Regions undergoing structural transition face a dual challenge: economic restructuring and technological modernisation. In Western Macedonia, Greece, the shift from a lignite-based energy model to a climate-neutral development pathway has required not only infrastructure investment but also institutional coordination and digital capacity building.
Innovation clusters can play a decisive role in this process. By connecting public authorities, research institutions, businesses, and citizens, clusters create structured environments for experimentation, pilot deployment, and replication of advanced solutions. The Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia (CluBE) exemplifies this model, acting as an intermediary that translates European research and innovation projects into locally embedded digital applications.
Through four European projects — RESONANCE, TIPS4PED, INNO-TREC and HEDGE-IoT — CluBE has demonstrated how coordinated pilot actions can accelerate digital tool adoption at regional level.
Digitalisation of Demand-Side Flexibility – RESONANCE
The RESONANCE project develops a modular and standard-compliant software framework enabling the deployment of Customer Energy Managers and Resource Managers aligned with EN 50491-12 standards. Its objective is to automate demand-side flexibility management while reducing development costs through plug-and-play architecture and advanced modelling pipelines.
In Ptolemaida, CluBE coordinated the Greek pilot involving municipal buildings and private residences. Smart meters and sensors were installed, and heat pumps were integrated with the district heating network, enabling cross-sector flexibility. A user-friendly application strengthened citizen engagement and facilitated coordinated management of flexibility services.
The cluster’s role was critical in stakeholder alignment, technical deployment, and ensuring that digital tools were adapted to the specific characteristics of the local energy ecosystem.
Data-Driven Urban Planning – TIPS4PED
TIPS4PED introduces an Integrated Assessment Platform based on Digital Twin technology to support the planning and management of Positive Energy Districts. The platform integrates energy, mobility, financial, regulatory, and administrative modules, enabling municipalities to simulate scenarios and assess techno-economic viability.
In the ZEP area of Kozani, CluBE supports the collection and structuring of local data to feed the Digital Twin model. This enables evidence-based planning decisions aligned with climate neutrality objectives.
Beyond technical implementation, the cluster facilitates dialogue between municipal authorities, researchers, and citizens, ensuring that digital tools respond to real governance needs rather than remaining purely theoretical innovations.
Empowering Renewable Energy Communities – INNO-TREC
INNO-TREC advances digital tools and methodologies tailored to Renewable Energy Communities. The project combines technological innovation with behavioural and socio-economic analysis to address adoption barriers.
In Vlasti Eordaias, a mountainous village, 34 cooperative members participate in a pilot optimising self-consumption of a 1.85 MW renewable installation. Smart sensors enable monitoring and optimisation of energy flows, supporting business models that minimise curtailment and maximise community benefit.
Through coordinated engagement and technical support, CluBE ensures that rural communities can adopt advanced digital optimisation tools, bridging the gap between high-level innovation and local applicability.
AIoT and Flexibility Markets – HEDGE-IoT
HEDGE-IoT deploys a distributed AI-IoT architecture connecting smart meters, PV systems, and V2G chargers via interoperable middleware and federated learning models. The framework enhances grid resilience, interoperability, and flexibility market participation.
CluBE is responsible for replicating the Greek demo tools and technologies in residential buildings of varying characteristics across Western Macedonia. The project integrates aggregators, DSOs, TSOs, and market actors through secure data exchange and a Local Flexibility Market environment.
This approach demonstrates how digital frameworks can be scaled from pilot environments to broader regional ecosystems when supported by coordinated cluster action.
The experience of Western Macedonia illustrates that digital transformation at regional level requires more than technological solutions. It demands structured coordination, stakeholder mobilisation, and locally embedded experimentation.
Across four European projects, CluBE has functioned as a systemic integrator: aligning municipalities, citizens, research institutions, grid operators, and market actors; adapting advanced digital tools to regional conditions; and creating replication pathways across urban and rural contexts.
Innovation clusters therefore act as multipliers of impact. They reduce fragmentation, accelerate knowledge transfer, and transform pilot projects into long-term regional capabilities. In regions undergoing economic transition, such as Western Macedonia, this coordinated model provides a practical pathway for boosting innovation and facilitating the adoption of digital tools in support of a resilient, climate-neutral energy ecosystem.
REFERENCE:
- RESONANCE Horizon Europe, topic: HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-12, type of action: IA (Innovation Actions). Grant Agreement Number: 101096200 https://www.resonance-project.eu/
- TIPS4PED (Turning cIties Planning actionS for Positive Energy Districts into success) HORIZON-MISS-2023-CIT-01-02 – Positive clean energy district (PED) digital twins – from modelling to creating climate neutral Cities. https://tips4ped.eu/
- HEDGE-IoT: Holistic Approach towards Empowerment of the DiGitalization of the Energy Ecosystem through adoption of IoT solutions. HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-01-15: Grant Agreement Number: 101136216 https://hedgeiot.eu/
AUTHORS:
- Athanasios I. Lampropoulos
- Vasileios Balachtsis