German front-runners meet during Berliner Energietage
- thomas409661
- Jun 11, 2019
- 2 min read
Germany is actively engaging its home market for Energiesprong, working towards a volume deal by the end of this year. At last month’s “Berliner Energietage” (a big national annual event in Berlin), Energiesprong was a focal point in the half-day event of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), whose theme was innovative approaches for building renovation.
During the Energietage in Berlin, the Energiesprong solution - a whole house refurbishment and new build standard and funding approach - was a central. Front-runners from different countries gave their perspectives and insights to the market development and implementation of Energiesprong retrofits in Germany, France and the UK.
Similar success factors for fast and successful market development
In a packed hall, Dr. Alexander Renner from BMWi addressed in his welcome the opportunities serial refurbishment approaches bring. However, he stressed that it would require new convincing concepts such as Energiesprong to achieve the goals of the energy transition.
Kristina Zimmermann, dena (German Energy Agency)/Energiesprong Germany and Ian Hutchcroft, Energiesprong UK, presented the Energiesprong principle and reported on market development in the UK and Germany. Their conclusion: despite all the differences between countries, there are similar success factors for fast and successful market development. It needs political boost, and it takes courage and innovative drivers from housing, construction, and supply companies. In addition, it requires "volume" - so an increasing number of renovations to gradually reduce the construction costs and develop new types of buildings.
Love at first sight
When the urgency and theoretical framework was outlined, solution providers shared their first-hand experiences. Emanuel Heisenberg, whose company ‘ecoworks’ are implementing net zero refurbishments, reported on their experiences with a first project to renovate multi-family houses.
Maxime Hugonnet, from Bouygues Construction, brought the French perspective to the stage. The French construction company decided early on to implement Energiesprong renovations. "It was love at first sight," says Hugonnet.
In his closing lecture, architect Dr. Burkhard Schulze-Darup showed that energy efficiency and affordable housing are compatible. “It is time to go new ways to reach the climate goals. Serial renovation - with industrially prefabricated elements - can be part of the solution and bring new momentum to the rehabilitation market.”
Volume deal
Germany is actively engaging its market for Energiesprong, aiming for a volume deal in November. Interested companies are invited to contact the Energiesprong Germany team, see also www.energiesprong.de
