The ELECTRA Integrated Research Programme on Smart Grids (ELECTRA) brings together the partners of the EERA Joint Programme on Smart Grids (JP SG) to reinforce and accelerate Europe’s medium to long term research cooperation in this area and to drive a closer integration of the research programmes of the participating organisations and of the related national programmes. ELECTRA’s joint research activity and collaborative support actions build on an established track record of collaboration and engagement.

The GARPUR project designs, develops, assesses and evaluates such new reliability criteria to be progressively implemented over the next decades at a pan-European level, while maximising social welfare

In the EVELINA project, which is managed by Hermia Oy, the research is focused on the effects of electric vehicles to the traffic management, power systems and energy production as well as for the necessary service activities.

Smart grids make current energy networks more intelligent and accessible; new ways of producing energy will soon make citizens not only energy users but also energy producers. The CIVIS project explores the potential of social networks and communities to significantly reduce energy use and carbon emissions.

EEPOS focuses on neighbourhood energy management and decision support systems that will integrate local consumers & producers (prosumers) with the main electrical and heating grids.The objectives are to develop:- Visionary scenarios and business models for neighbourhood energy services for energy trading between prosumers in neighbourhoods and the grid.- Management systems for energy positive neighbourhoods.- Information and decision support system for optimising the use of energy beyond the buildings.- Methods for end-user engagement and interfaces to support them with relevant informatio

URB-Grade is a three-year EU project that designs, develops and validates a platform for decision support (District as a Service (DaaS)). The platform helps policymakers to make better decisions in terms of cost and energy efficiency and to increase citizen awareness of how to save energy and derive a greater proportion of energy from renewable sources.The main users of the DaaS platform are local policymakers (for example city authorities and utilities).

Smart metering technology has a great potential to achieve cost-efficient energy savings, and its effective use is crucial in achieving the 2016 and 2020 energy efficiency targets in Europe. Moreover, smart meters play an important role in smart grids and reaching the EU 20% renewable energy source target by 2020.

eDIANA addresses the need of achieving energy efficiency in buildings through innovative solutions based on embedded systems.The eDIANA Platform is a reference model-based architecture, implemented through an open middleware including specifications, design methods, tools, standards, and procedures for platform validation and verification. eDIANA Platform will enable the interoperability of heterogeneous devices at the Cell and MacroCell levels, and it will provide the hook to connect the building as a node in the producer/consumer electrical grid.

The overall objective of the eBADGE project is to propose an optimal pan-European Intelligent Balancing mechanism, piloted on the borders of Austria, Italy and Slovenia, that is also able to integrate Virtual Power Plant Systems that can assist in the management of the electricity Transmission and Distribution grids in an optimized, controlled and secure manner.

Our society is facing both energy and competitiveness challenges. These challenges are tightly linked and require new dynamic interactions between energy producers and energy consumers, between machines, between systems, between people and systems, etc.