ASCEND is a Smart Cities’ mission project funded by the European Commission. Positive Clean Energy Districts are the core of ASCEND. They consist of 5 pillars: Active citizenship, Zero-carbon frugal buildings, Smart energy grids, Decarbonised public spaces and mobility and Digital tools. All pillars revolve around an ‘urban orchestrator’ – a public entity aggregating all components and services of a PCED – to implement long-lasting change at district level. To meet its ambition of speeding and scaling up Positive Clean Energy Solutions, ASCEND has developed four strategic objectives: i) Deliver two inclusive affordable Positive Clean Energy Districts in Lighthouse Cities Lyon and Munich. ii) Bootstrap successful implementation of PCED in Multiplier Cities and LHCs. iii) Scale up PCED solution packages for a large community of cities and investors. iv) Disseminate widely our results to the smart cities community. The project has a duration of 5 years and focuses on the collaboration of 39 partners from all over Europe coordinated by Lyon Confluence.