“Without digitalisation, we do not have control. And if we don’t have control, we don’t have intelligence. And if we don’t have intelligence, we don’t have benefits.” In the aftermath of Enlit 2026, Hugo Morais, INESC-ID researcher in sustainable power systems, was featured on the EU Energy Projects podcast by Enlit, to discuss the European energy landscape and the three major projects he is currently coordinating.

To start the conversation Hugo Morais introduced the Horizon Europe projects EV4EU, Shift2DC and U2Demo, coordinated by INESC-ID, outlining the progress and goals of each project, while highlighting their shared goal: making our energy system cleaner, more flexible and easier to manage.

The episode goes on to discuss the crucial role of digitalisation in balancing the energy demands of smart buildings and electric mobility, underlining that a high-quality digital infrastructure must be supported by proper service standardisation. Additionally, the researcher drew attention to the importance of adopting a “user-centric” approach to ensure electric cars deliver real benefits to the power grid.

Listen to the full episode here.

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Image: © 2026 Enlit