The beginning of summer saw a fusion between innovation and rock music at the Rock for People in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic (8.-11. 6. 2023). CVUT took the opportunity of being a guest of the newly created hydrogen-powered festival‘s Sustainability zone by Komercni banka (Czech branch of the Societé General) to promote some of the key SPARCS topics: district-level energy solutions and energy flexibility. Visitors learned about the project goals and the experience of the city of Kladno. Moreover, they could test their brains in energy flexibility optimization conundrum. With coloured balls symbolizing kWh of consumption, the task was to outsmart the electricity market and make net profit while still satisfying own consumption. The first day no one could make it, but on the second day of the festival two fresh high school graduates matched the optimal outcome calculated before by artificial intelligence.

„It was an experiment in social engagement for us. We honestly did not know what to expect at the rock festival. And clearly we hit a bull’s eye with over a hundred-a-day young bright people including many practitioners in construction and energy taking interest in innovative solutions that we brought with us,“ commented Michal Kuzmic.