This was the guiding question of the 7th Fellow Cities Event, which brought together cities, researchers, and innovators to explore Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) and scalable solutions for urban sustainability. Held in Amsterdam from March 25 to 27, 2025, the event welcomed local stakeholders, ATELIER project partners, and representatives from 10 European cities.
Across Europe, cities are facing shared challenges in integrating clean energy production, aligning local energy demand and supply, and shifting away from fossil fuels, all within the constraints of existing urban infrastructure. Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) offer a holistic approach to these challenges, where energy is assessed and managed integrally.
The three-day event provided a valuable platform for peer-to-peer exchange, where participants shared best practices and lessons learned, while also experiencing firsthand how theory is being put into practice. The site visit offered an inspiring look at how urban districts can evolve into energy-positive districts. The ATELIER pilot in Amsterdam’s Buiksloterham stands out for its innovative technology, regulatory flexibility, and integrated design of heating, cooling, and electricity systems across diverse buildings and stakeholders. Similarly, the lighthouse in Bilbao demonstrates how integrated energy planning reveals both the challenges and the potential through new governance models, spatial planning benefits, and evolving business cases.
Day 1: PED, Replication and Energy Communities
Hosted at AMS Institute, Day 1 set the stage for discussions about the results of ATELIER’s internal evaluation, the replication of Positive Energy Districts (PED), a replication & impact workshop that bridged ATELIER’s work with broader research from Scalable Cities and a session to present and discuss the energy community final report that will soon be published by the Scalable Cities energy communities task force.
The day wrapped up in true Amsterdam style with a boat tour and a visit to KetelhuisWG, a pioneering energy cooperative in Oud-West. This bottom-up initiative, one of the few advanced examples in Amsterdam, is led by local residents who are developing a sustainable heating network as part of their effort to phase out natural gas in an existing urban neighborhood. It offered a reminder that, while ATELIER PEDs implementations often emerge from new urban (re)development, transitioning the existing built environment is equally vital and community-driven. Models like KetelhuisWG play a key role in making that shift possible.
Day 2: Heat Strategy in ATELIER’s Cities (Bilbao-Amsterdam)
Telur presented the ATELIER implementation of their fifth-generation low-temperature heating and cooling network on Zorrotzaurre Island in Bilbao, detailing both the technical aspects and the supporting business case. Telur outlined an explicit comparison between individual heat pumps and a neighborhood-level collective heating and cooling system, convincingly quantifying a collective approach's spatial and economic benefits. They also briefly shared the city’s plans for scaling up the system in the future.
Amsterdam shared its long-term vision for the heat transition, highlighting key challenges such as limited space for new infrastructure and their strategies for fostering meaningful citizen participation.
The session concluded with a panel discussion where Amsterdam and Bilbao exchanged best practices and lessons learned on heat network implementation, technologies, business models, and approaches to citizen engagement.
Visit to the Amsterdam Pilot Sites in Buiksloterham: Republica and Poppies
The sustainable energy transition in Amsterdam’s Buiksloterham district and Marc Koehler’s PED architecture provided excellent sources of inspiration. Developers of the Poppies and Republica projects led the group through the two sites, where participants learned about the practicalities of implementing PED districts and enjoyed virtual glimpses of an artistic tour that highlights the hidden energy transition for the community. While Poppies is in its final circular construction phase, Republica is currently operational, inhabited, and equipped with smart energy solutions.
Day 3: Learnings and Future Developing Plans
During the last day, AMS Institute, together with TNO, hosted a session with all eight ATELIER cities to present and reflect on the impact and future of their Innovation Ateliers (governance structures) and to explore how they envision continuing their collaboration beyond the project’s duration. Cities shared how Ateliers have supported local innovation efforts and expressed interest in maintaining a cross-city learning network or platform to foster peer-to-peer learning and ongoing knowledge exchange. The discussion also touched on how such a network could be sustained after the formal end of ATELIER. During the session, Amsterdam InChange also presented their organization and how they will contribute to the long-term continuation of the Amsterdam Innovation Atelier.
The day concluded with a tour of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) engineering faculty, a building known for its innovative, flexible, and open design. Interestingly, it was designed by the same architect behind the ATELIER Amsterdam pilot sites.