What’s New in the Built Environment Sector?
News from ICN Members: GreenTech South, UK; Flux50, Belgium
Greentech South, UK
Low Carbon Homes
Greentech South is hosting 3 morning drop-in session on the 16th – 18th of March on the housing market in the South-East and Solent. Specifically, the sessions will touch upon the challenges faced by local authorities in delivering sustainable housing growth, as well as with improving the existing house stock which is among the least efficient in Europe.
Future of Cities
Next up in the Green Growth ‘future of …’series is the ‘Future of Cities’ webinar on May 25th. The webinar will shed light on interesting questions such as: how can we accommodate the world’s growing population and tackle the climate emergency at the same time? and is a net zero city possible? The webinar will feature debate and the opportunity to network with business leaders and changemakers.
Flux50, Belgium
Circular district in Ghent – Nieuwe Dokken
De Nieuwe Dokken in Ghent is a newly built circular district of 400 dwellings. The Cooperative DuCoop invested in decentralised water sanitation, 4th generation district heating and smart energy management. The energy aspect of the development was a Flux50 feasibility project called Multi Energy Sources innovator zone. The study aimed to examine all technologies necessary for a smart multi-energy neighbourhood in Ghent (smart grid, data management, decision algorithms, etc.). Other specific obstacles were also identified (economic, legal, regulatory, market success, etc.)
SmartBusiness areas of the future
A feasibility study in 2018 answered positively to theses 2 key questions: Can a consortium of 4 partners in the business park “Mechelen Noord” create a Renewable Energy Community, exchange energy and guarantee a more stable distribution network? and can the storage capacity of electric vehicles, combined with local energy storage, be used as a reliable peak power plant?
Therefore, a living lab was launched in December 2019 to demonstrate that the sharing and valorisation of green energy can increase the penetration of renewable energy sources and electrical storage at a lower societal cost and that grid congestion on the distribution network can be avoided.
ICN Passport Service
Are you interested in engaging with any of the mentioned clusters and thus have access to their wide network of companies and research institutions in order to share knowledge or develop innovative and successful partnerships?
This can be done through the ICN Passport Service wich allows interested members within the ICN network to request assistance when seeking new project partners or business opportunities at a local ICN cluster in the targeted region. It also provides the local cluster with the opportunity to expand its network, to meet potential partners and to gain new knowledge.
