Industrial-Urban symbiosis (I-US) involves municipalities and regions cooperating with industries on the management of resources, waste, energy, water, infrastructures, services, transportation and networks. This inter-disciplinary and cross-sectoral character is implemented by Hubs4Circularity (H4C) in a FOAK approach, as key instruments for delivering territorial I-US solutions in Europe by Processes4Planed partnership. Theseus will establish first-of-a-kind H4C in Greece originating from the capital region of Athens/Attica (incl. Athens metropolitan area -Greek capital, 68 municipalities, 2.928 km, 3,7 million inhabitants 35% of national- several industrial and semi-urban areas) towards the whole country, with overarching aim of closing loops through I-US to become climate neutral by 2050, in line with P4P partnership objectives. Theseus will validate new or existing technologies and develop solutions for water, energy and materials based on regional needs (Innovation Pillar (IP) 2 , 3) and digital/robotic technologies (IP4). The hub will operate under innovative governance and cooperation models of involved stakeholders, to enable pilots, upscale solutions, exploit outcomes, attract further companies and expand existing ecosystem (IP1,5). Water, energy and material flows were targeted selected, being widely spread, having high potential all over Europe and included in EU/P4P strategies. The overall systemic, based on regional science approach and IP1,IP5 activities will ensure strong insights to smoothly replicate Theseus solutions to other EU regions. Several existing innovations from H4C, I-US and Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) projects will be used, retrofitted and expanded.. The systemic solution of Theseus is expected to have significant impact on the region, while metaphorically recalling the mythical figure of Theseus, king and great reformer of Athens.

EVELIXIA brings together 36 high profile organizations from 12 EU countries envisioning to realize Buildings as Active Utility Nodes (BAUNs), rendering the EU Building stock as: a) energy efficient; b) connected, by facilitating a two-way communication between the grid and the occupants, capitalizing on flexible technologies; c) smart, by utilizing analytics supported by sensors and controls to co-optimize efficiency, flexibility, and occupant preferences; and d) flexible, reducing, shifting, or modulating energy use according to occupant needs, while considering utility signals. EVELIXIA structures the advancement of its solutions along five Innovation Pathways: IP1: Building-to-Grid (B2G) Services; IP2: Grid-to-Building (G2B) Services; IP3: Human-to-Building Interfaces & Interactivity; IP 4: Systems Interoperability; and IP5: Innovative HW as Flexibility Enablers, which will be integrated, deployed, and validated at 7 large-scale, real-life pilots (GR, RO, FR, FI, ES, AT, DK). During the EVELIXIA platform deployment and validation, different actors (i.e., DSOs, DNOs, ESCOs, aggregators) from various sectors (electricity, heating/cooling, mobility) will exchange data for providing B2G and G2B services and they will participate in the development of Business Models showcasing the economic viability of the solutions proposed. EVELIXIA puts a large focus on social engagement empowering citizens as not only adopters of solutions, but also, as their co-creators applying methodologies for citizen and consumer engagement and advanced human to building interfaces. Key expected outcomes include: 14 scalable B2G/G2B services demonstrated including DSF (implicit, explicit, shifting, etc.), P2P energy trading, portfolio management (day ahead/intra-day), TSO/DSO/DHO, and system planning services; GHG emissions reduced by 17%, increase of flexibility by up to 25%, increase of self-consumption up to 100%, reduce energy consumption by 13.5%, and increase RE generation by 11%.