German think-tank Agora Energiewende has written an extensive advisory and concrete work plan for the European Commission to help it reach its climate targets. The building industry, it says, should scale up Energiesprong across the European Union.  Feasible and affordable The report, “ Agora Energiewende (2019): European Energy Transition 2030: The Big Picture. Ten Priorities for the next European Commission to meet the EU’s 2030 targets and accelerate towards 2050” ,  paints a comprehensive picture of the European Energy Transition. It comes with a technical document that translates all recommendations into a concrete work plan for the new Parliament and the new Commission. It highlights ten priorities and four flagship initiatives to make the European energy transition a success. For the building industry, Energiesprong - a revolutionary, whole house refurbishment and new build standard and funding approach -is chosen as the flagship initiative to renovate 1 million buildings by 2025 on an industrial scale.  The report quotes: “Energy efficiency renovation of buildings is progressing at a rate of only 1% per year. This is less than half of what is necessary to reach the EU’s climate and energy targets for 2030. A crucial bottleneck is today’s small-scale approach: for most renovation projects, knowledge, service provider, materials and financing are organised from scratch. The Dutch Energiesprong model demonstrates that an industrialized approach can be both feasible and affordable.”  Advice to the European Commission The report also advises the European Commission to “launch and co-fund 5–10 pilot projects per member state in partnership with national agencies, cities, and industries. The purpose of the projects,” writes the report, “is to demonstrate the feasibility of industrialized renovation of existing buildings. The European Commission should also organize accompanying studies to identify barriers and costs. If useful for further scaling, the next European Commission should propose before the end of its mandate an EU-wide measure to harmonize market entry conditions for industrialized building renovations throughout Europe.”  Within the  NWE Interreg E=0 project funded by the European Union, Energiesprong has already initiated a market by realising successful pilot projects for single family homes in the UK and France, while the more recently started  Interreg NWE´s Mustbe0 project enables the application of the Energiesprong solution for multi-storey buildings in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. However, to apply the solution across Europe, financial support is still needed. Also, organising the legal framework to create optimum market conditions to enable industrialisation on an even bigger scale is impossible without support from the European Commission.

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

Energiesprong is a finalist at two prestigious Awards events this summer: the  Ashden Awards in London and the  EU Sustainable Energy Week Awards in Brussels. At these high profile events Energiesprong will go head to head with other innovative initiatives working to improve lives and the environment. Ashden seeks the best in sustainable buildings Energiesprong, a revolutionary, whole house refurbishment and new build standard, transforms poorly insulated and draughty homes into warm, comfortable, net zero energy homes, for life. This has not gone unnoticed. Within the UK the  Institute of Engineering and Technology and  Green Alliance are pointing to Energiesprong as a viable solution for the refurbishment of older, carbon intensive, hard to heat housing. Now Ashden is highlighting Energiesprong as a way forward too.  Ashden believes that “retrofitting buildings is one the best ways to reduce carbon emissions quickly”. In the hunt for 2019  Ashden Award  winners, Ashden assessors considered 100s of projects driving net zero emissions across the globe. On 3 July Ashden will celebrate just 10 winners as part of London Climate Action Week. Energiesprong is confirmed as a finalist in the Awards’ UK Sustainable Buildings category. Read more  EU Sustainable Energy Awards prize innovation Energiesprong is also a finalist for the  EU Sustainable Energy Awards  which recognise outstanding innovation in energy efficiency and renewables. 12 finalists have been chosen from a shortlist of the year’s most innovative projects for clean, secure and efficient energy. The winner will be decided by an expert jury and a public vote, culminating in an Awards Ceremony in Brussels on 18 June.  You can still vote! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=40&v=T5YfRwGeTNs A market for net zero energy retrofit in Europe Energiesprong teams have been busy building demand for net zero energy retrofit amongst social housing providers in Europe in the UK and France. The French team have nurtured a  collective agreement between 64 organisations to support the renovation of 6550 homes. In the UK, the  rollout of Energiesprong retrofit to 155 homes is already underway in Nottingham. Two EU-funded projects have supported this. The  Horizon 2020 Transition Zero project supported the creation of local demand for Energiesprong, starting with the social housing sector. The  E=0 project , supported by Interreg NWE, has for example enabled Energiesprong retrofit pilots in the UK and France and a third funded project has been confirmed.  Mustbe0 , also funded by Interreg NWE, will pilot net zero energy makeovers of multi-storey apartment buildings in North West Europe. Aggregating additional demand, improving regulation and financing to structurally enable net zero energy retrofits creates more market volume and drives the supply chain to industrially produce cheaper and better retrofits which kick-starts a self-sustaining market.  Because everybody deserves a desirable, comfortable and affordable home.

Desirable, comfortable and affordable homes for everyone, for life. That is what Energiesprong is after. We are independent market development teams in the Netherlands, France, Uk and Germany setting a new standard for comfortable, super energy efficient refurbishments (and new built solutions) with guaranteed performance. We also introduce a new financing approach and we work with governments to improve regulations for these solutions. This, to ensure people can get a home that not only fits our time, but is ready for our future. For the next 3 years Energiesprong works on  Interreg NWE´s Mustbe0 project to make net zero energy suitable for multi-storey buildings in North West Europe. The core focus of the program is the acceleration of the market for net zero energy retrofits of multi storey apartment buildings of social housing companies. Within this context we are looking for a Market Developer Solutions and a Market Developer Housing. Both roles will largely and primarily be funded through the Mustbe0 project via the European Union InterregNWE instrument. The work will be done in close cooperation with 3 other teams in Europe executing a similar intervention so work may also be required on other projects.  Market Developer Solutions What is required is the development of a better net zero retrofit solution for multi-storey buildings. Together with the Housing market developer a set of project deals in between solution providers and housing associations have to be arranged and facilitated. This needs to lead to a larger pool of projects that need less intervention to get procured.  The Market Developer Solutions will primarily focus on engaging solution providers (general contractors, component suppliers etc.) to build solutions for net zero retrofits of midrise apartment buildings at the right cost level. This will include initial engagement of a focussed pool of relevant supply side actors, surfacing the best practice solution they can provide, matching their solution to specific building typologies and create an improvement roadmap to bring down cost further and improve the retrofit to make a further roll out of NZE retrofits in multi story buildings successful.  This will include:  Working with Solution providers (initial solution assessments, marketing strategy for the solution, 3 year improvement roadmap);  Supporting solution providers in their project proposals;  Supporting solution providers in finding innovative supplies to improve their proposition.  Developing a predictable workflow of projects in close collaboration with the market developer housing in the team is essential.  Read the complete vacancy Closing date 25 June Please submit your application with a cover letter and CV to jasper@energiesprong.eu Market Developer Housing Together with the supply side market developer a set of project deals in between solution providers and housing associations have to be arranged and facilitated. This needs to lead to a larger pool of projects that need less intervention to get procured.  The Market Developer Housing will primarily focus on engaging Social Housing Providers to build demand for net zero retrofits at scale. This will include initial engagement, through to business case and approvals, ensuring that housing providers are supported through their organisational transformation to make a further roll out of NZE retrofits in multi story buildings successful.  This will include:  Working with housing providers (stock assessments and selection for net zero energy retrofit opportunities for apartment buildings);  Supporting housing providers in organizing the procurement of retrofits based on performance based criteria instead of pre-defined solutions;  Supporting housing providers in dialogues with the solution provider to create the right retrofit solutions and supporting them in the implementation process.  Developing a pipeline (with a group of housing providers) to create a predictable workflow where innovation (cost and performance targets) can be set with solution providers. Close collaboration with the market developer solutions in the team is essential.  Read the complete vacancy Closing date 25 June Please submit your application with a cover letter and CV to jasper@energiesprong.eu

The US Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission partner on RMI’s REALIZE initiative to make better-performing, safer and more comfortable homes for millions of families. Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) announced a national partnership with the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) to catalyze the development of a speedy and scalable process for zero-carbon retrofits in the multifamily home sector through its  REALIZE  initiative. Pilot projects in California, Minnesota and Massachusetts Supported by a $500,000  DOE Building America  award and $7.2 million CEC Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) grant, the three-year collaboration spans across California, Minnesota and Massachusetts to develop pilot projects—totaling approximately 500,000 square feet—in multifamily buildings to demonstrate an industrialized approach to conducting zero-emissions retrofits.In addition, RMI, DOE, CEC and other market facilitation actors, such as New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s RetrofitNY program, are working together to develop scaling mechanisms designed to mobilize and organize the supply chain and kickstart a market for integrated retrofit systems. Six pilots are slated for development in RetrofitNY’s program. RMI is on a mission America’s 125 million residential units account for approximately 20 percent of the country’s total carbon emissions, but only roughly 12,500 of these units (0.01 percent) are operating at net zero energy, according to the Net Zero Energy Coalition’s 2017 inventory. Progress continues to be hindered in large part by the disaggregation of both supply and demand―today, every retrofit is a custom job, involving significant time, complexity and cost. At the same time, nearly 50 million Americans are living at or below the federal poverty line, with many struggling to pay for their utilities versus other basic needs. While low-income families stand to benefit the most from high-performing buildings, they also face the greatest barriers in accessing them, spending up to 20 percent of their income on energy, compared to just 4 percent for the average US household. “RMI is on a mission to industrialize and scale zero-emissions retrofits by overcoming barriers and closing gaps in the marketplace,” said RMI Managing Director Jamie Mandel. “Inherent in our goal is a need to ensure that a significant portion of the economic activity benefits low- to moderate-income and minority communities.” Inspired by Energiesprong REALIZE is combining demand aggregation and supply chain coordination to deploy high-quality, prefabricated mass-scale retrofit packages that are easy to install and are financed through utility cost savings. The approach was inspired by Energiesprong . REALIZE is working with its partners to adapt the Energiesprong approach to the US market. Energiesprong is an official strategic partner on both the DOE and CEC efforts. Read the press release For more information on REALIZE, visit  rmi.org/REALIZE

Energiesprong kicks off Interreg NWE´s Mustbe0 project to make net zero energy suitable for multi-storey buildings in North West Europe . After a successful start bringing the Dutch Energiesprong approach for affordable, desirable, long-term performance guaranteed net zero energy (NZE) retrofits to Europe for single family homes ( E=0 ), the coming three years will see Energiesprong develop a market for apartment buildings in North West Europe under a new project: Mustbe0 , funded by Interreg NWE . The UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands will join forces to create a viable path to scale. The UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands alone have 43 million apartments that are not future proof because there is no compelling deep energy retrofit solution for these buildings available yet. This is key for all countries to achieve the EU’s CO2 target. Under the Mustbe0 programme, market development teams in the four participating countries the coming 3,5 years will work on solutions by developing a market for net zero energy retrofits that fit apartment buildings in North West Europe. This is a giant leap in the approach and thinking around the challenge of energy transition. Creating a viable market path Already 9 housing providers have committed to collaborating on the retrofit of at least 9 demonstrator buildings (415 apartments) in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands within the Mustbe0 programme. This will launch the market. Off-site manufacturing of the retrofit packages (mass customised facades and roofs with fully integrated energy and climate systems) enables the driving down of costs and installation times to reduce from several months to a few weeks. We have already seen a reduction in price since Energiesprong started in the Netherlands and later was introduced in France and the UK. Solution providers such as the Dutch Factory Zero and Melius Homes in the UK dedicate their business completely to develop net zero energy retrofits and products. The French SME Operene, together with 6 other SME´s started the programme ES’OPE, inspired by Energiesprong. The aim of ES’OPE is to develop a catalogue of solutions for net zero energy retrofits. By kick starting a market for apartments as well, the market will only be more competitive which will drive quality up and costs down even further. Aggregating additional demand, improving regulation, and financing structurally creates more market volume and drives the supply chain to industrially produce cheaper and better retrofits which kick-starts a self-sustaining market. What is net zero energy? The Energiesprong net zero energy standard provides modern and comfortable homes that people love to live in. Each home produces enough energy for its heating, hot water and appliances. Money that would have been spent on energy bills and maintenance funds the improvement. The aim is that the cost of living doesn’t increase because real-life performance for energy use and indoor comfort is guaranteed for up to 30 years. A complete home makeover can take less than 10 days and has been done in as little as a day. Energiesprong a worldwide movement Energiesprong is an award winning* revolutionary, whole house refurbishment and new built standard and funding approach. Energiesprong is facilitated by independent Market Development Teams that intervene in the market by creating demand for this standard, increasing and improving supply capabilities, and tuning policy, regulation and finance to make a viable path to scale. By brokering large volume deals, we create the momentum needed for stakeholders to act simultaneously. This creates a viable market to entice suppliers to invest in digital off-site manufacturing. Mass customisation and industrialisation are the key. We are active in Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, New York State, and the UK. Cities across the world recognise the Energiesprong opportunity. In 2018 Energiesprong won the World Green Building Council award , Nottingham’s Energiesprong homes won the UK Housing Award and Shift Award .

The Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy Baden-Württemberg has launched a three million euros funding programme for energy renovation of residential buildings. The aim is to stimulate the high quality, energetic renovation of residential buildings with industrially prefabricated façade and roof elements. This matches Energiesprong perfectly. Uwe Bigalke, team leader Energiesprong Germany at energy agency dena . "We are pleased that Baden-Württemberg is setting new standards here and, with the support programme, is creating important momentum for the market development of new retrofit processes such as the Energiesprong approach." As with every country where Energiesprong is active, the development costs for the first projects of this kind are relatively high. Therefore funding is key to helping solution providers innovate and to support housing companies to establish new processes and develop projects for procurement. This gets the ball rolling. "In order to get closer to the goal of a climate-neutral building stock by 2050, we need to raise the rehabilitation rate in the country from around one percent to more than two percent, while achieving the highest possible energy efficiency standards," says Untersteller, Minister of the Environment of Baden-Württemberg. "With our new funding program, we want to encourage the high quality renovation of residential buildings with industrially prefabricated façade and roof elements. Such a serial refurbishment could significantly reduce construction times and thus give energetic renovation the necessary momentum," explains Unstersteller. Information event on April 2nd At the information event organized by the State of Baden-Württemberg on April 2nd in Stuttgart, Uwe Bigalke, Team Leader of Energiesprong Germany, will introduce the principle and the experiences in Germany and Europe. In addition, practical approaches of an Energiesprong renovation will be presented.   More information about the programme and a link to register on Energiesprong.de The "Serielle Sanierung" funding programme is aimed at all those involved in investment measures such as housing companies, housing cooperatives, condominium associations, owners or operators of dormitories/halls of residence, property developers, private individuals, corporations and public law institutions as well as contracting providers. The residential buildings to be renovated must be in Baden-Württemberg (South of Germany). See also www.energiesprong.de

The State University of New York (SUNY) will have its first net zero energy-ready retrofit project on a campus with SUNY Oneonta’s Ford Hall. The residence hall, which can house 300 students, will be renovated as "zero-net carbon-ready". This means in addition to exceeding existing energy codes, the building will make use of future off-site renewable energy sources as they become available to meet building operations energy consumption needs.  Proof of concept It is the first of its kind for the SUNY Residence Hall Program and will serve as a proof-of-concept, demonstrating an affordable residence hall renovation can achieve zero-net carbon (ready) performance. The team selected to renovate the residence hall will utilise design-build. Design-build is an alternative project delivery method where both design and construction services are provided through a single contract to further project delivery. This provides savings and integrates construction process knowledge into the design effort leading to a high level of quality. Collaborative effort The project represents a collaborative effort between  SUNY ,  DASNY (The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York), and  NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research & Development) through its RetrofitNY program , to develop cost-effective retrofit solutions that will achieve zero-net carbon performance, and improve resident quality of life and building aesthetics. The RetrofitNY approach is based on our successful European program, Energiesprong.  Energiesprong is project partner of RetrofitNY . The project is expected to begin construction in the summer of 2020 and be completed by the start of the fall 2021 semester. Reducing the State’s carbon footprint This project is part of a strategy to achieve Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s nation-leading clean energy goals and for the state to lead by example with Chancellor Johnson’s plan to retrofit and renovate SUNY’s 64-campus system to achieve Greenhouse Gas Emissions reductions. This plan includes SUNY purchasing 100 percent of its grid sourced electricity from zero-carbon sources, including renewables and energy storage, and requires all new SUNY buildings to be designed to be capable of zero-net carbon emissions. Making these improvements at SUNY’s 2,346 buildings – which represent 40 percent of the state-owned building infrastructure in New York – is expected to reduce the State’s carbon footprint by more than 400,000 tons of carbon emissions per year.  The residence hall project will be financed through a combination of DASNY’s SUNY Dormitory Facilities tax-exempt bonds supported by student residence hall fees and funding from NYSERDA.  Read the  whole press release and see the RFQ .

Stand F200 Please come and meet us during the Futurebuild event in ExCel London from Tue 5 - Thu 7 March. Here you can learn all about our Energiesprong projects, meet solution providers that are delivering these projects and discuss and share ideas with our experts.  At our dedicated stand F200 in the Energy Hub, the delivery of net zero energy retrofits by Melius and Engie as well as two different integrated energy modules made by Factory Zero will be featured and there will be plenty of room for discussion. The Energiesprong standard focuses on creating desirable homes that people love to live in. Because an Energiesprong retrofit (or new build) has the very best energy standard available, it uses the money that would normally be spent on energy bills and maintenance to pay for the works. Please register herefor the Futurebuild event and come and meet us at our stand!  Special programme 7 March (11.00-12.30) On the morning of 7 March, a special 1.5 hour programme features short presentations by international experts from housing organisations and solution providers sharing their own unique perspectives of delivering an Energiesprong retrofit project. This is the closing event of the E=0 project funded by INTERREG NWE . You will hear about Energiesprong pilots in France and the UK supported by funding from INTERREG NWE’s E=0. This special programme takes place in the central networking area (C140) in the Knowledge Forum area of the conference hall. Programme: Learn all about Energiesprong projects and discuss with experts What is Energiesprong?  First hand experiences from France and the UK                                                  Presentation of French Energiesprong project by housing organisation Vilogia.                Presentation of an Energiesprong project in Nottingham by Energiesprong solution provider Melius.                                                    Presentation of first Energiesprong energy module factory by Factory Zero from the Netherlands.  Moat and ENGIE introduce their first Energiesprong retrofit project  Conclusion and view on scaling including an interview with INTERREG NWE  The last part of this programme will be dedicated to your questions and ideas  Please register here for the special programme Site visit 7 March (13.00-17.00)  After the special programme a bus will leave for a visit to a real Energiesprong retrofit project Moat and ENGIE in that Moat and ENGIE have just started work on in Maldon, Essex. For this site visit a limited number of places are available so sign up quickly to be sure of a spot.  Please register here for the site visit

Green Alliance, the UK’s leading environmental think tank and critical contributor to the shaping of UK environmental policy, has thrown its weight behind the Energiesprong approach to tackle the country’s failing policy in meeting its climate targets. Dubbing the UK as the nation with ‘the least energy efficient housing stock in Europe’, a report published by Green Alliance this month highlighted that despite the UK’s ambition to have all housing stock meet EPC band C standards by 2035, only 29% is currently at this standard: “the UK’s current policy approach is nowhere near ambitious enough to tackle the remaining 71 per cent. In fact, energy efficiency improvements have stalled, measures are expensive, industry is underinvesting and householders still find retrofits a major hassle”. Current UK ambitions not enough Green Alliance attribute this failure to UK policy continuing to target low cost, localised measures such as cavity wall and loft insulation, instead of investing in technologically advanced, ‘whole house’ net zero energy retrofits such as the Energiesprong model. The report sees this piecemeal approach as unnecessarily costly. It states that: “continuing to only target the least cost measures, instead of innovating to reduce the cost of all the energy efficiency measures needed to achieve the EPC Band C goal by 2035, could raise annual public spending on energy efficiency from £640 million to as much as £2.3 billion”. And that furthermore: “if every UK home had cost effective, conventional energy saving measures installed, energy use would fall by 25%. Current UK ambitions are about half this, so would reduce energy use by about 12%.  But, to achieve the 80-100% cut in carbon emissions that the UK has committed to by 2050, much more is needed. Energiesprong as a solution to dramatically cut carbon emissions The Energiesprong approach could, according to Green Alliance, nearly eliminate the carbon emissions of 41% of the UK’s housing stock. And this would be only the tip of the iceberg of the numerous other benefits it could bring. A typical retrofitted home can save the UK Electricity Grid the value of £250 worth of supply annually due to its ability to shift energy loading away from peak times. Retrofitting 11 million homes would reduce the UK’s reliance on gas consumption for heating by 41%. “This would significantly reduce the cost of decarbonising the UK’s heat supply, which the National Infrastructure Commission say could cost anywhere between £120-£300 billion”. Energiesprong retrofits can be installed in as little as one day, removing the ‘hassle’ factor for householders. Energiesprong boost to energy efficient product sector Although the cost of the Energiesprong approach is currently higher than the usual incremental upgrades, the report stresses that: “ because the Energiesprong approach harnesses technology and construction innovation, its upfront cost is more likely to fall rapidly through mass deployment and economies of scale than conventional retrofits, in which case it will become the cheapest deep-house retrofit option available”.  And in addition, the production of its three main technological innovations – offsite construction, mass customisation and integrated components – would likely boost the UK’s energy efficiency product sector (currently flat) by £11 billion a year in the 2030’s. The key to the Energiesprong approach’s success in the UK lies in mass deployment. An area which should be of particular interest and significance to UK policy makers is that of social housing. The report cites that rolling out the approach “across 2.3 million social homes could save construction costs of between £10.5-£31.5 billion”. With the current UK crisis in funding for social housing construction, a saving such as this should be taken very seriously.  Government commitment can drive costs down But even outside of social housing, the UK needs to cut carbon target emissions by 80%, and at present has few cost-effective options to make this happen.  The first small scale trial of the Energiesprong installations in Nottingham, UK cost £75,000 per home. But the report stresses that this cost could be reduced significantly on a larger scale, in the same way that it has been done in the Netherlands.  Over the last three years, the foundations have been laid for Energiesprong to expand across Europe. We saw market development supported by the Horizon 2020 Transition Zero project and INTERREG NWE E=0 funding supporting  Energiesprong pilots in the UK and France. As a result, there are now collective agreements in place for over  6500 Energiesprong retrofits in France  and an Energiesprong rollout is underway to over 150 homes in Nottingham. Two pilot projects have launched in France and the one in Nottingham is shortly to be supplemented by two more  UK pilots .   In the Netherlands we have already seen what can be achieved when innovation and economies of scale come into play; the Netherlands has now almost halved the cost of its Energiesprong retrofits.    For the UK the report says:  “Industry believes that a government commitment to supporting 5,000 retrofits would drive economies of scale, enabling market actors to finance further retrofits towards a £35,000 per retrofit cost goal. At this level, Energiesprong retrofits could be subsidy free”.

As part of the Interreg project E=0 , and for the last 3 years, MRDH (Metropolitan Region Rotterdam – The Hague) has been working to get net zero energy retrofits available for private homeowners in the Netherlands. One of the obstacles for homeowners in choosing net zero energy was that there were no financing solutions. Up until now it was impossible for homeowner associations to secure loans with a national guarantee for a period of 30 years. Such long term loans enable apartments to be retrofitted without greatly increasing the cost of living for homeowners. The hard work of MRDH and other organisations such as Platform31 and Stroomversnelling has finally paid off.  Homeowner associations can now take out long term loans of 30 years at the Dutch National Energy Saving Fund. In addition, individuals can also apply for an Energy Savings Loan to make a newly built house free of natural gas, which is urgent because of the goal to make the Netherlands free of gas before 2050. Moving forward The loans available at the National Energy Saving Fund help enormously to get (near) net zero energy retrofits started for private homeowners. For homeowner associations, the loans will only be available to those that have the ambition to retrofit to high energy efficiency standards. Because of the long period of the loans, monthly costs will be lower, which make the investments more attractive. In the Netherlands 1.2 million out of the total 7 million homeowners are members of a homeowner association. Energy use in these homes account for 20% of national CO2 emissions. Retrofitting these homes to (nearly) net zero energy will contribute significantly to climate objectives whilst simultaneously boosting and revitalising the urban environment. The Minister for the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Ollongren, agrees with this. "Making all homes more sustainable and removing natural gas is a big job. A fifth of the housing stock comes under a homeowner association, so large steps can be taken. With the change in the conditions, it will become much more attractive for homeowner associations to invest in sustainability. The homeowner gets a lower energy bill and more comfort in return.” MRDH E=0 programma In the southern Randstad (the urban agglomeration of Western Holland), 23 local authorities join their forces in the Metropolitan region Rotterdam The Hague (MRDH). The local authorities work together to improve accessibility and strengthen the economic business climate. With financial support from Interreg , the MRDH E=0 programme focused on highly energy efficient housing for homeowner associations. As part of this project they supported large homeowner associations with an investment decision for net zero energy retrofits / net zero energy ready measures. Thirteen homeowner associations within the MRDH joined the programme and explored the possibilities. Mark Bal, programme coordinator for MRDH says: “The homeowner associations within the project will function as a trigger for others. With the news that this loan is now available, homeowners will understand that making your home a real sustainable place is an attractive choice. With a growing demand from homeowners for these kinds of retrofits, the market will hopefully speed up to deliver net zero energy products for his sector.”

Seven companies have joined forces to develop new technologies for high quality, swift to install zero energy products with long term guaranteed performance. The project is called ES'OPE and is inspired by the Energiesprong approach, which helped to change renovation practices in the Netherlands. ES’OPE is an abbreviation of ‘Energiesprong by Operene’. The ES'OPE research and development project is supported by the Program of Investments for the Future (PIA) operated by ADEME and has officially started this month! The project is led by a consortium of companies: Chanel (project coordinator), Enertech, Eolya, IRFTS, Lorillard, Operene, Rosaz and the Liten laboratory CEA Tech (see also this pdf). Each company brings a unique specialism such as insulated facades, windows, low carbon heating solutions or ventilation. The ES'OPE project aims to jointly develop high quality solutions to accelerate the renovation of individual and collective housing in France. Inspired by Energiesprong The idea to start the ES’OPE project first came because duplicating a Netherlands style Energiesprong retrofit alone would not have been acceptable for the French market. Hugo Vigneron, General Manager of Operene, says, “When we saw Energiesprong retrofits in the Netherlands we immediately saw that these would need to be adapted for France. For example, building regulations would not allow polyurethane foam insulation around windows in France. Anticipating higher environmental standards, the embodied energy in materials was also a concern we felt should be taken into account.” Proud Developed at Operene's initiative, and officially launched in May 2018, the project will be spread over 5 years on a budget of € 10.9 million (including € 4.4 million financed by ADEME). Hugo Vigneron is excited that the network of SMEs has secured government support. He says “We’re really proud to show that despite the common beliefs, it is possible for SMEs to develop Research & Development (R&D) projects and have access to specific funding.”  New technologies lead to a complete high quality renovation offer The heart of the project lies in the development of new technologies that will respond to objectives of: zero consumption after use, a guarantee of long energy performance (20 to 30 years) and fast installation (one week for an individual house). The project will start with a technology development stage, followed by a trialling and testing phase carried out in CEA laboratories. Demonstrators will then be effected after this, on buildings representative of the target market. The plan is to retrofit a mix of individual homes and apartment blocks using the solutions most suitable for rollout across France. Architectural integration, a social approach to renovation, as well as the models , will all be integrated into the project in order to achieve a complete net zero energy renovation offer. For a short description of the joined companies download this PDF