
EV4EU launches today!
EV4EU launches today, 01 June 2022! With a duration of four years, EV4EU is funded by the European Union in 9-million euros through Horizon Europe, the new research and innovation programme for the period 2021-2027.
Studies indicate that the massive use of electric vehicles will significantly contribute to the carbon neutrality goals set for 2050, as defined by the European Commission. However, the mass deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) still presents several challenges. To address these challenges, the “Electric Vehicles Management for carbon neutrality in Europe” (EV4EU) project will propose and implement user-centric Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) management strategies, creating the conditions for the mass deployment of electric vehicles. The proposed V2X management strategies will be tested at four demonstration sites — in Portugal on the island of São Miguel; in the Mesogia area in Greece; at Risø and Rønne, island of Bornholm, Denmark; and in Slovenia — across a consortium of sixteen entities from four European countries led by INESC-ID.
To mark the project launch, we spoke with Hugo Morais — senior researcher at INESC-ID, Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC) of Instituto Superior Técnico, and EV4EU project coordinator — about this new landmark project.
What do you think is, currently, the biggest barrier in the massive implementation of electric mobility?
Hugo Morais: The massive implementation of electric vehicles implies systemic changes at different levels. In addition to barriers related to the technology of the vehicles themselves, which have evolved very quickly in recent years, it is important to overcome barriers related to the diversity and complementarity of charging technologies (slow charging / fast charging), strategies for integrating charging systems in existing installations, namely in residential buildings, service buildings, car parks, energy communities and companies operating fleets of vehicles (light and heavy). Additionally, it is important to mitigate problems that may arise from a significant increase in the electrical power requested from the electrical grids, as well as the lack of planning strategies at the city level to face the massive integration of electric cars. Finally, it is important to develop interaction strategies with electric vehicle users that allow them to get the most out of their vehicles and the best way to charge them, assessing whether there are any impacts on battery performance due to bidirectional charging and with different powers.
What are the main objectives of the EV4EU consortium?
Hugo Morais: The consortium aims to develop a set of strategies [meant to create] solutions that [facilitate] overcoming the barriers identified above.
How will EV4EU’s multiplicity of partners contribute to its goals?
Hugo Morais: The consortium is made up of entities covering the entire electric mobility value chain. In addition to the R&D entities, the consortium has an electric vehicle manufacturer (Citroen), an electric charger manufacturer (ABB), a technology provider (Circle), a charging station operator (PPC), an aggregator ( GEN-i) and four distribution network operators (EDA, BEOF, HEDNO and Elektro Celje). The consortium also has a government entity (Regional Directorate of Energy of the Regional Government of the Azores), an entity focused on social sciences (SEL) and end users (Campus Bornholm). The project also has the support of the Portuguese association of public transport (ANTRAM), a manufacturer of wind systems (Vestas), a business incubator in Slovenia and municipal entities where the demonstrators will be developed.
The demonstrators are complementary both in terms of the solutions used and the strategies to be tested. In Portugal, the demonstrator aims to develop and test V2X solutions and business models that allow the integration of EVs in buildings and companies. In particular, these solutions will be validated in private homes, at the facilities of the Regional Energy Directorate of the Regional Government of the Azores and at the Electricity Company of the Azores. In this demonstrator, a new bidirectional charger that will facilitate the charging of several vehicles simultaneously will be tested, reducing the overall cost of the installation. In Denmark, different car park management strategies will be tested considering different types and uses of car parks. Additionally, coordination methodologies between EVs and renewable production units will be tested in order to demonstrate the complementarity between the technologies. In Greece, a new platform that allows for more efficient management of charging stations, as well as greater interaction with EV users, will be tested. Several business models will be validated through this platform. Additionally, strategies to mitigate the impact of EVs on electrical networks will be investigated. In Slovenia, the demonstrator aims to demonstrate the flexibility introduced by EVs in terms of the management of electricity networks as well as to assess the value that this flexibility could have in electricity markets. These services will be coordinated between the distribution network operator and an aggregator in order to create benefits for end users.
What do you hope will be EV4EU’s biggest impact after its four-year run?
Hugo Morais: From the above, we can consider that the project will have an important impact on society, proposing new solutions and business models aimed at creating the right conditions for the massive integration of electric cars, contributing to more sustainable mobility.
Upcoming Events
Research data repositories and tools for human genomics data sharing

Inform the human research community of the status and availability of BioData.pt Local EGA and discuss its need and usability challenges.
The European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA) is a repository for all sequence and genotype experiment types, including case-control, population, and family studies. The EGA will serve as a permanent archive that will archive several levels of data, including the raw data (which could, for example, be re-analysed in the future by other algorithms) as well as the genotype calls provided by the submitters.
Responding to national regulations over human data sharing and other constraints, BioData.pt deploys and operates a Local EGA instance and tools that allow data discovery of genomic and phenoclinic data, following the GA4GH standard and international best practices.
This workshop aims at informing the human research community of the status and availability of BioData.pt Local EGA and discuss from several perspectives its need and usability challenges.
Further details and registration are available here.
OLISSIPO Summer School in Lisbon | Computational phylogenetics to analyse the evolution of cells and communities

We are happy to announce the OLISSIPO Summer School on Computational phylogenetics to analyse the evolution of cells and communities, which will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, at INESC-ID, between July 2-7, 2023.
Keynote speakers:
David Posada, University of Vigo (class)
João Alves, University of Vigo (hands-on)
Nadia El-Mabrouk, Université de Montréal (class)
Mattéo Delabre, Université de Montréal (hands-on)
Ran Libeskind-Hadas, Claremont McKenna College (class and hands-on)
Russell Schwartz, Carnegie Mellon University (class and hands-on)
See the preliminary agenda at: https://olissipo.inesc-id.pt/tree-tango-school
Registration is mandatory. You can register at: https://forms.gle/VsASFHW5E7MJvaCc9
The registration fee is 250€ for students and OLISSIPO members and 350€ for postdocs or other researchers (meals indicated at the schedule of the school are included, accommodation and flights are not). All details will be made available upon registration.
We will have slots for flash talks (3-10 min depending on the number of submissions) to present yourself and the work you have been developing in your research.
The 13th Lisbon Machine Learning School | LxMLS 2023

The Lisbon Machine Learning Summer School (LxMLS) takes place yearly at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). LxMLS 2023 will be a 6-day event (14-20 July, 2023), scheduled to take place as an in-person event.
The school covers a range of machine learning topics, from theory to practice, that are important in solving natural language processing problems arising in different application areas. It is organized jointly by Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), a leading Engineering and Science school in Portugal, the Instituto de Telecomunicações, the Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa (INESC-ID), the Lisbon ELLIS Unit for Learning and Intelligent Systems (LUMLIS), Unbabel, Zendesk, and IBM Research.
Check online for information about past editions: LxMLS 2011, LxMLS 2012, LxMLS 2013, LxMLS 2014, LxMLS 2015, LxMLS 2016, LxMLS 2017, LxMLS 2018, LxMLS 2019, LxMLS 2020, LxMLS 2021, LxMLS 2022 (you can also watch the videos of the lectures for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020).
31st International Conference on Information Systems Development (ISD 2023)

The 31st International Conference on Information Systems Development (ISD 2023) conference provides a forum for research and developments in the field of information systems. The theme of ISD 2023 is “Information systems development, organizational aspects and societal trends”. New trends in developing information systems emphasize the continuous collaboration between developers and operators in order to optimize the software delivery time. The conference promotes research on methodological and technological issues and how IS developers and operators are transforming organizations and society through information systems.
The ISD 2023 conference held this year also provides an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to promote their research, practical experience, and to discuss issues related to Information Systems through papers, posters, and journal-first paper presentations.
ISD 2023 will be hosted by Instituto Superior Técnico, in Lisbon, Portugal, on August 30–September 1, 2023.