On 24 and 25 November 2025, partners from across Europe gathered in Athens for the official kick-off of PVSmile. Among them was GE4A, marking our official entry into this ambitious consortium. The atmosphere was one of enthusiasm and shared purpose: together, we begin forging a path toward a future where solar photovoltaics are not only clean, but smart, community-oriented, and digitally integrated at scale.
PVSmile achieved the highest possible Horizon Europe score, an unbeatable 15 points, positioning it among the strongest and most visionary consortiums ever approved in the programme’s history. The Athens kick-off reflected this excellence clearly: the room was energised, aligned and unified by one shared truth, the energy world is changing fast, and PVSmile is leading that change. GE4A stands at the front of this wave, not following the transition, but shaping it.
What PVSmile aims to achieve
PVSmile (also known as "Digitalizing the lifecycle of community-integrated PV systems for smart-grid-ready and inclusive energy communities”) targets a transformative shift in how solar PV systems are conceived, managed, and owned. The goal is to convert traditional PV infrastructure into dynamic, community-embedded assets. Through advanced ICT solutions — including blockchain, AI/ML, secure data-spaces, and digital twins — the project plans to create a comprehensive digital ecosystem. This platform will allow diverse stakeholders (distribution system operators, aggregators, energy service companies, PV-sector actors, and communities) to coordinate, trade energy peer-to-peer, and access energy or non-energy services.
In addition, PVSmile emphasises inclusive governance models. It will enable citizen participation, with a special focus on underrepresented or marginalised groups, and introduce circular-economy–inspired business models, incentives, and energy-sharing schemes designed to foster equitable, sustainable communities.
A key technical innovation will be the development of a GENAI-powered digital twin. This digital twin will coordinate PV communities with grid operations, ensuring flexibility, resilience, and efficient lifecycle management of solar assets.
GE4A CEO Toralf addressing the PVSmile Consortium Kick-Off Meeting in Athens, Greece
Consortium & Partners: Who is in the room with GE4A
The lead coordinating institution is the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), via its Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. NTUA’s role is to steer the project scientifically and administratively from start (1 November 2025) to completion (31 October 2028).
Beyond NTUA, PVSmile brings together a diverse set of research institutes, universities, energy-sector stakeholders, and demonstration/replication partners across Europe. The project envisions demonstration and replication activities in nine countries, encompassing frontrunners in renewable adoption, early-adopter EU countries, and non-EU adopters underscoring the ambition for broad, cross-border impact.
As the project’s public webpage goes live, we expect a full partner list of research labs, private companies, community representatives, grid operators, and local authorities. Many organisations across Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany and Portugal are a part of the project and integral to its success.
GE4A’s Role: Digitisation, Community Integration, and Energy Access
For GE4A, joining PVSmile is more than a strategic alliance, it is a commitment to steer the digital transformation of solar energy at community level. Our core contributions will cover:
- Designing and deploying the digital-ecosystem architecture for PVSmile: the ICT backbone, data platforms, and digital-twin infrastructure.
- Developing governance and business models for community ownership, peer-to-peer energy trading, and inclusive energy sharing.
- Leading community engagement initiatives, particularly targeting inclusive energy communities with representation from under-represented or marginalised groups.
- Preparing scalable and replicable models for demonstration sites, ensuring the PVSmile model can be adapted and rolled out across different geographies and socio-economic contexts.
Through these roles, GE4A seeks to advance its mission of catalysing real-world climate impact by combining technological innovation with community-driven energy access.
Reflections from Athens: What the Kick-Off Brought to Light
During the kick-off meeting, the project’s manager highlighted the exceptional strength of the proposal: PVSmile earned the top evaluation score of 15/15 in the Horizon application process, a clear endorsement from evaluators regarding the project’s vision, the consortium’s capacity, and the anticipated impact. That score speaks volumes about the trust placed in the project’s potential to redefine how solar energy is deployed and managed in Europe and beyond.
Partners also engaged in intensive workshops over the two days: aligning on technical work-streams, outlining governance frameworks for energy communities, discussing pilot deployment strategies, and setting up the coordination and communication structure across countries and partners. The result: a shared roadmap for the coming months, clarity on responsibilities, and a collective commitment to deliver on PVSmile’s bold vision.
“Joining PVSmile reflects GE4A’s vision for an energy future that is clean, democratic and community-driven. We are proud to collaborate with Europe’s top institutions to make solar power accessible, inclusive and empowering, not just for some, but for all.”
With GE4A’s expertise in decentralised energy access, community engagement and digital energy systems, we believe PVSmile gives us a unique opportunity to shape a scalable, equitable model for community solar — starting now.
What’s Next: Roadmap and What to Expect
In the coming months, we will:
- Each of the consortium members will begin working on their respective work packages and regularly report with EU Project Officer on their progress.
- Begin technical work: building the digital ecosystem, designing the GENAI-powered digital twin, and preparing the data-space and ICT architecture.
- Engage with selected communities for pilot deployment, stakeholder mapping, and governance setup.
- Develop business models for energy sharing, peer-to-peer trading, and circular-economy integration.
- Ensure continuous transparency: regular updates, stakeholder outreach, and public communication of milestones and lessons learned.
For GE4A and for all PVSmile partners, this is more than a project. It is the start of a journey to transform how we produce, manage, share and think about energy. And we are honoured to lead this change together.
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