ATELIER: cities shape their own positive energy future

Imagine a neighbourhood that produces more energy than it needs. A place where smart urban solutions and engaged citizens work together to create a healthier, greener urban environment. This is the vision driving ATELIER, a smart city project funded by Horizon 2020. 

Bringing together 30 partners from 11 countries, the project aims to demonstrate how cities can transform entire districts into Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) that reduce emissions, improve liveability and empower communities to participate in the transition to climate neutrality.

Creating neighbourhoods that give back more than they take

At the centre of ATELIER are the two Lighthouse Cities - Amsterdam and Bilbao - where ambitious real-world demonstrations are under way. These are large urban districts that will generate a surplus of clean energy and serve as inspiration for cities across Europe.

Amsterdam’s demonstrator is located in a former industrial area that is transformed into a mixed-use, low-carbon neighbourhood equipped with high-performance buildings, a high share of renewable energy and advanced digital tools to balance supply and demand locally. The district benefits from a special national derogation that allows experimentation with new energy governance models, including a Local Energy Market Platform where residents and energy communities can trade electricity and support the district’s energy balance.

Bilbao’s demonstration takes place on the river island of Zorrotzaurre, the city’s former industrial heart. Designed as a largely zero-emission area with electric mobility, interactive public spaces and a pioneering geo-exchange district heating and cooling system that connects three PED zones. This system uses geothermal and hydrothermal resources to provide sustainable heating and cooling across the neighbourhood.

Together, the two Lighthouse Cities are projected to generate a surplus of primary energy in the selected districts while avoiding significant carbon emissions and reducing levels of air pollutants.

Six fellow cities to follow the path

Beyond the Lighthouse demonstrators, ATELIER works with six fellow cities – Bratislava, Budapest, Copenhagen, Kraków, Matosinhos and Riga – to adapt and replicate the project’s solutions. Each city contributes its own perspective and challenges, helping to ensure the project’s results are relevant across different climates, regulatory systems and urban identities.

While some cities focus on district heating, photovoltaic deployment or energy-system planning, others integrate PED concepts into broader strategies for climate-neutrality, compact urban development or heritage-sensitive regeneration. This diversity is crucial to show that Positive Energy Districts are feasible in many different European contexts.

This dedication has also been recognised through recent achievements: in 2025, six of the eight ATELIER cities received the Mission Label within the EU’s Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, bringing the total of labelled ATELIER cities to seven.

The PED Innovation Ateliers: local engines of change

A hallmark of the project is the creation of so called ‘PED Innovation Ateliers’ in all eight cities. These are dynamic governance and collaboration structures bringing together local authorities, industry partners, researchers, energy communities and residents to closely work on designing and implementing energy solutions.

The Ateliers also address non-technical hurdles, from legal and financial obstacles to social acceptance, that often slow down urban innovation. By helping cities navigate these issues and co-create workable solutions, the Ateliers aim to become long-lasting structures that continue supporting local transformation well beyond the project’s lifetime.

Putting citizens at the heart of the transition

Citizen involvement is at the core of ATELIER’s philosophy. Residents and stakeholders are expected to take part in co-creation activities, ranging from planning shared mobility services to testing energy-management tools.

This approach ensures that innovations reflect real community needs and everyday behaviour. By giving people meaningful roles in shaping their neighbourhoods, ATELIER strengthens public support, encourages behavioural change and helps distribute the benefits of clean energy more fairly.

Smart solutions for cleaner, fairer cities 

Across the participating cities, ATELIER deploys a wide range of smart technologies and solutions designed to reduce emissions and improve urban wellbeing. These include high-efficiency buildings, district-level renewable energy systems, digital platforms for facility management, electric mobility infrastructure and district heating and cooling networks.

Bilbao’s Zorrotzaurre district will combine new homes with offices, cultural spaces and leisure areas within a zero-emission mobility framework. Amsterdam’s demonstrator will integrate commercial and residential buildings into a smart digital energy environment powered by renewable sources.

Meanwhile, each fellow city tailors the approach to local needs, whether focusing on photovoltaic development, climate mitigation strategies, efficient municipal services or the redesign of compact urban districts.

Learning together, scaling together 

To guide their long-term transition, each city will develop a City Vision 2050, a strategic roadmap for embedding the PED concept into future planning. These visions help turn short-term demonstrations into lasting urban strategies.

Knowledge sharing and collaboration are equally important. ATELIER actively cooperated with other Smarty City and Community (SCC) projects funded by Horizon 2020 as well as the Smart Cities Marketplace to share both successes and challenges, and to provide practical guidance for other cities looking to move toward climate neutrality.

Beyond technology: tackling legal, social and financial barriers

One of ATELIER’s key insights is that achieving Positive Energy Districts requires more than advanced technology. Legal flexibility, financial and governance innovation and strong community engagement are just as important.

The Amsterdam demonstrator’s national derogation shows how regulatory adaptation can unlock new forms of local energy management governance. The project also highlights the value of energy communities and participatory governance in building trust and ensuring that the transition benefits everyone.

The project’s Innovation Ateliers will help identify obstacles and develop strategies to overcome them, serving as engines for the upscaling and replication of solutions within the ATELIER cities and beyond.

A blueprint for climate-neutral urban living

ATELIER offers a powerful and optimistic message: when cities collaborate, innovate and put people first, Positive Energy Districts are not only realistic but within reach. By demonstrating how entire neighbourhoods can produce surplus clean energy while improving quality of life, the project provides a compelling blueprint for Europe’s path to climate-neutral urban living.

ATELIER shows that the future of sustainable urban development is already taking shape: co-created by citizens, enabled by innovation and driven by cities determined to lead the way.