Târgu Mureș Eco-District Regeneration Project

It addresses key challenges such as ageing building stock, fragmented ownership structures, rising energy costs, limited trust in public authorities, low levels of civic participation, socio-economic vulnerability among residents, and regulatory and legal barriers that do not adequately facilitate interventions in privately owned condominium properties. This limits the implementation of integrated, building-scale renovation measures, even though coordinated interventions at the level of an entire apartment block or building section are significantly more energy-efficient, cost-effective, and impactful than fragmented, individual renovations. By promoting a neighbourhood-scale approach, the initiative contributes to climate resilience, social cohesion and improved quality of life, while offering a replicable model for similar urban areas.

The initiative aims to incorporate solar energy, heat pumps, storage solutions, district heating and cooling systems, and building renovation measures.

With CEAH technical assistance, the project is designing feasible technical solutions, governance frameworks and engagement strategies tailored to collective housing contexts.

1. Financial Advisory Support 
Develops a comprehensive financial framework to support the transition from project preparation to investment, including funding identification, long-term financial modelling, investment appraisal, and capacity building. It ensures a solid economic basis for decision-making and investment planning through CAPEX/OPEX analysis, cost-benefit assessment, evaluation of financial viability (including NPV, IRR and payback indicators), and assessment of the minimum grant intensity required to enable project implementation. Key deliverables include: 

• A Funding Opportunities Report & Access Roadmap, identifying grants, subsidies, and blended finance options at EU, national, and local levels 
• Preliminary Financial Models, including cost-benefit analysis, CAPEX/OPEX assessment, investment appraisal (NPV, IRR and payback), financial scenario analysis, and templates to assess investment viability 

2. Stakeholder Engagement Support 
This activity develops and implements a structured engagement strategy to raise awareness, foster participation, and ensure inclusiveness, particularly for vulnerable groups. It supports the creation of a strong social foundation for the energy community by strengthening the capacity of homeowners' associations, facilitating consensus-building within condominium governance structures, and developing engagement mechanisms tailored to fragmented ownership arrangements. Key deliverables include: 

• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication Strategy Document, outlining engagement approaches, communication tools, and inclusive participation mechanisms 
• Event Reports, summarising engagement activities and identifying improvements 

3. Energy Efficiency Measures 
Identifies opportunities to improve energy efficiency by analysing existing conditions and proposing targeted measures to reduce energy consumption. Key deliverables include: 

• A Report on Energy Efficiency Measures, outlining recommended actions and improvement opportunities based on collected data 

4. Possibilities to Install Renewable Energy Sources 
This activity assesses the technical feasibility of installing renewable energy systems in selected buildings, including on-site validation, identification of suitable technologies, assessment of battery energy storage systems (BESS), and evaluation of local energy self-consumption strategies to maximize the use of locally generated renewable electricity. Key deliverables include: 

• A Report on RES and Energy Storage Installation Possibilities, detailing feasible renewable energy and battery storage options, together with recommendations for optimizing local self-consumption based on data analysis and site assessment.  

5. Options for Transition to Heat Pumps 
This activity evaluates technically and economically feasible solutions for transitioning from conventional natural gas heating to low-carbon heating systems, considering infrastructure constraints and building characteristics. The assessment focuses on hybrid heating solutions combining air-to-water heat pumps with gas boilers for peak demand and supply security, rather than the complete replacement of gas heating. Key deliverables include: 

• A Report on Heat Pump Solutions, outlining technical options for hybrid heat pump systems, infrastructure requirements, and recommendations for the phased transition to low-carbon heating and cooling systems. 

6. Smart Energy Management and Virtual Power Plant 

This activity develops a neighbourhood-scale smart energy management concept integrating renewable energy generation, battery energy storage, heat pumps and flexible electricity demand through a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) architecture. It includes energy monitoring, forecasting, optimisation and real-time control to maximise local self-consumption, improve system efficiency, support demand response and prepare the energy community for future participation in flexibility and energy markets. Key deliverables include: 

• A Smart Energy Management and VPP Concept Report, describing the proposed system architecture, monitoring and control functions, and integration of distributed energy resources.  
• Recommendations for VPP Implementation, including flexibility services, interoperability requirements and phased deployment of the digital energy management platform. 

7. Electric Mobility Integration 

This activity assesses the feasibility of integrating electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure into the eco-district energy system, ensuring its coordination with local renewable energy production, battery energy storage and smart energy management. It supports the efficient use of locally generated electricity, demand-side flexibility and the future deployment of vehicle-to-building (V2B) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services, where technically and legally feasible. Key deliverables include: 

• A Final Report on Electric Mobility Integration, outlining the technical requirements, recommended charging infrastructure, integration with the local energy management system, and implementation options for smart EV charging.