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EBITTS: DESIGN CONNECTION FROM VIRTUAL TO REAL
Published on Thursday, November 27 2025
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Challenge Expiration Date: June 29, 2026
Reward:
€ 5,000 for best proposals
Abstract
SUBTITLE: This challenge is part of the “Design for an innovative Energy seor”. Enel is looking for an innovative aimed at improving user perception for Ebitts project.
ABSTRACT: The Ebitts token box is a virtual asset that can be hard to perceive as something tangible. The challenge lies in designing an element—physical, digital, or phygital—that bridges the gap between the virtual world and reality. This element should make the experience more concrete, clear, and engaging. The goal is to turn an abstract concept into a tool connected to the real assets it represents in terms of meaning, context, and value, thereby boosting engagement, encouraging project adoption, and enhancing the post-adoption experience.
SDGs
This challenge contributes to the following sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world:
· SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
· SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
· SDG 13: Climate Action
Description
BACKGROUND
Ebitts is an innovative digital platform by Enel that enables users to access renewable energy production without installing physical systems at home. It’s designed for those who can’t install solar panels but still want to contribute to the energy transition and save on their electricity bills.
Using blockchain technology, Ebitts allows users to purchase “tokens”—virtual shares of real wind and solar plants located in Italy. This system turns users into “virtual prosumers,” letting them benefit from renewable energy without owning or installing equipment.
The Token Box is the product users buy through Ebitts. It consists of a mix of tokens representing virtualized portions of actual plants. Once activated, the energy produced by a Token Box is automatically deducted from the metered consumption, reducing the amount billed. The energy produced can be tracked through an app.
CURRENT SITUATION
Since the Token Box is a virtual product, its value and impact may not be immediately tangible. Therefore, the challenge is to design a physical, digital, or phygital element that bridges the gap between the virtual and real worlds. This element should make the experience more engaging, clear, and concrete—enhancing user understanding and emotional connection to the project.
The goal is to strengthen the perceived value and benefits of Ebitts. The development of the proposal should enhance the user's perception of the energy generated by the plants linked to their tokens, making the concept of production more tangible and translating it into a concrete benefit: savings on their energy bill. Alongside this direct value, additional benefits related to sustainability and energy transition emerge, turning an abstract concept into a clear, concrete, and rewarding experience.
LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING SOLUTIONS: THE NEED FOR INNOVATION
Unlike traditional services or energy offers, the Token Box is not a subscription-based product (such as Netflix or Spotify, which can be stopped at any time) and not an energy supply contract offering renewable electricity from the market. Instead, it represents a virtual yet tangible product, linked to the real production of renewable energy plants.
Each token corresponds to a specific, verifiable share of renewable energy production, representing a digital ownership of that production capacity. For the user, owning a Token Box is almost equivalent to owning a physical photovoltaic panel or a small wind turbine, even though such device does not exist at a domestic scale. However, since the Token Box remains a virtual asset, it is essential to create a bridge that makes its value and functioning more tangible and comprehensible to users — helping them clearly perceive the connection between their tokens and the real energy being produced.
THE CHALLENGE
The challenge aims to find a physical, digital or ‘phygital’ innovative concept design for users that connects the virtual and real world and clearly communicates the perception of owning a virtual energy production plant, symbolically reflecting the amount of energy produced.
For all types of solutions (digital, phygital, or physical), it is necessary to consider potential scalability
up to >10,000 users.
The proposal should address the following needs:
Must Have:
For all type of innovative solutions (physical, digital or ‘phygital’) is required an intuitive "interface” to create a bridge between virtual and real that makes Ebitts value and functioning more tangible and comprehensible to users that displays:
•Representation of user’s ownership – the solution must clearly show that the tokens are equivalent to digital user ownership of renewable energy production (e.g., a virtual share of a plant).In attached Annex 2 Ebitts functionality presentation
• Evidence of Real-time production – Users must be able to view the actual renewable energy production associated with their tokens.
ü Enel’s brand application in accordance with the guidelines given in Annex 1
ü Scalability: Solution easy to adopt for up to >10,000 users with affordable cost.
ü Innovation and creativity level of the solution
Nice to Have:
For all type of solutions ( physical, digital or ‘phygital’)
ü Social sharing – Possibility to share achievements, energy contribution, or environmental impact on social platforms.
ü Dynamic rewards (gamification) – Incentives linked to energy auto-consumption.
ü Sustainability and circularity of the solution
DELIVERABLES
A presentation in which find , for all type of innovative solutions ( physical, digital or ‘phygital’ ) the following required delivarebles:
MUST HAVE:
✔ A Descriptive presentation of the concept design of solution with clear evidence of the development of must have criteria .This should comprise a clear estimation of an assessment of technical feasibility and executability with development effort or production costs, and implementation phases, and, where applicable, a forecast of the expected useful life and maintenance requirements of the solution.
✔ Graphics and/or 3D Drawings, including renderings, and views to understand functionality and user interaction.
o If the product is digital, visuals may include UI mockups, wireframes, or prototypes created in tools such as Figma.
o If the product is physical, it should be include 3D drawings or CAD models that show form, structure, and usability details.
ü Emotional or functional video, maximum duration 1 minute.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The proposals will be evaluated based on:
ü Consistency with the Challenge’s objectives and deliverables
ü Innovation and creativity
ü Design Quality: (e.g. user experience, functionality)
ü Technical feasibility and executability
ü Communication and storytelling, consistency with Enel brand toolkit guideline
Challenge rules
All participants are invited to carefully read the challenge and its Regulations, which can be found below in the Attachments section, before submitting a solution.
BY SUBMITTING A SOLUTION, YOU AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPT THE ATTACHED REGULATIONS, IN ADDITION TO THE TERMS OF USE OF THIS PLATFORM.
Explain your proposal clearly in English, attach documents (max 5 files, 35MB total size, ZIP, JPG, PDF format) if needed. You can also provide link so that the evaluation team can access and verify the deliverables (please pay careful attention to the validity period of the link).
Eligibility
Only IED students of BA in Product and Service Design (academic year 2025-2026) are eligible for participation in this Challenge.
Individual or teams consisting of up to 3 eligible members are allowed to participate.
The submission will be completed by a Team Leader and the list of team members (name, surname, email address) must be specified in the application.
Award and Intellectual Property Rights
Participants who upload the solution(s) declared as winner(s) will receive a net prize of €5,000.00 for each winning solution. If a winning solution is the work of a team rather than an individual, the €5,000.00 prize will be divided equally among all team members.
All intellectual and industrial property rights related to the winning solution(s) of this Challenge, except for the authors’ moral rights, will be owned by Enel S.p.A. or another company within the Enel Group designated by Enel S.p.A. Intellectual and industrial property rights related to all remaining solutions, not declared as winners, will remain the property of IED, except for the authors’ moral rights.
Deadline
Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 30h June 2025.
Late submissions will not be considered.
What happens next?
After the Challenge deadline, the Challenge Owner will complete the review process and decide with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All participants that submit a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions. However, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided. The Challenge Owner will evaluate the proposal considering the Solution’s required features and characteristics, focusing the following criteria: 1. The proposed solution must demonstrate a high level of innovation and originality. 2. It should be fully consistent with the objectives and deliverables defined by the Challenge. 3. The solution must be technically and economically feasible, ensuring practical implementation. 4. The project should exhibit strong design quality, characterized by clarity, functionality, sustainability and creativity. 5. The proposal must effectively communicate its value through compelling storytelling, aligned with the Challenge theme and Enel’s brand guidelines You will receive feedback at the end of the assessment. In the event of success, an Enel contact person will get in touch with you to discuss the next steps. The final reward for this Challenge is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the pre-awarding process, including acceptance of the Challenge Regulations. The pre-awarding process includes obtaining some documents from the participants such as the signed Challenge Regulations and the Counterparty Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ).