Amsterdam (the Netherlands)

The transition towards carbon neutrality leads to a rapid increase in electricity demand, placing greater pressure on electricity infrastructure – especially in densely populated urban areas. Among these, Amsterdam faces some of Europe’s most significant challenges, due to the city’s expansion and the growing adoption of electric products, vehicles, and heating. Scaling up infrastructure is expensive, time-consuming, and constrained by material shortages. So, how can we keep the city moving without overloading the grid?

In Sporenburg, a neighbourhood in Amsterdam’s Eastern Docklands, 80 out of 500 households are working together in an energy community called FlexCitizen to balance electricity use. Residents are equipped with smart meters and an app that provides real-time insights into their energy consumption. The app offers challenges and incentives to encourage flexible energy use. This innovative pilot, in which the municipality of Amsterdam is a key partner, aims to:

• Reduce local grid congestion
• Increase self-consumption of renewables
• Reduce dependence on externally produced electricity
• Prevent costly infrastructure upgrades
• Promote local peer-to-peer energy sharing

By doing so, the community is building a smarter, more sustainable energy system.