Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery
Polish Academy of Sciences

Press Release

The SERENE project, financed by Horizon 2020 and coordinated by the University of Aalborg (Denmark), ended after four and a half years of cooperation between partners from the Netherlands, Poland and Denmark. Thirteen organisations worked together to accelerate the energy transition through real demonstrations of innovative energy solutions.

Key results in three countries

With demonstration areas in three countries, the SERENE project has explored various technological and social approaches to community-level energy management, showing unique opportunities and challenges:

• Denmark: The efficiency of heat storage at community level, low temperature heating networks and energy management systems (EMS) have been demonstrated, which provide energy efficiency, cost optimization and support for the energy network.
• Netherlands: In the energy community, Aardehuzen used an energy warehouse shared by members of the community, EMS and a mobile application that improved the local voltage profile and enabled residents to manage energy together, stressing the importance of active community involvement in the development of energy solutions.
• Poland: Energy storage and EMS increased self-consumering and flexibility in electricity consumption, enabled efficient management of the complex energy system in a cultural and sporting facility and demonstrated the potential of local energy communities, despite existing regulatory and legal constraints.

Conclusions and experiences (Project Lessons)

Based on four-and-a-half years of experience in implementing solutions in real demonstration areas, the SERENE project identified five key 'trains'. They shall indicate the practical lines of action and the necessary regulatory changes necessary to effectively support the energy transition in the European Union:

1. The aim is to share energy: Current regulations do not keep pace with technology development, which makes it difficult for households to share energy, although this is technically feasible.
2. Data interoperability is a prerequisite for the integration of systems: The diversity of standards and closed (private) producer systems hinder the smooth integration of energy equipment within a single ecosystem.
3. Current market and regulatory structures premium the status quo: The existing legal and economic framework often discourages the implementation of innovative solutions, favouring conventional technologies.
4. Need for control devices: In order for households to be actively involved in energy management, intelligent, controllable devices are needed — which are still not widely available.
5. Lack of confidence in unverified technologies: The involvement of local communities and the presence of trusted local leaders ("ambassadors") are crucial to breaking social resistance and building acceptance for new solutions.

Policy briefing

In cooperation with projects SUSTENANCE and LocalRESProject SERENE developed eight political recommendations to overcome regulatory, technological and social barriers that hinder the development of civil energy solutions. Recommendations include the development of local competences through training and workshops, harmonisation of regulation between different levels of administration, promotion of standardisation and "plug-and-play" technology, simplification of administrative procedures, and the creation of a flexible legal framework for energy sharing. In total, they represent a coherent path to scale up solutions developed under the SERENE project at European level.

Impact and prospects for the future

The conclusions of the SERENE project already influence national discussions on civic energy. In September 2025, the Dutch Minister for Climate Affairs pointed out the demonstrators Aardehuizen as a model example of the energy community in a letter addressed to the Parliament of the Netherlands. The energy storage and energy management system (EMS) used in the SERENE project have been of particular interest.

Although the project formally ends at the end of October 2025, its achievements — knowledge, tools and political recommendations — will continue to support the energy transformation of Europe in the coming years. The legacy of the SERENE project will inspire and set development directions for further social energy initiatives across Europe.

Project partners: