Research project
PROSEU - Prosumers for the Energy Union
- Start date: 1 March 2018
- End date: 28 February 2021
- Co-investigators: Professor Mark Davis
PROSEU is an EU-funded research project, bringing together eleven project partners from seven European countries (Universities, research institutes and consultancies, non-governmental and non-profit organisations). It aims to enable the mainstreaming of the Renewable Energy (RE) Prosumer phenomenon into the European Energy Union. Prosumers are active energy users who both produce and consume energy from renewable sources.
The growth of RE Prosumerism all over Europe challenges current energy market structures and institutions. PROSEU’s research focuses on collectives of RE Prosumers and will investigate new business models, market regulations, infrastructural integration, technology scenarios and energy policies across Europe. The team will work together with RE Prosumer Initiatives (15 Living Labs), policymakers and other stakeholders from eight countries, following a quasi-experimental approach to learn how RE Prosumer communities, start-ups and businesses are dealing with their own challenges. It will also determine what incentive structures will enable the mainstreaming of RE Prosumerism, while safeguarding citizen participation, inclusiveness and transparency.
Moving beyond a case by case and fragmented body of research on RE Prosumers, PROSEU will build an integrated knowledge framework for a cross-sectoral understanding of RE Prosumerism, through a comprehensive identification and assessment of incentive structures to enable mainstreaming RE Prosumers in the context of the energy transition.
Partners and collaborators
FC.ID; University of Porto; ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability; ClientEarth; DRIFT; University of Zagreb; Leuphana University; Eco-union; IÖW (Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung); CE Delft