MATRYCS · Project

Big Data Toolbox That Cuts Building Energy Costs With Smart Analytics

energyPilotedTRL 8

Imagine you manage a big office building and have no idea where all the energy is going — sensors, meters, and thermostats all speak different languages. MATRYCS built a single analytics platform that pulls all that building data together, makes sense of it using AI, and tells you exactly where you're wasting money. Think of it like a fitness tracker for your building's energy use, tested across 11 real pilot sites in Europe. The toolbox even lets energy companies and municipalities plug in their own data without giving up control of it.

By the numbers

large-scale pilot sites validated with real end users

TRL 8

readiness level of the delivered analytics toolbox

TRL 5-6 → 7-8

technology enablers upscaled during the project

consortium partners across Europe

countries represented in the consortium

project deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

Building owners and managers waste significant energy because their sensor data, BMS systems, and IoT devices all use different formats and standards — making it nearly impossible to get a unified picture of energy performance. Without integrated analytics, energy efficiency investments remain risky guesswork, and companies cannot prove ROI on retrofits or comply efficiently with tightening EU energy regulations.

The solution

What was built

MATRYCS delivered a TRL 8 open modular big data cloud analytics toolbox for smart buildings, along with an open reference architecture that connects major building data standards (SAREF, HAYSTACK, BRICK, FIWARE). It also produced sovereignty-preserving data exchange mechanisms, IoT/edge AI with federated learning, digital building twin services, and a continuing BDA Alliance ecosystem — all validated across 11 large-scale pilots.

Audience

Who needs this

Commercial facility management companies with large building portfoliosEnergy service companies (ESCOs) offering performance-based contractsConstruction firms designing energy-efficient buildings to EU standardsMunicipalities managing public building energy performanceFinancial institutions assessing energy efficiency investment risk

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Facility Management

enterprise

Target: Commercial facility management firms operating large building portfolios

If you are a facility management company struggling to consolidate energy data from dozens of sensors, BMS systems, and IoT devices across your buildings — this project developed a TRL 8 cloud analytics toolbox that unifies all those data streams into one dashboard. It was validated across 11 large-scale pilot sites with real building operators. The platform identifies energy waste patterns and recommends operational improvements without requiring you to replace existing equipment.

Energy Services (ESCO)

mid-size

Target: Energy service companies offering performance contracts

If you are an ESCO that needs to prove energy savings to justify your contracts — MATRYCS built analytics services including digital building twins that model building performance before and after retrofits. The platform was tested at TRL 7-8 with real energy data from 11 pilot deployments. It helps de-risk energy efficiency investments by giving you data-backed projections instead of guesswork.

Construction & Real Estate

any

Target: Construction firms and property developers designing energy-efficient buildings

If you are a construction company that needs to design buildings meeting tighter EU energy standards — this project delivered an open reference architecture that connects BIM data with real-time IoT building data. Validated with 11 pilots involving construction companies and municipalities, it lets you create digital twins of buildings during design to predict actual energy performance. The toolbox integrates with existing standards like SAREF and BRICK schema.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt this analytics platform?

The MATRYCS toolbox was developed as an open modular platform, which suggests components may be available as open-source or through commercial licensing from consortium partners. Specific pricing is not published in the project data. Contact the coordinator Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA for commercial terms.

Can this handle a portfolio of hundreds of buildings at industrial scale?

The platform was validated across 11 large-scale pilot sites involving facility managers, grid operators, and municipalities — indicating it was designed for portfolio-scale deployment. The big data architecture with cloud analytics and edge AI was built specifically to handle large volumes of building sensor data across multiple sites.

Who owns the intellectual property and how is it licensed?

The project involved 18 partners across 10 countries, with 7 industrial partners including the coordinator Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA. IP is likely shared among consortium members. The toolbox is described as 'open modular,' suggesting at least some components may be available under open licenses. Specific IP terms should be clarified with the consortium.

Does this comply with EU data protection and energy regulations?

MATRYCS explicitly addressed privacy and cyber-security constraints in its architecture. It includes sovereignty-preserving data exchange using distributed ledger technology, meaning building owners keep control of their data. The platform was designed to align with EU energy efficiency policy assessment requirements.

How long would it take to integrate with our existing building systems?

The reference architecture was designed for interoperability with major smart building standards including SAREF, HAYSTACK, and BRICK schema vocabularies, as well as FIWARE architecture. This standards-based approach should reduce integration time with existing BMS and IoT systems, though deployment timelines depend on your specific infrastructure.

Is there ongoing support or has the project ended?

The project closed in September 2023, but the consortium established the BDA Alliance as a continuing ecosystem for data-driven building services. The coordinator Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA is a major IT services company that likely continues to offer commercial support for the platform.

What types of analytics does it actually provide?

The toolbox delivers analytics for digital building twins, improved building operations, building infrastructure design, and EU/national policy assessment for energy efficiency investments. These were validated with 11 pilots serving facility managers, ESCOs, financial institutions, construction companies, municipalities, and grid operators.

Consortium

Who built it

The MATRYCS consortium of 18 partners across 10 countries is well-balanced for bringing this to market. It is led by Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA, one of Italy's largest IT companies — a strong signal that the technology has commercial backing beyond academia. With 7 industrial partners (39% of the consortium) and 6 SMEs, the project had significant private-sector involvement. The mix of 2 universities, 2 research organizations, and 7 other partners (likely including pilot site operators and policy bodies) ensured the platform was tested with real users rather than just in labs. The geographic spread across Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, and Slovenia covers major EU construction markets.

ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPACoordinator · IT
COMITE EUROPEEN DE COORDINATION DE L'HABITAT SOCIAL AISBLparticipant · BE
COOPERNICO - COOPERATIVA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTAVEL CRLparticipant · PT
SEVEN, THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY CENTER Z.U.participant · CZ
PRZEDSIEBIORSTWO ROBOT ELEWACYJNYCHFASADA SP ZOOparticipant · PL
BLAGOVNO TRGOVINSKI CENTER DDparticipant · SI
RHEINISCH-WESTFAELISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHENparticipant · DE
ETHNICON METSOVION POLYTECHNIONparticipant · EL
GDYNIA-MIASTO NA PRAWACH POWIATUparticipant · PL
ACCADEMIA EUROPEA DI BOLZANOparticipant · IT
VEOLIA SERVICIOS LECAM SOCIEDAD ANONIMA UNIPERSONALparticipant · ES
FUNDACION CARTIFparticipant · ES
ENTE PUBLICO REGIONAL DE LA ENERGIA DE CASTILLA Y LEONparticipant · ES
ICLEI EUROPEAN SECRETARIAT GMBH (ICLEI EUROPASEKRETARIAT GMBH)participant · DE
VIDES INVESTICIJU FONDS SIAparticipant · LV
HOLISTIC IKEparticipant · EL
COMSENSUS, KOMUNIKACIJE IN SENZORIKA, DOOparticipant · SI
ASM TERNI SPAparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA (Italy) — a major IT services company. Search for their MATRYCS project lead or innovation department.

Order a report on this consortium See ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the MATRYCS team or a tailored brief on how this toolbox fits your building portfolio? Contact SciTransfer — we connect businesses with EU research teams.

Order a report on this topic More in Energy & Climate