- Will foster innovative solutions for large-scale adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems and renewable energy communities across Europe
- Combines research, technology, and community engagement to boost social acceptance of renewables
- Brings together 15 partners from 9 countries to drive the clean energy transition in a 42-month project co-funded by the European Union’s funding programme Horizon Europe
Madrid, 1 October 2025. The European project SOCIAREM will officially kick off with a consortium meeting on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd October 2025 in Madrid, Spain. Co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and the Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research, 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 €5,572,687.50, co-funded at 70.1% by the European Union, together withthe Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI). 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.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement for Project Nº 101235482 and the Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) under contract Nº 25.00325.
The consortium behind SOCIAREM
The consortium is coordinated byComillas 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) and8D-Games (Netherlands) contribute innovation in user engagement and gamification; research centres including R&D Nester (Centro de Investigaçao em Energia Ren), Watt-IS andCEVE (Cooperativa Eléctrica do Cale d’Este, Portugal) bring strong technical know-how in renewable energy and P2P exchange; while 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, while 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.
About Comillas Pontifical University
Comillas Pontifical University of Madrid is recognized for its academic excellence, social responsibility, and international outlook. Within its School of Engineering (ICAI), the Institute for Research in Technology (IIT) promotes research and postgraduate training through projects developed in collaboration with industry and government. As a non-profit center, IIT combines academic expertise with practical applications, delivering technological solutions, consultancy, and publications, while training young researchers through a structured program that integrates real-world challenges with academic development.
The project is coordinated by the university, where optimization models for operation and planning will be developed, as well as the participation in the creation of a video game aimed at promoting citizen engagement and education. In addition, Comillas leads the WP1 where the specification of the tools should be defined, the WP5 where the tools will be tested in the four demos and the WP4 where the exploitation and business models should be studied.
About Finnova
The Finnova Foundation is the Brussels-based European foundation dedicated to promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and European funding as essential tools to tackle major social, environmental, and economic challenges. Finnova supports public and private entities in accessing EU programmes such as Horizon Europe, LIFE, Interreg and Erasmus+, facilitating consortium building, project development, and the exchange of best practices.
Finnova leads Work Package 6 on Dissemination and Communication in SOCIAREM. As work package leader, Finnova is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the project’s visibility, build a strong identity and engage stakeholders. By coordinating press outreach, digital channels, events, and exploitation activities, Finnova works to maximise SOCIAREM’s impact and ensure that its results remain accessible and sustainable beyond the project’s lifetime.