ILLIANCE

Full Project Name: Mobilising Agenda for Carbon-Neutral and Smart Buildings
Acronym: ILLIANCE
Programme: Portugal Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) – Component C5 | Business Innovation and Capitalisation | RE-C05-i01.01 – Mobilising Agendas for Business Innovation
Grant Agreement: C644919832-00000035 | Project No. 46
Duration: October 2022 – June 2026
Websites:

• https://www.illiance.pt/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/agendailliance/
• https://transparencia.gov.pt/pt/fundos-europeus/prr/beneficiarios-projetos/projeto/01/C05-i09/2024.PC644919832-00000035/
• https://recuperarportugal.gov.pt/

Project Overview

ILLIANCE is a large-scale collaborative innovation agenda funded under Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), bringing together industry, research organisations and technology providers to accelerate the transition towards carbon-neutral, healthy and energy-efficient buildings.

The project focuses on the development and industrialisation of new products, technologies and digital platforms that improve energy efficiency, indoor comfort and sustainability in the built environment.

Within this framework, Work Package 3 – Energy Management IoT Platform develops advanced solutions for intelligent energy management in buildings.

One of the core initiatives within this work package is PPS5 – iNERGY, which integrates multiple technologies including:

• Smart building components (e.g., intelligent windows)
• Digital energy management platforms
• Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) bidirectional charging infrastructure integration

The objective is to enable buildings to actively manage energy consumption, interact with the electricity system and integrate distributed energy resources, including electric vehicles as flexible energy storage assets.

Cleanwatts Digital Role

Cleanwatts Digital (CWD) participates in the project as a co-promoter within PPS5 – iNERGY, contributing to the integration of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology within intelligent building energy systems.

The company is responsible for enabling the technical integration between bidirectional EV chargers and digital energy management platforms.

Key activities include:

• Acquisition and technical integration of bidirectional EV chargers with V2G capability
• Development of a proprietary OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) communication layer within the CWD Operational System (CWD OS) ecosystem
• Implementation of a gateway-to-charger interface enabling remote operation of charging sessions
• Development of a REST API interface allowing external management platforms to monitor and control the charger
• Validation of charging and discharging control mechanisms through OCPP-based smart charging commands
• Technical testing and interoperability validation between hardware (EV chargers), CWD gateways and external digital platforms

Through this work, CWD acts as the technology bridge between physical energy assets and digital control platforms within the project architecture.

Strategic Relevance for CWD

Participation in ILLIANCE allows CWD to advance the integration of electric vehicles as distributed energy assets within its CWD OS ecosystem.

The project contributes to:

• Expanding the capabilities of CWD OS to integrate EV charging infrastructure
• Developing interoperable communication layers based on OCPP
• Enabling the future use of V2G assets in flexibility markets and energy communities
• Strengthening CWD’s position in smart energy management for buildings and distributed energy resources

The project also provides an opportunity to validate emerging technologies in real demonstration environments, accelerating their transition toward commercial applications.

Key Innovations

CWD’s contribution introduces several technical innovations within the project scope:

• Integration of V2G chargers within building energy management systems: Development of a communication architecture enabling EV chargers to interact with digital energy management platforms.
• Proprietary OCPP integration layer: Implementation of an internal OCPP server and communication library enabling CWD gateways to interact with EV charging infrastructure.
• API-based control architecture: Creation of a REST API that allows third-party platforms to remotely monitor and control EV charging sessions.
• Bidirectional charging control experimentation: Validation of methods to command charging and discharging operations through OCPP-based smart charging mechanisms.
• Interoperability between hardware and digital platforms: Ensuring compatibility between V2G EV chargers, building energy management platforms and distributed energy management systems.

Expected Impact for CWD

The project supports CWD in expanding its technological capabilities in the field of V2G integration and distributed energy flexibility.

Expected outcomes include:

• Integration of EV chargers as controllable assets within CWD OS
• Validation of V2G-related control strategies within building energy systems
• Strengthening CWD’s technological portfolio in V2G charging integration and energy flexibility
• Enabling future energy market participation using V2G technology as distributed storage resources

These developments contribute to the long-term vision of energy communities and smart buildings operating as active participants in the energy system.

Funding Disclaimer

The funding of the ILLIANCE project is supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), under NextGenerationEU, co-financed by the European Union. The content presented is the sole responsibility of Cleanwatts Digital (CWD) and does not represent the official position of the European Union or the Portuguese authorities responsible for the PRR.

More information:
https://www.illiance.pt
https://recuperarportugal.gov.pt