DATA CELLAR 4th General Assembly in Cyprus
From May 28 to 30 2024, the island of Cyprus became the hub for important discussions and strategic planning as the DATA CELLAR project convened its fourth General Assembly. Hosted by the University of Cyprus, this event arranged in the month 48 of the project brought together all project partners to review progress, discuss challenges, and work of the future activities for creating a federated energy dataspace aimed at supporting the development and management of local energy communities (LECs) across the EU.
The assembly kicked off on May 28 with a warm welcome by our project coordinator RINA Consulting followed by an introductory overview together with the hosts. The day was full of detailed presentations and Q&A sessions, starting with the crucial topic of interoperability and federation of EU energy data spaces led by the University of Cyprus. Following, QUE took the floor to discuss the ICT architecture reference definition and the development of the edge and cloud platform under their work package (WP4). UBITECH and the tool developers delved into WP5, focusing on data-driven energy services development, a critical component for LEC stakeholders. In the afternoon the agenda continued with a two-hour working session led by QUE, CTIC, CEA, CERTH and LINKS Foundation. This collaborative segment addressed the development of key components such as the catalog, connector, dashboard, IdM, and marketplace, wrapping up the day’s discussions with a synthesis by RINA.
The second day started with discussions on WP6 by LINKS Foundation, exploring the data marketplace, valorisation, tokenisation, and distributed ledger technologies, crucial aspects for creating a robust and secure data economy for energy datasets and AI models. This was followed by Zabala Innovation’s presentation on WP8, highlighting the dissemination, communication and standardisation activities that are carried out within the project framework to achieve its outreach and compliance. RINA then guided the participants through WP7, focusing on the future of DATA CELLAR and capitalising on next-gen data marketplaces, an exciting look into the project’s potential impacts and long-term sustainability.
After lunch, a 90-minute session about the validation cases of the project showcased their specific activities, crucial for the success of DATA CELLAR. Finally, a session on WP9, about project management and coordination by RINA concluded the day with a review of open questions and the next steps.
The final day was dedicated to a “training for trainers” workshop in which the partners gave presentations on different topics relevant to the project, fostering broader participation and knowledge sharing. It began with an introduction to DATA CELLAR by RINA, followed by a presentation on Energy Communities by the University of Cyprus and EPL. The architecture of DATA CELLAR was then explained by CTIC, CEA, and QUE, and LINKS presented the concept of the DATA CELLAR marketplace and the loyalty platform. This was complemented by sessions on AI in the energy space and scientific AI services developed for the project, also led by LINKS. The use of personal data in the project was another key topic, presented by Trilateral Research, ensuring transparency and data protection compliance. CIRCE, UBITECH and CERTH rounded off the morning sessions with a discussion on the DSS tool and digital twin, innovative tools for LEC stakeholders.
The day concluded with a very interesting visit to the PV laboratory of the university, in which the partners had the opportunity to see the different activities carried out by the institution.
This General Assembly was a big success, characterised by in-depth technical discussions, valuable strategic planning and collaborative workshops. The three days highlighted the progress of DATA CELLAR but also defined a clear roadmap for the future, ensuring the project’s objectives align with the broader goals of energy sustainability and innovation in the EU.
