case  in  point  is  the  SESA  project,  which  will 
develop  a  course  titled  Smart  microgrid  and 
system integration, that will be available on its 
platform for capacity development.in early 2024 
alongside five other courses.

•  Highlight 

the 

of 
importance 
in  ESI  and  promote 

breakthroughs 
knowledge creation and transfer. 

The  extent  to  which  energy  systems  can  be 
successfully  integrated  does  not  depend  only 
on  one  energy  system  or  project,  but  rather  on 
all the systems in a network, up to and including 
the grid network itself. Therefore, understanding 
the  context-specific  enabling  elements  of  the 
network  makes  it  possible  to  better  plan  for 
and  execute  integration  strategies.  Important 
enabling  elements  include  regulatory,  financial, 
and technical factors. 

Because many of these factors tend to change 
over  time  it  is  useful  to  stay  abreast  of 
developments.  For  example,  new  regulations  or 
mass  rollout  of  smart  meters  can  dramatically 
improve  the  ease  with  which  energy  systems 
can  be  integrated  with  one  another.  Remaining 
vigilant  and  sharing  successes  with  peers  and 
other  participants  in  an  energy  system  can 
thus  help  drive  ESI,  and  therefore  clean  energy 
adoption. 

Integration-related  knowledge  sharing  is  neatly 
exemplified  by  HYPERGRYD’s  forthcoming 
output Regulation Inventory and Guidebook to a 
Proper Grid Integration, that can serve as a guide 
for subsequent projects. 

3.1.2  As projects develop, 
financing needs will change, 
due to the changing risk return 
profile of a project at different 
stages of development 
Projects  often  struggle  to  raise  the  follow-on 
funding  that  is  needed  to  bridge  the  financing 
gap  between  early-stage  development  and 
the  growth  and  commercial  stages.  As  projects 
progress  through  the  development  cycle,  from 
early-stage concept to full commercial solution, 
it  is  imperative  to  find  and  structure  finance 
appropriately.  This  means  balancing 
large, 
occasional  capital  expenditures  like  machinery 
and buildings, with smaller but regular operating 
expenses like salaries and overheads. 

Seed  funding  usually  provides  an  initial  capital 
injection  to  kickstart  the  project  and  provides  a 
sufficient runway to develop a proof-of-concept. 
The  proof-of-concept,  in  turn,  can  be  used  to 
raise follow-on funding from investors to support 
continued development and upscaling. The more 
developed a project is, the higher its chances of 
success, the less risky it becomes, and the more 
likely investors are to invest. 

17

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

Idea/Start-up

Development

Growth

Maturity

Seed/Angel

Early Stage VC

Late Stage VC

Exit

Product
development

Operational
rollout

Growth

Expansion

Company 
Development

Investment
Stages

Concept
business
planning

Time

Figure 4: Funding requirements throughout the project development cycle

The  factors  underpinning  the  challenge  of 
obtaining follow-on funding include the following:

•  Many  strong  projects  are  competing  for 
limited pools of capital. Clean energy projects 
using  complex  technology  usually  have  high 
capital  requirements  and  long  timelines.  This 
may  deter  risk-averse  investors,  who  usually 
prefer  a  lower  investment  quantum  and  quick 
payback  periods  on  their  investment.  At  the 
same time, clean energy projects are competing 
with  a  wide  range  of  sectors,  companies,  and 
geographies,  all  chasing  a  limited  number  of 
funds.  Even  with  initial  seed  funding  like  that 
provided  through  the  Green  Deal  Call,  without 
additional  investment  or  sufficient  revenue 
projects  struggle  to  finance  their  operations, 
development, and eventually upscaling.

•  Long 

timelines 

that  are  sometimes 
misaligned  with  financing  requirements. 
Due  to  the  technical  complexity  of  many 
innovative  clean  energy  projects,  it  can  take 
several  years  to  develop  a  working  prototype 
or  to  achieve  proof-of-concept.  As  a  result, 
early-stage seed capital may not be enough to 

cover costs over such a long period, and follow-
on investors might be hesitant to invest before 
seeing  a  functional  model.  This  risks  funding 
drying  up  before  key  milestones  are  reached 
and greatly jeopardises the project’s chance of 
success.

•  Financial requirements change as projects 
develop. Balancing financial outflows with the 
appropriate  incoming  investment,  in  terms  of 
size, type and timing, is difficult but is critical to 
the  successful  implementation  and  operation 
of  clean  energy  solutions.  For  example,  early-
stage  projects  may  need  to  invest  heavily  in 
hardware  while  making  do  with  only  a  core 
team.  This  means  high  capital  expenditure, 
which  can  be  financed  through  a  loan  and 
repaid over time, and low operating expenditure. 
Conversely, a project in the growth stage may 
need  to  undertake  rapid  recruitment  to  meet 
the increase in workload. More employees will 
significantly  increase  the  project’s  operating 
cost base, but at this stage the project should 
be  generating  some  revenue  that  can  help 
cover these additional costs. 

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

Mitigation strategy
Solving  the  financial  equation  of  any  project  is 
often  the  most  challenging  –  but  also  the  most 
critical – part of ensuring effective implementation 
and  long-term  sustainability  and  impact.  Raising 
investment  is  further  complicated  by  a  rapidly 
evolving  energy  landscape  in  both  Europe  and 
Africa,  and  is  exacerbated  by  the  complexity  of 
frontier  technologies.  However,  some  proven 
principles  can  help  projects  better  mitigate  and 
navigate these challenges, such as the following:

•  Match the structure and timing of funding 

to the project needs at that stage

To do this, it is important to understand the types 
of  finance  that  are  available  and  appropriate 
at  each  stage,  as  well  as  the  likely  implications 
each  have  for  the  project.  For  example,  grants 
are  usually  low  risk  as  they  don’t  need  to  be 
repaid  like  loans  but  they  may  involve  strict 
reporting  requirements.  Equally  important  is  to 
plan  timelines  appropriately,  noting  that  funding 
applications  and  associated  due  diligence 
processes  can  take  months  or  even  years.  For 
example,  EU-SCORES  experienced  deliverable 
delays  due  to  restructuring  and  due  diligence 
proceedings when preparing for an equity funding 
round,  but  ultimately  succeeded  in  creating  an 
optimal financial structure for its purposes. 

•  Diversify  financial 

leverage 
by  leveraging  partnerships  and  positive 
climate impacts 

resources 

To  mitigate  the  risk  of  financial  shortfall  and 
resultant  disruptions  it  is  prudent  to  develop  a 
robust  resource  base  from  which  funds  can  be 
withdrawn  as  and  when  needed.  In  addition  to 
innovation  funding,  such  as  Horizon  2020  and 
Horizon Europe grants, a wide range of types and 
sources  of  financial  resources  are  available  that 
can be tapped over the different phases of project 
development. These include research grants paid to 
academic  partners  for  research  and  development 
(R&D), private commercial investors, ranging from 

early-stage  venture  capital  to 
infrastructure-
focused  pension  funds,  to  impact  investment 
supporting climate-positive outcomes.

Non-financial  support  like  technical  assistance 
or contributions in kind can also free up financial 
resources that can be reallocated to more capital-
intensive  activities.  Similarly,  many  support 
programmes like the Green Deal Projects Support 
Office  provide  targeted  tools  and  advisory 
services  to  help  projects  and  companies  access 
finance. Bio-FlexGen provides a great example: 
to  maintain  its  development  and  operations  it 
partners  with  several  universities  across  Europe, 
and taps into co-financing from private investors.

•  Focus  on  transparency,  efficiency,  and 

robust financial management

Employing  strong  financial  controls  and  following 
best  practice  management  principles  creates  a 
robust  financial  operating  system  and  signals  to 
investors a project’s ability to attract and effectively 
deploy 
investment.  Other  useful  protocols 
include  developing  a  financial  management  plan, 
maintaining  a  contingency  fund  for  use  in  the 
Figure 8 Connections between the European Missions  
event  of  unforeseen  expenditure  or  cost  overruns, 
and the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change
embedding  sufficient  redundancy  to  account  for 
possible  system  failure,  and  ensuring  adequate 
financial controls are in place (e.g., requiring sign-off 
from various partners to approve large expenses).

Financial  efficiency  and  reporting  are  also  critical 
elements  that  can  cause  serious  concerns  if  they 
are  neglected  and  that  can  play  a  pivotal  role  in 
gaining investor confidence and accessing finance if 
they are done correctly. Financial efficiency refers to 
how successful a project is at turning expenses into 
revenue or results. Tracking and reporting financial 
performance  demonstrates  a  project’s  ability  to 
manage  and  deploy  resources  effectively.  This  is 
closely linked to transparency: the practice of sharing 
financial  information  with  stakeholders  including 
funders  and  partners.  All  of  these  processes  can 
be  significantly  improved  by  using  appropriate 
accounting or other software to minimise costs and 
enable coordination among stakeholders. 

19

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

The SophiA project demonstrates this well. It initially 
considered using a financial management platform 
before deciding to opt for a more streamlined option 
to  minimise  cost  and  ensure  compatibility  with 
the  developing  context  of  its  pilot  sites.  Financial 
reporting is done internally every six months when 
the project budget is transparently shared among all 
partners, including details on how the budget was 
spent between partners and activities.

3.1.3 Deploying sophisticated 
data management systems 
despite limited data 
availability, and without 
adding undue complexity

Smart and digital systems operate on the principle 
of  intelligently  responding  to  inputs,  whether  that 
means  dynamic  responses  to  changing  weather 
conditions,  real-time  energy  load  balancing  or 
automated payment for solar energy fed into a smart 
grid. However, in many cases, the input data needed 
to program the algorithms that govern the system’s 
intelligent  response  is  imperfect  or  does  not  exist. 
In other cases, available datasets and the suite of 
analytical tools that underpin them may be so vast 
and complex that deriving meaningful insights from 
them becomes unmanageable or even impossible. 
This  is  particularly  true  for  legacy  systems  where 
the back-end data control process was developed 
iteratively and reactively to meet the needs of the 
project, rather than being holistically and proactively 
embedded into project design. 

Mitigation strategy
The task for project proponents is, on the one hand, 
to overcome the challenge of inherently scarce or 
imperfect data, and, on the other hand, to develop 
fit-for-purpose  digital  solutions  that  are  able  to 
leverage  the  desired  benefits  of  digitalisation 
without  overcomplicating  project  operations. 
Striking this balance is not easy, yet the integration 
of  digital  systems  and  the  effective  use  of  data-

driven  insights  can  mean  the  difference  between 
success and failure. How data is captured and used 
by  digital  systems  can  be  highly  context-specific 
and needs to be tailored accordingly. The following 
principles offer practical mitigation mechanisms to 
help overcome the challenges of imperfect early-
stage data while ensuring system simplicity:

•  In  a  data-scarce  environment,  infer 

insights from proxy datasets

Early-stage  projects  may  not  have  a  robust 
dataset upon which to base design decisions. In such 
cases, it may be necessary to rely on proxy datasets 
that provide a starting point for design parameters. 
Parameters can then be refined over time as more 
accurate information becomes available. 

A  case  in  point  is  the  SophiA  project.  Since 
on-site  solar  measurements  and 
relevant 
meteorological  data  were  not  available  for  the 
sites  selected  in  the  project,  data  from  three 
different  global  climate  databases  (Meteonorm 
8,  PVGIS,  and  POWER  NASA)  was  considered. 
Comparisons  were  made  to  obtain  reliable 
information for the design of the SophiA systems.

•  Continue  optimisation  efforts  through 
using feedback loops and as more data 
becomes available

The ease and expediency of digital systems mean 
that  feedback  loops  can  be  introduced  in  near 
real-time  and  with  limited  human  involvement. 
This  allows  for  rapid  fault  detection,  dynamic 
response  to  system  changes,  and  performance 
monitoring.  Critically,  short  feedback  loops  that 
are  rooted  in  accurate  data  allow  continuous 
optimisation by adjusting operating configuration 
(which  can  often  also  happen  remotely)  and 
measuring input and outputs. 

One example is REFFECT  AFRICA, which uses 
digital  tools  to  monitor  the  quality  of  biomass 
feedstock  and  to  allow  researchers  access  to 
receive  results  from  tests  at  the  demo  sites  in 
real-time remotely.

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

3.2.1 Digital systems for social 
and environmental monitoring

One  defining  feature  of  digital  systems  is  their 
ability  to  capture,  process  and  analyse  large 
volumes  of  data.  As  a  use  case,  this  capability 
is indispensable when trying to monitor progress 
or  evaluate  impacts  in  complex  interconnected 
systems  like  local  marine  ecosystems  or  socio-
economic changes for a certain region. 

like  those 

Datasets generated by tracking large volumes of 
data over time can be interpreted by intelligent 
algorithms 
increasingly  used  by 
machine  learning  and  artificial  intelligence  to 
derive meaningful, actionable insights. Moreover, 
the more high-quality data we have, the better 
these algorithms become at tasks like predictive 
fault  detection  and  maintenance,  smart  grid 
integration, and load optimisation. 

EU-SCORES is an excellent case in point: it uses 
digital tools to conduct a baseline characterisation 
of marine mammal communities, through visual 
and acoustic surveys, as well as to characterise 
the  existing  ambient  noise.  The  project’s  aerial 
monitoring  campaign,  which  seeks  to  provide 
data  on  the  bird,  marine  mammal,  and  other 
marine megafauna populations, is ongoing.  

3.2  Opportunities to 
leverage digitalisation 
in support of clean 
energy technologies
Despite  the  challenges  and  the  need  for 
mitigation  efforts,  digitalisation,  and 
the 
capabilities  it  unlocks,  hold  immense  potential 
for streamlining planning and operations, driving 
down  costs,  and  enabling  rapid  iteration  and 
course  correction.  Better  insights  also  mean 
inefficiencies  can  be  minimised  and  redundant 
costs  can  be  cut.  Finally,  well-designed  digital 
systems mean decisions can be made based on 
robust data and the impacts of decisions can be 
tracked much more accurately, both in real time 
and over months and years. 

Digital  tools  and  smart  energy  systems  also 
enable  solutions  to  scale  much  more  rapidly. 
Analytical  tools  primarily  based  on  software 
and open-source data can be replicated almost 
infinitely  with  low  or  no  marginal  costs.25  For 
example,  an  app  can  be  downloaded  by  10  or 
100 or 1,000 users without adding to the cost of 
creating the app. Similarly, an integrated smart 
electricity grid can allow any user with a smart 
meter and generating capacity, such as a solar 
panel  on  the  roof,  to  connect  seamlessly  and 
feed  electricity  back  into  the  grid.  Couple 
this with an automated digital payment 
system, and the user can receive income 
for energy generated by the solar panel 
as the sun shines. 

following  subsections  share 

The 
highlights  and  examples  of 
opportunities from the emerging 
clean energy digital evolution. 

Figure 5: Aerial picture of marine algae26

25  Marginal cost is the cost added by producing one additional unit of a product or service.

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

3.2.2 Impact demonstration

Similarly,  digital  data  and  analytics  are  key  to 
measuring  and  communicating  impact.  Robust 
empirical data helps researchers and innovators 
better understand the dynamics between energy 
and natural systems, and their relationship with 
consumers.  For  example,  commercial  energy 
consumption  can  be  shifted  to  times  when 
renewable  energy  is  abundant  and  prices  are 
low, thereby reducing the need for storage. Data 
is  also  a  powerful  tool  for  storytelling,  through 
its  ability  to  capture  and  convey  the  real-world 
impacts of projects like those under the GDC to 
policymakers and the wider public. 

3.2.3 Coordination and 
transaction across producers, 
consumers and other stakeholders

Enabling  stakeholders  to  interact  in  myriad 
meaningful  ways  is  another  key  feature  of 
digital  transformation.  Digital  platforms  allow 
a  wide  range  of  participants  to  coordinate  and 
collaborate  with  one  another,  while  blurring 
the 
lines  between  energy  producers  and 
consumers  (collectively  ‘prosumers’)  and  other 
stakeholders.  They  also  create  a  mechanism 
for  instantaneous  financial  transactions  and 
even  microtransactions,  without 
third-party 
intermediaries and therefore at very low costs. 

HYPERGRYD offers an example of this: its goal 
is to develop a system for smart energy exchange 
and  trading  in  local  energy  communities.  Using 
digital-enabled  technologies,  the  project  plans 
to  create  local  grid-aware  energy  (electricity 
and  heat)  marketplaces,  interfacing  with  grid 
operators  and  energy  assets  (generation  and 
consumption) 
to  facilitate  automated  and 
decentralised peer-to-peer transactions.

Similarly, REFFECT AFRICA plans to develop an 
app-based digital marketplace to create a circular 

trade  system  that  allows  agricultural  and  food 
producers to ‘sell’ biomass in the form of waste 
or  by-products,  and  to  ‘buy’  biochar  products 
which  can  be  productively  used  in  farming  or 
food  production  processes.  Being  app-based 
will  make  the  marketplace  accessible  to  many 
people as it will be able to be downloaded freely 
and will allow dealmaking to happen without the 
need for travel or undue transport of goods. 

3.2.4 Insights and flexibility 
for increased sustainability

As  more  energy  systems  become  digitised  and 
the  use  of  data  becomes  more  standardised, 
systematic integration between various systems 
and  processes  will  become  increasingly  robust 
and streamlined. Data sharing between projects 
will  become  commonplace,  and  projects  that 
take  a  data-centric  approach  will  have  a 
competitive advantage by being able to leverage 
existing tools and services to drive their solutions. 
Data from apps that allow users to observe and 
regulate  their  energy  consumption  will  help 
inform system sizing if they ever decide to install 
solar panels or battery storage. Service providers 
will be able to easily connect these user smart 
meters to district heat and energy systems, which 
will allow them to feed excess energy back into 
a local smart grid, while automated payment will 
ensure fair and accurate tariff billing. 

Technological  tools  like  apps  and  platforms, 
through  user  interfaces  and  experiences,  also 
help to retain engagement and raise awareness. 
Improving  engagement  and  fostering  a  sense 
of  ownership  helps  to  catalyse  and  drive  not 
only acceptance of clean energy but also active 
adoption,  as  well  as  initiatives  like  energy 
communities.  Deploying  clean  energy  at  scale 
requires  projects  to  be  scalable  and  replicable, 
which  will  not  happen  without  the  digital  tools 
and infrastructure needed for upscaling.

20
22

The Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change: opporunties for the Green Deal Call projects ‒ Report Three
Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

4

Examples of Green  
Deal funded clean  
energy projects

Several  of  the  Horizon  2020  Green  Deal 
funded  projects  are  using  digital  solutions  to 
overcome  a  number  of  challenges  and  barriers 
across  the  project  lifecycle.  From  early-stage 
R&D  to  mid-stage  implementation  through  to 
commercialisation  and  replication,  the  projects’ 
creative use of digital technologies demonstrates 
the  role  these  technologies  can  play  as  key 
enablers  underpinning  technical,  economic  and 
social  project  components.  The  challenges  the 
projects  face,  which  have  prompted  them  to 

develop  different  strategies  and  formulas  to 
address them, also highlight the opportunities for 
and barriers to research and innovation identified 
by the project coordinators.

This section presents some of the Horizon 2020 
Green Deal funded projects that are leveraging 
and  deploying  digital  tools,  not  only  to  address 
many  existing  implementation  and  monitoring 
challenges but also to innovate new models for 
delivering clean energy. 

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

HYPERGRYD  is  developing,  piloting  and  building  hybrid  coupled  networks  for  thermal-electric 
integrated  smart  energy  districts.  Developing  Smart  Energy  Grid  solutions  empowered  by  new  ICT 
tools and services is the key for the evolution towards the digitalization of these networks. These 
innovative  tools  are  designed  to  improve  planning  and  optimization  of  the  districts.  One  of  the 
targets consists of creating a ‘digital twin’ of these energy districts which will enable HYPERGRYD to 
simulate the system and validate its functioning, while dynamically integrating a range of data tools 
and techniques, as described below. Also, the focus will be on creating modelling tools to enhance 
assessment, alongside creating a specialized tool to enable energy exchange and trading within LECs.

Digital innovation and enablers

Other digital innovations include the design and development of a HYPERGRYD platform that utilises 
smart systems that include:

•  •data analytics and artificial intelligence for predictive anomaly detection and suggesting 

preventive maintenance in supply and distribution. 

•  data analysis and machine learning tools  to forecast energy generation and demand.

•  an open API26 to enable market-aware demand response management with self-adapting  

trading strategies. 

•  internet of things-enabled sensing technologies that allow real-time remote access and 

monitoring for modelling, control and optimisation.

26 API stands for Application Programming Interface and refers to a set of rules and protocols that allow different 
software programs to talk to each other and share data or functionality.

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Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

Bio-FlexGen  is  an  acronym  of  the  detailed  project  description:  Highly-efficient  and  flexible 
integration of biomass and renewable hydrogen for low-cost combined heat and power generation 
to  the  energy  system.  The  project  is  developing  efficient  and  flexible  integration  of  biomass  and 
renewable hydrogen for low-cost CHP generation to the energy system. It seeks to develop a CHP 
system  with  hourly,  daily  and  seasonal  flexibility  through  producing  hydrogen  from  biomass.  This 
includes the flexibility to switch from CHP mode in winter to hydrogen production when needed.

Digital innovation

The digital infrastructure that supports Bio-FlexGen’s solution is built around a three-layer 
architecture which connects device, edge and cloud layers, as demonstrated in Figure 6 below. 

•  The device layer will collect the variables from sensors and the setpoints for the actuators and 

send them to the edge layer. 

•  The edge layer is where the plant may be controlled and can carry out some early analytics if 

required. It will also communicate with the cloud.

•  The cloud layer will incorporate additional I nputs, such as market data, which may be used  

for more advanced analytics and decision-making.

This digital architecture allows for on-demand digital optimisation, and when combined with 
appropriate hardware and biomass feedstock means that the plant can flexibly and efficiently 
generate four different products for the broader energy system or industrial applications:  
electricity, heat, hydrogen and/or CO2. 

 
 
25

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

EUROPEAN  SCALABLE  OFFSHORE  RENEWABLE  ENERGY  SOURCE  (EU-SCORES)  is 
a  demonstration  project  that  seeks  to  demonstrate  the  combination  of  offshore  wind  with  wave 
and  offshore  solar  photovoltaic  energy.  The  project  aims  to  pave  the  way  for  bankable  multi-
source  offshore  parks  across  Europe  by  2025.  These  multi-source  parks  will  use  offshore  space 
more efficiently and will balance the electricity grid to achieve a resilient and cost-effective 100% 
renewable energy system.

Digital innovation

Developing an offshore energy supply system that integrates a combination of wind, solar and 
wave energy sources require a myriad of diverse yet connected systems that all work in tandem. 
With the use of digital tools, EU-SCORES has achieved the following:

•  Undertook a levelised cost of energy (LCoE) baseline assessment for wave and solar energy to 
demonstrate the benefits of co-location of hybrid projects and support a number of business 
cases. The analysis was done using Exceedence financial analysis software (ExFin). Currently 
ExFin allows for four different types of project configurations: offshore/on-shore wind farms, tidal 
farm, wave farm, or a combination of any of the first three technologies. 

•  Conducted a wind, wave, and solar resource assessment using open-source coarse data, primarily 

using the ERA5 dataset which spans the 30 years between 1990 and 2020 over the entire 
Europe covering the region between 30° N to 69.9° N, and 19° W to 41.9° E. 

•  Performed a baseline characterisation of marine mammal communities, through visual and 

acoustic surveys. The project will also employ a high-resolution digital video monitoring system 
to monitor of animal population size, density, seasonality, etc., along with other information, such 
as bird flight heights, sex, age, and activity.

•  Demonstrated the powering of an island system with 100% renewables in the Maldives using the 
EnergyPLAN model, including manual iterative optimisation of costs. This demonstration provides 
a unique opportunity to refine and integrate lessons into the EU-SCORES project. 

 
 
26

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

SMART  ENERGY  SOLUTIONS  FOR  AFRICA  (SESA) is a collaborative project between the EU 
and nine African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and 
Tanzania) that aims to provide energy access technologies and business models that are easily replicable 
and that generate local opportunities for economic development and social cohesion in Africa.

These solutions will include decentralised renewables (solar photovoltaics), innovative energy storage 
systems, including the use of second-life electric vehicle batteries, smart micro grids, waste-to-energy 
systems (biomass to biogas), climate-proofing, resilience and adaptation, and rural internet access. 

Digital innovation

The project’s digital strategy includes the following elements:

•  Providing rural internet access coupled with e-learning opportunities, through SESA wireless 

information spots (‘InfoSpots’). 

•  The utilisation of data and data tools for internal project planning and management, including 
a data management plan, a data storage repository, and a toolbox for ensuring efficient and 
sustainable energy use, from which insights can be drawn in regard to supporting the  
replication and upscaling of initiatives. 

•  Developing as part of its capacity building plan a dedicated course titled “smart microgrid  
and system integration” to teach communities what smart energy technologies means  
and how to adopt and deploy them in their context. 

 
 
27

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

THE  SUSTAINABLE  OFF-GRID  SOLUTIONS  FOR  PHARMACIES  AND  HOSPITALS  IN 
AFRICA (SOPHIA) project provides sustainable off-grid energy supplies and clean drinking water 
for  rural  and  remote  health  facilities  in  Africa  by  deploying  containerised  solutions  using  natural 
refrigerants, solar thermal energy, and photovoltaics. 

Digital innovation

The harsh operating conditions of rural Africa and the lack of local data creates a need for creative 

digital solutions. These include the following elements: 

•  Seasonality and solar irradiance analysis of weather data to assess daily solar irradiance, hourly 
maximum temperature, daily maximum precipitation, and annual energy yield – to inform system 
design and specifications. 

•  Implementing a smart and robust control system that integrates real-time weather forecasts to 

optimise charging and storage using an energy management algorithm. 

•  Designing and demonstrating a smart yet low-cost Internet of Things-based control system for 
water treatment processes to produce safe and cool drinking water, as well as soft water and 
steam for facilities. 

 
 
28

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

Renewable  energies  for  Africa:  Effective  valorisation  of  agri-food  wastes  (REFFECT  AFRICA)  is 
developing reliable and adapted sustainable energy solutions based on the valorisation of biomass 
waste from agriculture and the food industry through biomass gasification. In doing so the project is 
developing renewable energy sources and providing solutions for on-grid and off-grid communities, 
and  their  integration  into  the  existing  energy  system.  It  also  aims  to  close  the  water-energy-food 
loop by redistributing biochar – a by-product of the gasification process – back to farmers and food 
producers to be used in their processes.

Digital innovation

•  Remote monitoring and quality management of water testing facilities that allows researchers 
access to results from tests at the demo sites in real time. This short feedback loop also allows 
for early detection, rapid response to problems, and rapid iteration of solutions. 

•  Programming and testing a marketplace app that will match the demand for feedstocks and the 

potential local suppliers, creating and organically growing market for waste products.

 
29

Clean energy and digitalisation as a key enabler for Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call Projects ‒ Report Three

5

Summary and conclusions

remote 

through 

Digitalisation  is  enabling  a  wealth  of  new 
technologies,  operating  models  and  social 
innovations  that  continue  to  drive  the  global 
transition  to  clean  energy.  Digital  tools  have 
become indispensable across the energy value 
chain, from early-stage R&D of new component 
materials to revolutionary new implementation 
methods 
system 
to 
management  and  post  hoc  environmental 
monitoring.  The  benefits  of  digitalisation 
for  increasing  efficiency,  reducing  costs,  and 
diversifying our sources and uses of energy are 
proven, as demonstrated through the Green Deal 
funded  clean  energy  projects  presented  here. 
Moreover,  these  benefits  –  and  critically  their 
impacts  –  will  continue  to  improve  and  shape 
our energy systems as the technologies and the 
solutions we build around them develop. 

Digital  transformation  is  at  the  core  of  the 
energy  transition,  yet  it  is  not  without  its 
challenges  and  risks.  Digital  technologies  are 
inherently complex, involving the computing of 
thousands  or  even  millions  of  bits  of  data  in 
nanoseconds and connecting millions of devices 
globally.  They  are  also  increasingly  employed 
in  energy  systems  and  other  spheres  of 
infrastructure, from security to communications 
and  finance.  Because  they  are  both  complex 
and  critical,  it  is  imperative  to  ensure  digital 
technologies function as intended and maintain 

the  stability  of  the  societies  that  depend 
upon  them.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  initiatives 
like  the  Green  Deal  Projects  Support  Office 
support  pioneering  energy  projects  and  help 
them develop within an ecosystem of learning, 
integration,  and  collaboration.  Documents  like 
this one that shed light on common challenges 
and proposes shared solutions do so in the spirit 
of a coordinated approach to problem-solving. 

There  is  an  ongoing  debate  about  whether 
modern  technology  can  be  considered  neutral. 
Some  claim  the  use  of  technology  requires 
human action, which itself is never neutral, while 
others  argue  that  technology  itself  is  always 
neutral and depends upon human intentionality 
for  its  ordering  and  purpose.  How  this  applies 
to  digitalisation  and  energy,  and  particularly 
clean energy, is worth reflecting upon, as these 
systems  are  so  intrinsic  to  our  daily  life.  From 
reading  the  news  to  buying  or  cooking  food, 
there are very few things we don’t use energy or 
digital tools for. What is clear, however, is that as 
much as we shape technology, technology also 
shapes us. When we design and build our energy 
systems, we are also building the world we will 
live in, and by extension defining the impact it 
will have on ourselves. When we build them it 
therefore makes sense to build our energy and 
digital systems to be as clean and sustainable 
as possible. 

 
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This report explores the critical linkages between clean energy technologies 
and the digital tools and systems that underpin so much of the innovation 
in  the  sector.  It  highlights  the  opportunities,  drivers,  and  challenges  of 
digitalisation  in  the  context  of  the  clean  energy  transition  and  discusses 
practical strategies and actions from selected Green Deal Call Clean Energy 
Projects  to  address  these.  Finally,  the  report  presents  a  set  of  principles, 
insights and lessons for cross-integration for developing and implementing 
clean energy projects across Europe and Africa.

Studies and reports