ASCEND hosts a panel at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2026 in Barcelona on Wednesday 4 November, from 10:00 to 11:00, at the European Commission’s EU for Resilient Green Cities Pavilion (Hall 2, Stand D121).
The panel starts from one question: what does it take to turn one Positive Clean Energy District (PCED) into a delivery model for a whole city? And why is it not happening yet, when the tools, the organisations and the evidence are already there?
Three ASCEND cities bring their cases: Munich (Harthof), Lyon (La Confluence) and Prague (Dolní Počernice). In each city, one district is being used to plan the next ones. The session is for cities preparing their first or next district, and for the partners and funders who work with them.
Programme
Opening (5 minutes): Why one district is a pilot and a hundred is a policy, with what ASCEND’s work on replication and business models shows (TWNTY). The audience answers a live poll: “What is the main obstacle to repeating a successful district project in your city?”
Panel discussion (40 minutes), in four blocks:
- Digital tools: AI and digital twins in practice, and what a city should buy, build or borrow before scaling up (OICT Prague, DKSR).
- The urban orchestrator: Munich’s city-led mission and Lyon’s Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Who decides, who contracts and who carries the risk (City of Munich, SPL Lyon Confluence).
- Replication: Why a proven model does not spread, and what would have to change. The panel takes up the leading obstacle from the poll (all speakers, led by BlueSight).
- Financing: Who pays for the next districts, and how cities square capped rents with the cost of deep refurbishment (BlueSight, City of Munich, Prague).
Q&A and conclusions (10 minutes): Audience questions, then one replication condition from each speaker.
Speakers
- Baptiste Mougeot, SPL Lyon Confluence
- Dr. Stefan Synek, City of Munich
- Marek Šmíd, City of Prague/OICT
- Michal Kuzmič, Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT)
- Philippe Fournand, BlueSight
- Laura Dieguez, DKSR
- Moderator: Veronika Cerna, TWNTY
After the session: the speakers will be available at the ASCEND station on the European Commission stand for one-to-one conversations. ASCEND will publish the replication conditions from the panel after the event.
