A national programme promoting Smart City solutions and products, launched in 2017 under the High Patronage of the Government of Romania through the Ministry of Energy.
Once the funding is secured, the hard part begins: the tender specifications, the choice of technical solution, the implementation timetable and the implementation risks. Caravana 2026 is built for exactly this stage.
Practical discussions between administrations at the same stage: a signed funding contract or an approved project, ready for procurement.
Technical options, common risks and the requirements that make the difference between good tender specifications and problematic ones - explained by people who have dealt with them in implementation.
Companies present technologies, implementation models and case studies in a panel format, not as sales presentations. The discussion stays on the project.
Mayors, county council presidents, technical directors and procurement officers sit at the same table as integrators, consultants, operators and suppliers.
ARSC, the Romanian Smart City Association, founded in 2016, is the strongest network of Smart City professionals in Romania. The Caravan is its field programme.
We invite administrations with energy projects that are already funded or well advanced. The room brings together decision-makers working on real, comparable projects.
The series is built around projects that have real budgets and real pressure to deliver. Eight areas, with concrete examples of solutions and beneficiary administrations.
Energy retrofits, BMS, heat pumps, sensors, consumption monitoring, efficient HVAC solutions.
LED, remote management, sensors, predictive maintenance, integration with smart city platforms.
Solar panels, public prosumers, solar parks, self-consumption for public buildings.
Batteries, EMS, microgrids, consumption optimisation, matching generation with consumption.
Charging stations, infrastructure for public fleets, local electric transport.
Monitoring platforms, energy data, dashboards, digital energy audits.
Energy efficiency for pumping, water treatment and wastewater treatment plants, automation and lower operating costs.
Combining energy, lighting, mobility, data, safety and urban infrastructure.
The discussion starts from the main source - the Modernisation Fund - and the complementary programmes open to local and county administrations for energy projects. No theory: live funding calls, real criteria, projects that can be submitted.
Romania is the largest beneficiary of the Modernisation Fund in the European Union - about 31% of the fund's resources. In 2025 alone, more than EUR 1.2 billion was drawn down, and for 2026 the Ministry of Energy has planned energy investments from EU funds of around 14 billion lei.
Components relevant to public administrations: renewables (solar, wind, hydro) and battery storage, including capacity for self-consumption by public bodies; energy efficiency; modernisation of power grids and district heating systems.
AFM: street lighting, charging stations, solar, energy efficiency - programmes dedicated to local administrative units.
Regional Programmes 2021-2027 and the Sustainable Development Programme: energy efficiency, public buildings, urban infrastructure and regeneration, topped up by local and county budgets.
The longest-running Smart City programme in Romania.
Almost a decade of working with local administrations in every region of the country - from concept to projects with real funding.
Caravana Smart City is a national programme promoting Smart City solutions and products, launched in 2017 under the High Patronage of the Government of Romania through the Ministry of Energy.
The aim of the first edition, 2017/2018, was to promote the benefits of implementing Smart City solutions. With the programme's new season, we aim to promote solutions, products and projects tailored to each community we visit.
Golden rule: generic presentations are not accepted in the programme! Every proposal must be tailored to the character and needs of the host community.
We put Smart City on the public administration agenda. The programme launches and goes straight to 6+ communities across the country.
From concept to concrete areas - mobility, energy, health, education and e-government, explained through cities' real needs.
From theory to evidence: success stories and measurable results, taken to 8 events in every development region.
The move to implementation and funding: projects, products and services put directly in the hands of those who run them, with a focus on EU funds.
Awarded for outstanding results in promoting Smart City in Romania.
Finalist in the Smart City 2018 category, competing with international leaders in the field - London.
Held under the High Patronage of the Government of Romania through the Ministry of Energy.
From the 2017 launch to the present - every event, every community, every success story.
The Smart City Romania network, run by ARSC
Everything you need to know about Romania's fastest-growing industry