Third meeting of Leon Living Lab

The third meeting of the Local Living Lab of León (LLLL) was held on 27 July 2023. The session began with the intervention of Luis Miguel García Copete, councillor-delegate for Urban Development of León City Council.

The LLLL is intended as a meeting place for the agents and actors involved in the energy transition of the city of León, as well as a tool for the efficient and effective implementation of the SECAP. The total number of participants was 26 people, representing 15 different entities from the four sectors of the quadruple helix model: administration, academia, business/companies and citizenship.

In the second Living Lab, each participant presented both the most critical points and the potentialities they observed, from or in their field of action, on the topic of “energy”. In the call for this third Living Lab, a compilation of the contributions of all the participants was provided, organised in two levels, at a general level and at a local level in León. Therefore, the conclusions of the previous meeting serve as a basis for the following. We have the basis of the strengths and weaknesses, the shortcomings and the strengths that the energy transition faces in León.

The intention of this third Living Lab was to compile everything that is happening now in the city of León since, after the pandemic and thanks to the Next Generation funds, many projects are being implemented and launched. To this end, two round tables were held, where each entity explained what projects are being carried out or are about to be implemented, what actions related to the energy transition are already a reality. The format of the round tables, one on mobility and the other on energy and the city, allowed for question-and-answer sessions and small debates to clarify the points of conflict and existing problems, as well as the benefits and changes that are taking place.

The main ideas revolved around the life cycle, industrial areas, the Jevons Paradox (when greater energy efficiency is achieved, consumption increases), the role of SECAP, the role of the citizen/user, reduction of energy consumption as a “social purpose”, etc.

The content of the next LLLL is expected to include, on the one hand, the presentation of the actions or topics that could not be addressed due to lack of time on this day, and on the other hand, a space to work on the different actions contained in the SECAP, which might be missing, how to guide and implement them, what is not being taken into account, what corrections or reservations we would make, etc.

Some of the actions that are being implemented, such as the Smart City platform, will provide us, in the short and medium term, with data that can be cross-checked to draw conclusions that optimise the actions. This LLLL aims to be a tool for the efficient and effective implementation of the SECAP and the objective is to develop at least 5 new or reoriented actions.