Achieving the Europe 2020 targets of the European Commission (EC) is forcing new challenges upon our society within the next years and calls for clear strategies in R&D in the field of energy.Because of the potential risks of worldwide climate change there is a strong need for urgent actions, arguably the most important being to reconceive the way we consume and produce the energy that we need.As urbanization is progressing worldwide and due to the fact that almost two thirds of our energy is consumed in urban environments, intelligent cities will play a significant role for the complete and successful implementation of the SET (Strategic Energy Technology) Plan.In this context, the integration of renewable energy sources into urban energy networks and the increase in energy efficiency in cities are some of the core topics to be addressed in the near future.Experts continuously highlight the importance of smart energy management at city level for achieving the ambitious targets with respect to CO2 reductions in the long-term as outlined in the 2050 Roadmap of the EC.These issues are also strongly emphasized in the European Industrial Initiative "Smart Cities and Communities" launched by the European Commission in June 2011.In parallel to the Industrial Initiatives, the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) as part of the SET Plan brings together key European organizations in the field of applied research to align their individual R&D activities to the needs of the SET Plan priorities and to establish joint programming.