Mitsubishi Electric has tested smart city and district-level energy optimisation technologies at Berlin’s former Tegel Airport in September, as European municipalities face strict new mandates to decarbonise urban infrastructure.

The trial at the Urban Tech Republic, an innovation district on the site of the closed airport, focused on sharing carbon dioxide emissions and power consumption data between individual buildings and broader smart city platforms. This data integration allows municipal operators to execute district-level load balancing and energy optimisation across multiple urban assets.

The demonstration aligns with the European Union’s revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and Germany’s new municipal heating laws, which require cities to implement district-wide heating and cooling plans. With 85% of EU buildings constructed before 2000, upgrading legacy infrastructure is central to the bloc’s goal of achieving a zero-emission building stock by 2050.

At the building level, Mitsubishi applied digital twin simulation software to a legacy structure to create an optimal operation plan for its air conditioning and heating systems. The technology, originally developed at the company’s net Zero Energy Building (ZEB) test facility in Japan, predicts and adjusts operational schedules to minimise power consumption while maintaining thermal comfort.

The project follows a May 2024 partnership between Mitsubishi Electric Europe and Berlin TXL Management GmbH. The data gathered during the trial will be used to refine energy management architectures for scaling smart city solutions across European markets.