Porto will establish a Living Lab to create a greener ecosystem in the city

The “Asprela + Sustentável” project will lead to the first renewable energy community in the region and the goal of zero carbon emissions.

A “living Laboratory” will be established in Porto, to test innovative services and technologies, and to help the city mitigate climate change impact and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This is the project “Asprela + Sustentável”, which has been approved with the highest rating, by the EEA Grants, a Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area for 2014-2021, under the Programme "Environment, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy", with three areas of intervention: Circular Economy, Decarbonisation of Society and Valorisation of the territory.

The living laboratory is established in the Asprela area, located in Paranhos, and it will enable to create the first energy efficient community as regards solar energy in Porto. The city is leading the way towards the promotion of sustainable electric mobility, combating energetic poverty, boosting clean energy consumption and the transition to a circular economy model.

This programme is funded in 1 million euros and it will supplement other programmes by the city of Porto to fight climate change, as well as other projects as regards food waste and IT equipment lifespan, for example.

“This is a creative, innovative and extensive project, and it is telling of Porto’s ambition to actively participate in the city and region’s energetic transition and decarbonisation, contributing to further the global objectives of sustainability, and disseminating best practices, in a time when municipalities can no longer postpone their active participation in the energetic transition”, affirmed the Vice-Mayor of Porto City Hall, Filipe Araújo.

The city already implemented several measures regarding energetic sustainability, namely the 100% renewable energy consumption goal in the city, and social housing energy performance. Also, 70% of the municipal car fleet is now electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids.

Moreover, in 2020, Porto City Hall signed a protocol with AdEPorto – Porto Energy Agency and EDP Distribuição (now E-Redes) to create an accelerator for energy efficiency challenges in the area.

It should be noted that Porto received the highest rating for its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while building resilience to the impacts of climate change. Alongside other members of the A List regarding environmental action, which features 88 cities worldwide, Porto is setting an example as a resilient, engaged city that safeguards its citizens, its economy and, ultimately, the planet. The CDP Europe Awards 2021 were held in an online format on 2nd March, under the motto #BuildForwardBetter.

The Municipality of Porto will establish the Asprela +++ virtual Hub platform to assess the three-year results of the living laboratory programme, namely the impact of the measures implemented, and the reducing of greenhouse gas emission (GEE), in the transport and building sectors and on the quality of air and water.

There will be the sharing of information with both the population and the decision-makers to ascertain the best way to develop business that work towards sustainable energy.

The “Asprela + Sustentável” Consortium is led by Coopérnico - Cooperativa de Desenvolvimento Sustentável C.R.L; AdEPorto - Agência de Energia do Porto is in charge of technical coordination, in close collaboration with the Municipality of Porto and other partners, as Porto Digital, Porto Ambiente and Águas e Energia do Porto, INEGI, EFACEC Electric Mobility, EFACEC Energia, INESC-TEC, VPS, EVIO, Federação Académica do Porto and International Development Norway.