BeatTheHeat II

BeatTheHeat Phase II is the strategic continuation and expansion of the BeatTheHeat data space (Project 2024/02), successfully established and funded during the 2nd DS4SSCC Call. While the initial phase established the foundational architecture and validated the first pilot across two Mediterranean cities—Cartagena (Spain), Naples (Italy), and Taranto (Italy)—this second phase focuses on three core objectives: scalability, standardising the onboarding process, and demonstrating the tangible reusability of cross-border data services across a wider European geography.

By incorporating two new municipalities Codogno (Italy), and Kalamata (Greece) BeatTheHeat Phase II will transition from an isolated pilot into a robust, multi-national (+3 cities), and fully operational data space (+demonstrations). Through this expansion, a combined urban population across Southern and Central Europe will directly benefit from climate-resilient urban services powered by shared, interoperable data.

During this phase, the pilot will achieve the following key milestones:

• Real-World Onboarding Demonstration & Blueprinting: This phase will serve as a practical, end-to-end demonstration of integrating new participants into the data space. We will comprehensively document the entire onboarding journey. Value generated: This clear, step-by-step documentation will act as a foundational application of the DS4SSCC governance blueprint, making it easier for future participants to join the ecosystem. Furthermore, it will provide highly valuable insights for other similar data space initiatives, allowing them to learn from, adapt, and validate this critical onboarding process.

• Development of Services and Use Cases: To drive innovation, we will design and deploy entirely new, tailored services and use cases specifically meant to address the unique climate and urban needs of the newly incorporated cities.

• Scalability Through Service Reuse: To prove the interoperability and scalability of our ecosystem, we will successfully demonstrate how a service that already exists within the data space can be seamlessly transferred and reused by Kalamata. Value generated: This proves the cost-effectiveness of the data space, showing that once a solution is created, it can be efficiently scaled to benefit other regions without starting from scratch.

Local challenges addressed: Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) are an increasingly critical challenge in European cities, particularly in the Mediterranean region, which warms 20% faster than the global average. Rising temperatures intensify heat stress, increase air conditioning energy demand, and pose direct risks to public health—especially for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and those with cardiovascular or respiratory conditions. City managers urgently need data-driven tools to guide investments in green infrastructure, sustainable mobility, and urban planning.

Green Deal domains: The pilot addresses two primary Green Deal domains: (1) Climate adaptation and weather/climate data services – through the expansion of UHI mapping, thermal comfort analysis, and climate risk tools to Codogno, and Kalamata; and (2) Sustainable mobility planning – through the deployment of the EcoRoutes service in Kalamata (reused from Cartagena) and a new smart bicycle routing service in Kalamata. The pilot also addresses the New European Bauhaus initiative through nature-based urban design solutions and biophilia-oriented planning tools deployed in all two cities.

Communities and sectors involved: The pilot engages six organisations across two countries: two municipalities as data providers and users, and three technology partners (Libelium, POLIMI, LocalAI) as data space operators, service developers, and data intermediaries. Cross-sectoral data sharing integrates urban mobility, meteorology, environmental monitoring, urban biodiversity, and public health domains.