The MODERATE project has officially marked the end of its four-year journey with a landmark final conference held on 21 April 2026 in Turin, bringing together leading voices from research, policy, and industry to explore how data can unlock the next phase of Europe’s energy transition.
Hosted at the historic Castello del Valentino and co-organised by REHVA, EURAC Research, and Politecnico di Torino, the event highlighted a clear shift: the conversation is no longer about whether data-driven tools are possible, but how they can be deployed at scale.
Tackling Europe’s Building Data Challenge
Buildings account for roughly 40% of Europe’s energy consumption, yet the sector has long faced persistent challenges around fragmented and inaccessible data. MODERATE set out to address these structural barriers by developing not just a repository, but a complete, open-source ecosystem for building energy data analytics.
The platform operates across three key layers:
- Operational analytics, enabling anomaly detection, forecasting, and measurement & verification
- Stock-level planning, supporting benchmarking, clustering, and renovation strategies
- Data quality and interoperability, ensuring standardisation and enabling privacy-preserving collaboration
Among the standout innovations is BrickLLM, a tool that uses Large Language Models to transform natural-language building descriptions into structured, ontology-compliant data—significantly lowering the technical barrier to entry.
A central concept underpinning the project is the balance between real and synthetic data. While real data supports internal modelling, synthetic datasets allow organisations to collaborate externally without compromising privacy—helping to build trust across institutional boundaries.
Open Collaboration in Action
The conference also showcased how MODERATE’s modular architecture enables further innovation. One example is the CACER Simulator, an open-source tool designed to evaluate Renewable Energy Communities under Italy’s regulatory framework.
Built using components developed within MODERATE—such as the pyBuildingEnergy library—the simulator demonstrates how interoperable tools can accelerate development and reduce duplication across projects. This “building blocks” approach reflects a broader ambition: creating a shared foundation for Europe’s research and innovation ecosystem.
From Data to Grid Flexibility
A high-level panel discussion closed the event, focusing on the link between building data and grid flexibility. Participants agreed on a key point: technology is no longer the main bottleneck.
Instead, the real challenges lie in data governance and incentives. Organisations are unlikely to share data without clear benefits, making regulatory frameworks and structured collaboration essential.
Other insights included:
- The need to evolve energy performance standards toward dynamic, time-sensitive metrics that reflect real grid conditions
- The importance of building trust between buildings and grid operators, particularly through aggregation and reliable measurement frameworks
- The growing role of energy communities as vehicles for flexibility, especially in emerging markets like Italy
The discussion also pointed to practical solutions, such as embedding grid-readiness requirements into building codes—an approach already being implemented in countries like Denmark.
A Platform Ready for Adoption
Although the project will officially conclude in May 2026, the MODERATE platform is now fully operational and will be maintained for at least three more years.
Stakeholders—including HVAC professionals, ESCOs, building managers, and policymakers—can now access:
- A live data marketplace and analytics platform
- Open-source tools and code repositories
- Comprehensive technical documentation
The focus moving forward is clear: adoption and real-world implementation. The tools are in place; the next step is ensuring they are used.
Looking Ahead
The final conference was followed by the 2nd Expert Meeting of IEA EBC Annex 96, reinforcing the importance of collaboration between research initiatives, industry, and policymakers.
While challenges remain—particularly around access to granular grid and consumption data—the overall message is one of optimism. The barriers ahead are no longer primarily technical, but regulatory and organisational.
That shift represents an opportunity. With the right policies, standards, and partnerships, data-driven buildings can move from concept to cornerstone in Europe’s energy transition.
As highlighted in the project’s closing remarks, MODERATE is not an endpoint—it is a starting point for a more connected, transparent, and flexible energy future.
