On 6 July 2018, the +CityxChange proposal was formally invited by the European Commission to become a new smart city lighthouse project, under the Smart Cities and Communities call of the EU research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. The proposal was given excellent comments and scores by the experts, and rated among the very best among the eleven competing proposals.
For the next five years, the cities of Trondheim, Limerick, Alba Iulia, Pisek, Sestao, Smolyan and Voru will experiment on how to become smart positive energy cities, that use digital services to improve quality of life for and together with all of their citizens, generate more energy than they consume, and exchange experiences with cities across Europe to learn faster, together.
Under the leadership of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), these seven cities will develop and test new solutions together with an impressive list of 11 large entreprises, 9 SMEs, 3 non-for-profit organisations and 2 universities, covering the entire value chain: IES R&D, Powel AS, University of Limerick, Energy Agency of Plovdiv, Future Analytics Consulting, Research2Market Solutions, ISOCARP, TrønderEnergi Kraft AS, ABB Norway, ATB, AVIS Budget Group, Statkraft Varme AS, ESB Innovation RoI Ltd, ESB Networks, Ove Arup & Partners SAU, FourC AS, R.Kjeldsberg, Smart MPower, Space Engagers, Colaborativa, Officinae Verdi, IOTA Foundation, NHP Eiendom, and GKinetic Energy Ltd.