MAS4TE Framework for Resources, Energy, Sustainability Treatment in Paper Production

Funding reference | IMR6-00083

The project is being carried out as part of the Interreg Meuse-Rhine Programme (NL-BE-DE) and is co-funded by the European Union and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Project duration | 1 January 2025–31 December 2027

Background:

The Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) – comprising parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Wallonia and the Dutch province of Limburg – is one of Europe’s leading regions in terms of per capita green energy production. There has been significant investment in renewable energy and electromobility, supported by coordinated policy strategies as outlined in the EU’s Smart Specialisation Platform.
Despite this positive development, a key challenge remains: whilst large electricity producers and consumers have long been integrated into cross-border trading via markets such as EPEX SPOT, smaller prosumers – that is, citizens with photovoltaic systems and home or vehicle batteries – remain largely excluded from direct energy trading. Yet it is precisely these decentralised actors who could play a key role in stabilising the grid. Furthermore, their integration would increase these actors’ acceptance of the energy transition.
The urgency of the situation is particularly evident in peripheral regions: Wallonia is struggling to make efficient use of the electricity generated by around 230,000 solar installations, whilst the Netherlands reached a new record high for renewable electricity generation in 2023 – and at the same time is increasingly suffering from grid congestion. Similar challenges exist in North Rhine-Westphalia. Local storage solutions (stationary or mobile via bidirectional electric cars) are crucial, but have not yet been utilised sufficiently.

The project:

MAS4TE – Multi-Agent Systems for Trading Energy – is an Interreg-funded innovation project that takes cross-border cooperation in the EMR to a new level. The aim is to establish a platform for local and regional energy trading that is easily accessible to citizens – regardless of their technical expertise or income.
At the heart of the project is the establishment of a local market tailored to the needs of prosumers. These are represented by AI-powered chatbots, known as LLM agents (Large Language Model Agents), which communicate with users in natural language. They manage local energy resources (such as home and vehicle batteries), coordinate transactions with neighbours or energy communities, and execute these via secure contracts on a blockchain infrastructure. This makes energy trading not only safer, but also understandable and inclusive.

Objectives:

The project’s key objectives are:

• To strengthen citizen participation in the energy market through intuitive digital assistants (LLM agents),
• Integrating decentralised storage solutions, e.g. via home or vehicle batteries, into local grids,
• Promoting socially equitable energy distribution – for example, through models in which surplus energy from one region is passed on at favourable terms,
• Improving grid stability and energy efficiency through smart control and local flexibility markets,
• Establishment of a cross-border digital marketplace that makes renewable energy available even across national borders.

MAS4TE demonstrates how technological innovation – from artificial intelligence and blockchain to digital twins – can be utilised to benefit people in the region. The project sees itself as a model for the future of a fair, digital and citizen-centred energy market.

Funding body’s website: https://www.interregmeuserhine.eu/de/projekte/mas4te