This January 2026 paper ("Advancing data management in local energy trading: European policy, state-of-the-art, and real-world practice in FEDECOM and STUNNED") reflects on best practices for data management in European energy exchange and trading are explored, drawing on policy developments and insights from two Horizon Europe projects. The document addresses challenges and solutions related to interoperability, data governance, security, and scalability. It offers a practice-oriented view, connecting policy objectives with real-world implementation. 

This October 2025 paper ("Blockchain-enabled business model innovation in sector-coupled energy communities") analyses business model innovation and digital platform alignment in the FEDECOM project—including blockchain-enabled remuneration and automated settlement—in sector-coupled energy communities. It draws on six pilot deployments to explore how digital platforms and blockchain support peer-to-peer trading and integration across sectors. 

This May 2025 paper ("Integrating ethical and legal frameworks in multi-hazard disaster risk management") presents how the MEDiate project developed an integrated decision support system (DSS) to address the increasing frequency and severity of natural hazards, climate change, and complex societal interactions. The DSS uses real-time data and socio-economic indicators to provide actionable insights for risk mitigation and adaptive response, and has been validated through participatory action research.

This December 2024 peer-reviewed research paper ("FEDECOM: Enabling cross-border energy exchange by federating energy communities") discusses FEDECOM’s approach to energy management at multiple pilot sites, seeking to optimize resource use, enhance grid stability, and promote sustainable energy practices. It presents an overview of the FEDECOM project's goals, structure, pilot sites, and technical innovations, including peer-to-peer trading, semantic data modeling, and a novel platform architecture.

This August 2022 white paper ("BIM and Renovation: Innovation for a better future") showcases final results from the BIM4Ren project, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program me, proposes a working methodology to improve the overall efficiency of building energy renovation. It involves all stakeholders in an information-centered process, through the elaboration of a modular collaborative workflow supported by digital tools, all accessible from a single platform dedicated to building energy renovation.

This 2021 peer-reviewed research paper (“TABEDE: a new solution for demand response, clean energy & cost savings”) was published as part of the 26th CIRED International Conference and Exhibition on Electricity Distribution. It shares preliminary results from TABEDE (Towards Buildings Ready for Demand Response), an innovative, 3-year Horizon 2020 project demonstrating energy cost savings of between 6% and 8% at three pilot sites (two residential buildings and one tertiary building) and one simulated district environment. 

In Zia Lennard's current role as the lead organiser and delegate manager for the annual Sustainable Places conference, he sometimes gets the opportunity to publish results from the research projects that he participates in. During 2017 and 2018, Zia published nine papers in the MDPI AG Proceedings Journal.

This 2016 peer-reviewed paper ("Use Cases and Business Models of Multi-Agent System ICT Solutions for LV Flexibility Management") describes the use cases and multi-sided business model opportunities of a Multi-Agent System information and communication technological solution for low-voltage flexibility management that enables new collaboration opportunities. The approach described herein is detailed and 17 resultant business model opportunities are identified. These business models are then mapped to the use cases for future analysis.

This 2015 peer-reviewed research paper ("Smart Grid Futures: Perspectives on the Integration of Energy and ICT Services") identifies the challenges of integration and four key areas of future research and development at the intersection of energy and ICT: standards-based interoperability, reliability and security, decentralized and self-organizing grid architecture; and innovative business models to unlock the potential of the energy value chain. The ideas postulated here are envisaged to be a starting point for future R&D direction.