Making Smart Energy Tools More Accessible: The EXPEDite Approach
May 6, 2026
On 11 June 2026, ExPEDite joined forces with fellow Positive Clean Energy District (PCED) projects for a joint webinar during European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2026. Titled “Why Positive Clean Energy Districts Matter: Building Europe’s Clean Energy Future,” the session brought together leading experts, city representatives, and project partners to explore how digitally enabled PCEDs can move from demonstration projects to large-scale implementation across Europe.
Scaling Clean Energy Solutions in European Cities
Cities account for approximately 70–80% of the European Union’s energy consumption, making urban areas central to achieving Europe’s energy transition and climate objectives. As cities work to strengthen energy resilience, reduce emissions, and improve quality of life, Positive Clean Energy Districts are increasingly emerging as a practical and effective tool for implementing EU energy and climate policy at the local level.
By combining renewable energy systems, energy efficiency measures, sustainable mobility solutions, digital technologies, and citizen engagement, PCEDs provide a holistic approach to creating climate-neutral urban districts. Yet despite their potential, many PCED initiatives remain at pilot stage, facing challenges related to scalability, investment readiness, governance structures, and business models.
The webinar addressed these challenges by examining how digitalisation can help transform PCEDs from isolated demonstrations into replicable, investable, and scalable solutions.
The Role of Digitalisation in Accelerating PCEDs
A key focus of the discussion was the role of digital tools—particularly digital twins and integrated decision-support systems—in supporting cities throughout the planning and implementation process.
Digital technologies enable municipalities to:
- Design, simulate, and optimise Positive Clean Energy Districts before implementation;
- Assess impacts on energy security, affordability, and emissions reduction;
- Align local strategies with European climate and energy targets;
- Reduce uncertainty in planning and investment decisions;
- Strengthen governance and support evidence-based policymaking.
By improving comparability and enabling more informed decision-making, digital tools help cities accelerate deployment while reducing risks associated with complex urban energy projects.
From Pilots to Replicable Portfolios
The webinar highlighted how digitally enabled PCEDs can evolve beyond individual demonstration projects into transferable and scalable models that can be replicated across European cities and city alliance networks.
Participating projects showcased complementary approaches to this challenge:
- NEUTRALPATH supports cities and networks in defining climate-neutral pathways through data-driven planning and participatory processes.
- ASCEND focuses on creating Positive Clean Energy Districts that are scalable, investable, and transferable across diverse urban environments.
- ExPEDite demonstrates how digitally designed and policy-aligned PEDs can be delivered more rapidly by addressing regulatory, organisational, and financial barriers at city level.
- BIPED and TIPS4PED contributed additional perspectives on digital resilience, governance, and practical implementation strategies.
Together, the projects demonstrated that scaling clean energy solutions requires both robust digital decision-support systems and targeted acceleration mechanisms that enable cities to attract investment, reduce risk, and deliver measurable impacts.
Key Takeaways
The discussion reinforced several important messages:
- Positive Clean Energy Districts are becoming a key delivery mechanism for achieving Europe’s energy and climate ambitions.
- Digitalisation plays a critical role in improving planning, governance, and investment readiness.
- Scaling PCEDs requires stronger collaboration between cities, investors, policymakers, and citizens.
- Replication and transferability must be embedded into project design from the outset.
- Accelerating implementation will help cities contribute to a cleaner, more secure, resilient, and competitive European Energy Union.
As Europe moves towards climate neutrality, Positive Clean Energy Districts offer a practical pathway for translating ambitious policy goals into tangible local action. Through collaboration, innovation, and digital transformation, projects such as ExPEDite are helping cities deliver the clean energy districts of the future.
Watch the Webinar Recording
Missed the session? You can preview the webinar recording here:
