Tampere developed low-emission solutions for mobility, housing and energy production
The Internet of Things (IoT) platform of the City of Tampere was successful last autumn at the Barcelona Smart City Expo. It won the first prize in the category of enabling technologies. STARDUST participated in the acquisition of the IoT platform and used the platform for data collection, monitoring and visualisation. The IoT platform is now used to control outdoor lighting, monitor pedestrian traffic volumes in the city centre and collect a wide range of data to support decision-making.
During the project, the new Ilokkaanpuisto residential area in Tampere was constructed. The apartment buildings are some of Finland's most energy-efficient, and together they own a solar power plant in Teisko. The Ilokkaanpuisto concept is unique in Finland. At the beginning of the project, the existing legislation was challenged. At the time, the legislation required on-site solar production to be located on the same plot as the buildings. However, in 2018, the legislation changed, allowing renewable energy sources to be located off-site for energy certificate calculations.
A pilot project on smart control of district heating conducted with Tampere Energy brought significant savings. On average, smart control reduced district heating energy consumption by 8.4% in properties and 18.6% in apartment buildings’ basic fees. The pilot service used Talotohtori by Enermix as its platform.
Experiments for sustainable and smart mobility
Mobility carbon footprint calculator is part of the city's free Tampere.Finland app. It allows users to track the carbon footprint of their daily mobility and its impact on health. The calculator automatically recognises the distance travelled.
Sustainable mobility was further supported by monitoring the energy consumption and performance of the first electric buses in winter conditions. In addition, operators in the autonomous mobility test area in Hervanta was offered a 3D digital twin, an exact three-dimensional replica of the area. The digital twin allows virtual testing of smart and automated mobility services, such as robotic cars, before they move to the physical test area.
– As an extensive and long-lasting project, STARDUST has significantly contributed to Tampere's goal of becoming a climate neutral city by 2030, says Laura Inha, Climate and Environment Manager of the City of Tampere. The project’s pilot sites have genuinely advanced new and challenging areas of development, which will continue to benefit the city even after the project’s completion.
In Tampere, the project was implemented between 2017 and 2024 by the City of Tampere, the Technology Research Centre VTT Oy, Tampere Energy, Skanska Oy and the SMEs Enermix Oy and Aurinkotekno Oy.
– The results would not have been possible without the numerous partners, and I would like to thank them all for their excellent cooperation, says Anna Vilhula, Project Manager of the City of Tampere.
The Tampere pilots were carried out in parallel with the cities of Pamplona in Spain and Trento in Italy. Lessons were learned from both sides, as both the issues to be addressed and the solutions are ultimately similar in northern and southern Europe. Knowledge was also shared with the project’s successor cities in Greece, Northern Ireland and Romania.
The STARDUST project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement N° 774094).
