More than half of the world’s population lives in cities. According to estimates, the number of city dwellers will reach 70 percent by the year 2050. Today, 70 percent of total emissions are produced in cities. This fact has brought the issue of energy consumption to the forefront recently. CONCERTO, an initiative backed by the European Commission, shows how a total of 58 cities and communities across 23 countries can build with more energy efficiency, reduce carbon footprints, and combine and successfully utilize renewable energy resources and technologies. The Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (SEZ) is working with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) on know-how transfer that will allow other cities to learn from these examples.
The energy and climate targets set out by the EU 2020 strategy are rather ambitious: The plan envisions a 20 percent increase in renewable energy use and a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency. There are already successful pilot projects all over Europe. In Germany these include Neckarsulm, Ostfildern, Weilerbach and Hanover. A total of 58 municipalities in 23 countries received funding through the CONCERTO initiative to design individual city districts in keeping with these energy targets. 5.2 million people live in CONCERTO cities and the 70 associated communities. A total of 1,830,000 square meters of buildings were either newly built or refurbished. The result? A reduction in CO2 emissions of 530,000 tons.
SEZ and KIT have pooled their experience gathered on 22 CONCERTO projects in total. This makes it possible to draw comparisons when planning future construction and renovation projects in public and private buildings – and take measures into consideration that were not previously thought about. The key priority here is to strike the right balance between technological solutions, energy resources and materials. To ensure full use is made of existing energy-efficient construction knowhow, experts at KIT and SEZ are seeking active dialog with city and municipal representatives across Europe. An internet forum serves as the main platform for this transfer of experience and know-how. The SEZ is responsible for coordinating, marketing and publicizing project results.
Further Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum projects in this field:
Building-up
Eleven European players from the fields of research and innovation have dedicated themselves to the issue of energy-efficient building technology. They are developing a strategic road map to create synergies between European Tech- nology Platforms, large European initiatives and, hand-in-hand with this, industries involved in manu- facturing materials. SEZ is a project partner responsible for public consultation. The project team has set up a database that brings together experts in the area of energy efficiency in buildings.
KnoholEM
Together with KIT, SEZ is a partner on the EU research project KnoholEM (know- ledge-based energy manage- ment for public buildings through holistic information modeling and 3D visuali- sation). 13 partners from six countries are testing and validating intelli- gent energy management solutions in four test buildings. SEZ is responsible for the dissemination and evaluation of research find- ings.
KIC InnoEnergy
SEZ is a partner in KIC’s InnoEnergy, one of three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) that have received funding from the European Institute for Innovation and Technology. Here, businesses, univer- sities and research institutes work together to reach their common goal of a sustainable energy system for Europe by 2050. One of the network’s priorities is to merge research, innovation and education activities more closely. The SEZ’s job is to make sure that the intended technology sharing benefits SMEs.
Prof. Dr. Norbert Höptner | Valerie Bahr | Charlotte Schlicke
Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (Stuttgart/Karlsruhe)
bahr@steinbeis-europa.de
schlicke@steinbeis-europa.de