Cities are currently dealing with the sustainable transition from carbon-based economies to carbon-neutral cities. The H2020 mySMARTLife project seeks to demonstrate innovative technologies through the implementation of about 150 innovative energy solutions in the cites of Nantes, Hamburg and Helsinki. The evaluation framework that was defined and validated in the project enables the assessment of the environmental, energy, economic, social, ICT and governance aspects of replicable and sustainable smart city solutions with a high market potential. The main features and the process for their definition will be described in this paper.