The WeForming project recently showcased its innovative work at ENLIT Europe 2025, held from 18–20 November in Bilbao, Spain. As a core member of the EU Projects Zone, WeForming highlighted how to transform the built environment into an active part of Europe’s energy system.
A Collaboration of Innovation
WeForming was proudly featured in the F6S Energy Efficiency stand, which represented seventeen innovative EU projects working towards sustainable solutions.
The event was a huge success, gathering over 15,000 professionals from more than 140 countries. Over 150 visitors came to the stand to learn about the energy efficiency work and collaboration opportunities. WeForming, along with four other projects (DigiWind, HEDGE-IoT, CLEANHYPRO, and INFERNO), were central to the stage discussions, highlighting cutting-edge solutions in the EU Stage zone and delivering eight presentations across six different sessions.
Day 3 Focus: Flexibility, Smart Cities, and the Future
The final day of the event was crucial, with sessions focusing on energy flexibility and smart urban solutions. This is where WeForming’s experts took the stage to discuss how digital tools, data, and AI are turning buildings and cities into active grid participants.
WeForming contributed to two high-level discussions:
1. Unleashing Flexibility: Buildings and Industry as Active Grid Players
In the ETIP SNET Regional Workshop, the message was clear: Europe must change how it views building flexibility.
Nuno Souza e Silva stressed the necessity of treating flexibility as a measurable grid resource, not just a side benefit. He warned that with the rapid rise of renewables and electrification, the lack of standardisation presents a real risk to meeting EU climate goals.
Nikos Bilidis argued that buildings must take on a more powerful role in their energy ecosystem, stating that they should be actively integrated: “not supporters, not followers, but formers” of the new energy grid.
2. Smart Cities: From Buildings to Neighbourhoods and Transportation
This session provided practical insights into achieving real impact through integrated flexible buildings (iGFBs).
Nuno Souza e Silva highlighted that while the pilots are successful, scaling up requires strong business cases and a deep understanding of local environments. Using the example of the Belgian demo, which uses abandoned mines for thermal storage, he noted: “We need clear regulations, shared standards, and economies of scale to move from scattered pilots to large-scale, industrialised solutions”.
while achieving profound energy efficiency.
