The start-up IMPACT-E wins the DataCityLab challenge
The start-up IMPACT-E has been chosen to develop this year’s DataCityLab challenge, which focuses on compliance with the 2030 Agenda goal of cutting energy poverty and generating more social energy in the urban environment. The starting premise for the project is that 10.6% per cent of Barcelona’s population suffers energy poverty and that there is a huge potential for locally produced solar energy.
The selected company will now experiment with a possible solution to reduce energy poverty. One possibility would be to obtain surplus power from the installation of solar panelling and redistribute the energy generated to the most vulnerable groups.
Energy data will be analysed for three superblocks in Barcelona, chosen for their different characteristics: Poble Nou, La Marina and Vila de Gràcia. An estimation will then be made of which superblocks would be best suited for the supply of surplus solar energy generated at facilities, in public spaces, offices and other places, to be made available to the vulnerable people who live there.
The winning company will receive an award of 10,000 euros to help conduct the trial stage, which will start now and last four months. The results will be presented in a public ceremony in 2021.
The DataCityLab programme is implemented through the Commissioner’s Office for Digital Innovation, E-Administration and Good Governance, the Municipal Data Office (OMD) and the BIT Habitat foundation. This edition also involves the participation of the Area for Social Rights and the Directorate for Energy Services and Environmental Quality.
In addition, ACCIONA is also involved as a collaborating corporation, and the Department for Analytics and Data Science at the University of Barcelona as an academic collaborator.
