EU Mission Labels, Positive Energy Districts and App Demos at Cities Mission Conference in Vilnius

In May 2025, the European urban climate policy reached another milestone. 39 cities from within the EU and beyond (UK, Turkey, Norway, Iceland) received the EU Mission Label for their unwavering commitment to net zero, bringing the total number of award recipients to 92.

Among the cities to receive the Label in the latest round was Aarhus. The city is piloting the Positive Energy District concept within the BIPED project, where DRI is a partner.

Commenting on the award at the ceremony in Vilnius, Rolf Johnsen of Aarhus Municipality said:

“It’s so exciting to see Aarhus getting the recognition for its work on urban climate policy. We will use the EU Mission Label as a platform to create new exciting implementation projects, alliances and friendships across Europe.”

Interest in PEDs and international cooperation was easily noticed at the conference. In the EU, the interest is evident in the growing number of cities willing to test and implement PEDs as part of the wider climate strategy.

At the event, BIPED shared a booth with ASCEND, NEUTRALPATH, TIPS4PED, and ExPEDite. While the project methods and test sites are different, the group is united by a common cause - supporting cities' clean urban energy transition through an ambitious district transformation. It's this kind of clustering and EU-led innovation that will help PEDs become mainstream.

PED Cluster at the Cities Mission Conference in Vilnius

Perhaps less expected was the discovery that PEDs are popular outside the EU, too. At the Cities Mission Conference in Vilnius, the DRI team had the chance to talk to a delegate from Izmir. The city is also a recipient of the EU Mission Label, and is unofficially regarded as the 'renewable capital of Turkey.' The potential for PEDs in Izmir is strong, as the city can capitalise on the strong renewable production (wind, solar, geothermal) to achieve the net-positive annual energy balance.

Izmir is quite receptive to the piecemeal approach to PED design: start small (by connecting a cluster of buildings) and then scale by adding more land uses into the PED framework to account for built environment, mobility, and urban agriculture, among others.

DRI team member talking about positive energy districts with a delegate from Izmir

Another point of agreement is the need to involve citizens in energy transition. We think mixing grassroot initiatives (energy community) with technical approaches (digital twin simulations) provides a good starting point. 

For instance, with BIPED's solar profitability calculator, residents can decide if installing rooftop PVs is worth the shot. Residents can find their building on a map and see how much solar energy their rooftop could produce over time.

BIPED solar energy planner

The tool calculates the total potential financial savings from installing solar panels, and potential environmental savings in terms of CO2 reduction that could be achieved by using your own electricity instead of electricity supplied by the grid. The tool will be integrated into the 3D model of Aarhus and, once fully operational, will be openly available to expert planers and the general public alike.

If you would like to replicate Aarhus' experience or test digital tools built for the city by BIPED, register your interest at https://www.bi-ped.eu/.