A RESPONSE consortium meeting gathered horizontal project partners, Lighthouse Cities and Fellow Cities in the city of Turku from 6th to 8th of June. For three days, project partners collaborated and exchanged views on project implementation, citizen engagement and replication of the project measures.
The first day of the consortium meeting was dedicated to talks on the implementation progress of the project. The meeting kicked off with a presentation on the project progress so far, after which partners discussed monitoring of implemented solutions, future project communication, and continued citizen engagement measures until the project ends in 2025. In the afternoon, a site visit to the Kakolanmäki wastewater treatment plant was organized. At the plant, partners learned more about the heat pump and the water treatment processes at Kakolanmäki.

On the second day, focus shifted to replication in Fellow and Lighthouse Cities, and to the technical energy and ICT solutions implemented in RESPONSE. Partners, such as VTT, FMI and SunAmp, presented the solutions that have been implemented in the Positive Energy District (PED) area in Turku. The presentations were then followed by a guided tour in the PED area.
During the site visit, partners learned more about the energy renovations completed in the 5th Block of the PED, the operation of the heat pump installed in Tyyssija building, and the novel LVDC microgrid, which minimizes energy loss in the local energy system. In combination with increased local renewable energy production, these smart solutions will reduce the carbon footprint of the PED and optimize energy consumption in the buildings.
Participants also took part in a guided tour to test the journey planner AirQu, developed during RESPONSE. The journey planner utilizes air quality data from the sensors in the PED and helps pedestrians and cyclists choose paths that are healthier, greener, and flatter.

Finally, during the last day of the meeting, partners discussed future collaboration and considered different climate adaptation measures that could be implemented in Turku. During the adaptation workshop, local stakeholders were invited to exchange views with partners from Fellow Cities and to learn more about different adaptation strategies and challenges posed by a changing climate.
Text by Helmi Andersson (City of Turku)