Empa participates in EU project SOCIAREM

(CONNECT) As an associated partner, Empa is part of the EU project SOCIAREM, which aims to drive forward the energy transition throughout Europe with a project duration of 42 months. According to a press release, the project brings together 15 partners from nine countries and thus combines research, technology and social commitment. The aim is the large-scale introduction of photovoltaics (PV) and renewable energy communities across Europe. The project is co-financed by the European Union and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation(SERI) with a total budget of around 5.6 million euros.

SOCIAREM was officially launched with a consortium meeting on 2. and October 3, 2025 in Madrid. As part of the project, innovative tools and services are to be developed and tested in practice to simplify the introduction of PV systems for citizens, renewable energy communities and grid operators. According to the press release, the project will examine gamification strategies, open source models and unbiased consulting tools, among other things, while also involving political decision-makers. In future, the project will support the introduction of photovoltaics with user-friendly training workshops tailored to consumers.  

While the Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid will coordinate the consortium of 15 organizations, Empa will provide the monitoring, optimization and planning tools together with Phoebe Research & Innovation Ltd from Cyprus. Empa's main tasks will include the conception and demonstration of the Swiss Community PV Demo at NEST in Dübendorf. The focus will be on real-time operation, sector coupling, PV optimization and business model and regulatory analyses. ce/nta