Last week, the ODEON project team gathered in Amiens, France, for two major milestones: the second Living Lab workshop and a General Assembly of the full project consortium. These on-site activities at the French pilot, coordinated by SICAE Somme et Cambraisis, offered a unique opportunity to align technical progress with the real-world needs of local communities and stakeholders. Make sure to watch the video at the end of this article.
Listening to Prosumers: 2nd Living Lab Workshop
Held on Monday, June 2, at SICAE’s offices near Amiens, the second Living Lab workshop took place in the context of the EU Sustainable Energy Week 2025. Around 15 local energy prosumers—including farmers and SICAE customers—joined the session, contributing valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of the energy transition.
The workshop focused on how ODEON’s smart energy solutions can empower local communities, with discussions revolving around energy sharing, digital platforms, and community engagement. Through interactive group sessions, participants expressed their expectations, constraints, and hopes for a more participative, efficient energy system.
The energy in the room was vibrant and forward-looking, laying a solid foundation for co-designing inclusive and practical solutions that meet both local needs and system-level goals. Many thanks to SICAE and Prospex Institute for organising this workshop, and to JOANNEUM RESEARCH and ETRA for your participation.
Deepening Engagement: A Visit to the Demonstrator
On June 3–4, the ODEON consortium held its latest General Assembly, bringing together all project partners just a few kilometers from the French demonstrator site in Hangest-en-Santerre.
SICAE, the local DSO and LEC enabler, hosted the consortium for a field visit to the pilot site, where various energy production and storage technologies are being integrated into a smart microgrid. The setup includes photovoltaic panels with solar trackers, sodium-ion and hydroelectric storage systems, a reversible hydrogen unit, V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) infrastructure, and rooftop windboxes.
A digital layer overlays the physical infrastructure, with over 400 smart meters deployed in the surrounding municipality feeding real-time data into a digital twin. This will allow the project team to simulate different scenarios for grid evolution over the next decade.
During the Assembly, partners shared updates on technical progress, including advancements in Cloud-Edge infrastructure, Federated Energy Data Spaces, and AI-based services tailored to DSOs, LECs, aggregators, and prosumers. Sessions also addressed demonstration impact assessment, exploitation strategies, and market uptake planning.
From Technology to Policy: The Living Lab Continues
The week concluded on June 5 with the second session of the Living Lab workshop, this time focusing on the policy and regulatory dimensions of ODEON’s digital tools. Stakeholders from the Amiens region and Paris—including DSOs, regulators, and policymakers—joined the session to discuss the broader value of ODEON technologies across the energy value chain.
Key topics included:
How digital tools can support business and regulatory needs
Barriers and enablers for innovation in the energy sector
Opportunities for technical and commercial breakthroughs
The regulatory shifts needed to accelerate digitalisation and decarbonisation
Perspectives from ODEON’s other European pilot sites helped enrich the debate and shape early policy recommendations.
Looking Ahead
These back-to-back events in Amiens mark a significant step forward in ODEON’s mission to co-create a smarter, fairer, and more resilient energy future. By bringing together local communities, energy professionals, and institutional stakeholders, the project continues to build the bridges needed for a truly inclusive energy transition.
Stay tuned for further updates as we implement the insights gathered and prepare for upcoming pilot actions across Europe.