The EU-funded project SOCIAREM will foster innovative solutions for large-scale adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems and renewable energy communities across Europe. It combines research, technology, and community engagement to boost social acceptance of renewables.

The project brings together 15 partners from nine countries to drive the clean energy transition in a 42-month project co-funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe program. It was officially kicked off with a consortium meeting on 2^nd and 3^rd October 2025 in Madrid, Spain.

Co-funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe programme, SOCIAREM brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of 15 partners from 9 countries to accelerate the uptake of photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy-sharing models by addressing social, regulatory, technical, and economic barriers.

SOCIAREM aims to deliver innovative tools and services tested in real-world settings to simplify photovoltaic adoption for citizens, renewable energy communities, and grid managers. 

The project will explore gamification strategies for energy education, open-source models for energy communities, unbiased guidance tools for consumers, while engaging policymakers to streamline permitting processes and regulatory frameworks.

ABOUT SOCIAREM

Running from October 2025 to March 2029, SOCIAREM is a 42-month Horizon Europe project with a total budget of around 5,6 M€, co-funded by the European Union. SOCIAREM promises to support PV adoption with user-friendly solutions tailored to consumer needs via training workshops while addressing regulatory market challenges across borders. By bridging technology, regulation and society, the project will contribute directly to Europe's renewable energy targets by making solar adoption more inclusive and widely accepted.

THE CONSORTIUM BEHIND SOCIAREM

The consortium is coordinated by Comillas Pontifical University (Spain), leading the project's energy and social research, PV optimisation tools, and serious game development.

The partnership gathers 15 organisations with complementary expertise:

* SMEs such as AKUYARI (Spain) and 8D-Games (Netherlands) contribute innovation in user engagement and gamification;

* Research centres including R&D Nester, Watt-IS and CEVE (Cooperativa Eléctrica do Cale d'Este, Portugal) bring strong technical know-how in renewable energy and P2P exchange;

* Phoebe Research & Innovation Ltd (Cyprus) and EMPA (Switzerland) advance monitoring, optimisation, and planning tools for PV adoption.

* Academic partners such as the University of Cyprus, the University of Deusto (Spain), and the University of Aswan (Egypt) contribute leading research in smart energy systems, social sciences, and network planning.

* Civil society and community actors like FMES (Fondazione dele Comunità del Mediterraneo Sostenibili e Solidali per l'Inclusione e l'Accoglienza - Ente Filantropico) and Sinloc (Italy) ensure close collaboration with local energy communities,

* Finnova Foundation (Belgium) drives communication and dissemination, and Zabala Innovation Consulting (Spain) manages exploitation and innovation. Together, this diverse consortium combines research excellence, technological innovation, and strong outreach capacity to maximise the project's impact.

THE ROLE OF R&D NESTER

R&D Nester leads SOCIAREM WP3 "Digital energy tools for energy communities", focusing on the development, integration, and demonstration of digital energy tools to enable and optimize energy communities (ECs) and peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading. This includes coordinating the design and implementation of a set of interoperable digital tools that support local flexibility, consumer empowerment, and market participation. In the context of the Portuguese demonstrator, in Vila Nova de Famalicão (CEVE DSO concession).

R&D Nester supports the deployment of these tools in a real-world environment.

Furthermore, R&D Nester ensures that the tools align with interoperability and scalability goals across different demos, feeding into broader WP3 objectives.

For more information:

SOCIAREM Project @ R&D Nester website