AZIENDA CASA EMILIA ROMAGNA DELLA PROVINCIA DI REGGIO EMILIA

Their core work

ACER Reggio Emilia is a public housing authority in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, responsible for managing and maintaining a large stock of social and public housing. In H2020, they serve as a real-world testing ground for building energy efficiency technologies — contributing actual residential buildings, tenant engagement, and operational data to European retrofit and near-zero energy building projects. Their value lies in providing authentic demand-side conditions: real tenants, real energy bills, real building envelopes, and the institutional mandate to implement results at scale across their housing portfolio.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ACER's H2020 engagement is concentrated in a narrow 2016-2017 window, so dramatic shifts are limited. Their earlier projects (LEMON, CoNZEBs) focused on conventional energy efficiency and cost reduction for near-zero energy buildings. The later HEART project introduced a digital layer — smart building systems, IoT, interoperability, and building automation — suggesting a move from purely physical retrofits toward digitally integrated building management.

ACER is moving from traditional energy renovation toward digitally enabled smart building management, making them a relevant pilot site partner for IoT and building automation projects.

How they like to work

ACER exclusively participates as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a public housing authority providing pilot sites rather than leading research. With 46 unique partners across 15 countries in just 4 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia typical of Innovation Actions and Coordination & Support Actions. This pattern indicates they are valued as a dependable end-user partner who brings real buildings and institutional commitment to implementation.

Despite only four projects, ACER has built a broad network of 46 partners across 15 European countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes typical of energy efficiency demonstration projects. Their connections span research institutes, technology providers, and fellow housing authorities across the EU.

What sets them apart

ACER's distinctive value is that they are not a research organization — they are a public authority that owns and operates thousands of residential units. This gives them something most consortium partners cannot offer: real building stock at scale, with institutional authority to approve renovations and manage tenant relations. For any project needing a large-scale residential pilot site in Italy with genuine social housing conditions, ACER is an ideal and experienced partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HEART
  Largest funding (EUR 277,500) and most technically ambitious — combining IoT, building automation, and integrated retrofit in a single toolkit approach.
• CoNZEBs
  Directly addresses the cost barrier to nearly zero-energy buildings, a critical policy challenge for public housing providers across Europe.
• Pro-GET-OnE
  Five-year project (2017-2022) focused on building envelope integration, representing a long-term commitment to deep renovation techniques.