Representatives of all consortium partners gathered for the event, including a special guest, Mr. Ivan Goychev, Deputy Mayor for Digitalization at Sofia Municipality, one of the key project partners. Mr. Goychev opened the meeting with an official greeting and expressed the municipality’s strong commitment to the goals of the project.

Prof. Sylvia Ilieva, Director of GATE Institute, also welcomed the participants and highlighted the ambitious scope and tight timeline of the DS4PED pilot. She expressed confidence that with the expertise and collaborative spirit of the consortium, the project would achieve meaningful and lasting impact for the cities involved.

The DS4PED pilot, launched on March 1st, 2025, will run for 18 months and is implemented within the larger European Data Space for Smart Communities initiative (DS4SSCC-DEP). The project brings together eight partners: GATE Institute, Sofia Municipality, Rubí Municipality, Zertifier, Factual Consulting, i2CAT, The Mobility Factory, and AELEC (Asociación de Empresas de Energía Eléctrica). The pilot aligns with the EU’s Digital Decade objectives, aiming to create federated, place-based data spaces that support the digital transformation of smart communities.

The kick-off meeting of the Data Space for Positive Energy Districts Project pilot (DS4PED)  took place today at GATE Institute in Sofia, marking the official start of an ambitious project aimed at accelerating the transformation of urban environments into more sustainable, data-driven communities. includes two distinct urban pilots: one in Rubí, Spain, and one in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Rubí pilot focuses on the creation of a certified sustainable energy ecosystem using tokenised surplus solar energy to ensure electric vehicles are charged with 100% renewable power—even during periods of low solar production. The approach introduces ZEAC tokens as a novel, cost-effective alternative to large-scale battery storage, demonstrating a new method for balancing renewable energy supply and demand.

The Sofia pilot centers on supporting the city’s transition toward sustainability by enabling better data sharing across energy, mobility, and environmental domains. Through the use of geospatial and energy consumption data, the project will assess the solar potential of buildings and facilitate wider adoption of renewable energy solutions. Air quality, urban heat islands, traffic patterns, and energy usage will be examined through predictive models and data-driven analytics. By working with public authorities, private sector stakeholders, and citizen groups, the Sofia pilot aims to build a resilient urban planning framework that integrates climate projections and responds proactively to extreme weather events and long-term environmental challenges.

The DS4PED project represents a significant opportunity to redefine how cities use data to drive energy efficiency and sustainability. With GATE Institute coordinating the Sofia pilot and contributing technological and research expertise, the project stands to create tangible models for positive energy districts that can be replicated across Europe.