Around 400 guests came to Berlin for the Energiesprong Festival, from housing companies, architects, contractors, municipalities, policy makers and consultants. Alongside the German programme, the Energiesprong Global Alliance ran an international programme for the wider network, with teams and partners from France, the UK, Italy, Germany and beyond. Here’s what happened.
Day 1: two tracks running side by side
Monday was a working day in the best sense. At Haus der Visionäre, around 120 German frontrunners dug into workshops, deep-dive sessions and an innovation market showcasing the latest serial renovation solutions.
A short distance away, the international programme kicked off at Spielfeld Digital Hub with The Energiesprong Story – a look back at where it all began, how far the movement has come, and what it really takes to spark change in a new market. The message was clear: progress starts with people who believe they can make a difference, even when the challenge feels huge.
After lunch, the meeting room was traded for the real thing, heading to an ecoworks renovation project in Berlin to see industrialised renovation up close. The day closed with a hands-on workshop on renovating Ukraine, led by Murel Truu (Tallinn University of Technology), where participants tackled the big questions around scaling industrialised renovation and what “build back better” should really mean. None of them have easy answers – but they get sharper when people from different countries, backgrounds and markets sit at the same table.
In the evening, the two programmes finally came together: the international group joined the German frontrunners from Innovation Day for a lovely dinner under the stars, set in a lush green garden complete with its own charming little wedding chapel. A first taste of the community that would fill the festival on Day 2.
Day 2: everyone under one roof
On Tuesday the two tracks merged into a single, buzzing festival day of talks, workshops and conversations. Keynote speaker Lena Papasabbas (The Future:Project) set the tone with a simple but powerful idea: the picture we hold of the future shapes what we do today. That thread ran right through to the closing plenary, where participants sketched their own future images of serial renovation – renovated buildings in liveable neighbourhoods, satisfied tenants, and serial renovation as the new normal across housing, schools, public buildings and, increasingly, single-family homes.
On the International Stage the focus was on what it truly takes to scale:
- Looking Beyond Borders – promising innovations from France, the UK and Italy. Sharing how different countries are developing scalable solutions for industrialised renovation.
- Show Me the Funding – European funders and investors on unlocking finance at scale
- The Human Side of Retrofit – why mindset, trust and tenant involvement matter as much as the tech
- Engaging Private Homeowners — practical lessons on the customer journey, collective schemes and municipal support. Drawing on outcomes from LIFE projects Street HP Reno, Arec Reno, and Renew It.
Spotlight on the LIFE projects
Two dedicated sessions put EU-funded LIFE projects centre stage:
Building qualification for serial renovation — a snapshot from the LIFE Reno Tides project. Which buildings are right for serial renovation, and which criteria rule them out? The session showed how to spot suitable projects early, avoid unnecessary pre-planning costs, and clear the usual hurdles – plus how housing organisations can get themselves ready for scalable, repeatable renovation.
Cooperating for Better Renovation — Drawing on the LIFE Cosme Reno project. Renovation brings together many players with different roles, constraints and perspectives, so why is a shared approach so hard to build? Through an interactive exercise, participants felt the coordination challenges first-hand and explored how genuine cooperation builds a common vision, strengthens collective action, and delivers better projects.
Different topics, one conclusion. Scaling renovation is never just about technology. It takes the right financial models, collaboration between parties that don’t naturally work together, trust and people willing to make change happen.
What comes next
Energiesprong DE will publish session results and a detailed post-event report in the coming weeks, along with a closer look at the new edition of its product catalogue and a new LCA study (in German). Outcomes from the international programme – including the Ukraine workshop and the International Stage sessions – will be shared later this week though our channels.
Thank you to everyone who joined in Berlin: on stage, in the workshops and behind the scenes. See you at the next one.
