What is Up-STAIRS?


The UP-STAIRS project accelerates the creation of energy communities. It develops flexible and iterative business model frameworks for One-Stop-Shops for local collective actions which support local stakeholders in working together. UP-STAIRS facilitates citizen participation in the energy transition and supports them in becoming prosumers. One-Stop-Shops are set-up in 5 pilot regions in Austria, Bulgaria,  Ireland and Spain.

Project duration: 1 September 2020 – 31 August 2023

Objectives of the project

  • Accelerating the creation of energy communities and collective action in 5 pilot regions
  • Supporting citizens and municipalities in becoming prosumers
  • Testing new energy service model frameworks of One-Stop-Shops which support local stakeholders in working together
  • Stimulating replication in other regions throughout the EU

Key impacts

  • Setting-up and testing 5 One-Stop-Shops for energy communities and collective local action
  • Triggering 66 million Euro in sustainable energy investments
  • Engaging 10,000 consumers in sustainable energy activities

Project team

  • University College Cork - National University of Ireland (IERC), Ireland
  • Associació Ecoserveis (ECO), Spain
  • Sofia Energy Centre (SEC), Bulgaria
  • GreenCom Networks (GCN), Germany
  • Polish National Energy Conservation Agency (KAPE), Poland
  • OÖ Energiesparverband (ESV), Austria
  • Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), Catalonia/Spain
  • Cork City Council (CCC), Ireland
  • Municipality of Asenovgrad (ASEN), Bulgaria
  • Ekubirojs (ESEB), Latvia
  • Association of Rhodope Municipalities (ARM), Bulgaria

Meet the team

Pilot regions

5 regions establish One-Stop-Shops for energy communities and collective energy action

  • Cork City, Ireland
  • Barcelona Metropolitan Area, Catalonia/Spain
  • Rhodope Region, Bulgaria
  • Region of Upper Austria, Austria
  • Municipality of Asenovgrad, Bulgaria

Overview pilot regions

More on the pilot regions

Project methodology

The UP-STAIRS project was launched on 1 September 2020 and runs for 36 months. It is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The work programme is divided into 6 work packages as follows:

WP1: Project management
WP2: Development of OSS framework and methodology
WP3: Implementation of energy service OSS in 5 pilot regions
WP4: Digital tool for facilitation
WP5: Identifying & addressing regulatory barriers
WP6: Communication, dissemination and exploitation
WP7: Ethic requirements

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