About Us

Enhancing Market Readiness for nZEB Implementation

General Objective

What We're All About

Although legal obligations are provided at National level by transposing the provisions of the 2010/31/EU Directive, the Nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) concept does not seem to be easily applicable yet in many countries. Previous research showed that defining the cost-feasible optimal integration of the technologies suitable for nZEB and the skills gaps experienced by the building sector are among the most important barriers. Current qualification courses and training schemes are still not satisfactory and underdeveloped to face the challenge of effective nZEB implementation, while the recourse to skilled professionals for renovations and new constructions of buildings is not usual practice. Despite strong political push towards nZEB and deep energy renovation, the traditionally conservative real estate market is still slow in the uptake of the new building standards and practices, especially in the residential sector. To respond to the challenge and use the emerging opportunities, the nZEB Ready project aims to act at market level in order to stimulate the demand for energy-related skills of construction workers and specialists in the involved countries and beyond and to increase the market readiness for an effective nZEB implementation: (1) by addressing the key identified barriers of nZEB implementation in focused markets, (2) by supporting the enhancement of skills framework by new market driven mutual recognition training and certification scheme for nZEB deployment that will facilitate the necessary legislative changes and (3) through development and communication of toolboxes, tailored guidance and practical support to engage home owners and public authorities to reach the nZEB benefits. The project will address the challenges in Bulgaria, Croatia, Portugal, Poland and Romania in order to exploit synergies related to common climatic zones, traditions and opportunities to use the benefit of a larger and easily accessible regional market.

Knowledge Bridging

The nZEB Ready project seeks to provide the market with the right ingredients for boosting the deployment of nZEB buildings in the European Union.

Frameworks
#upskilling #collaboration #legal_provisions #financing #trainings #best_practice #sustainable_buildings #energy_efficiency #commerce #technology
Our Vision

Who We Are

Focused on unblocking the nZEB market, the project nZEB Ready acts on 3 different pillars as crystallized from literature review and relevant stakeholders’ consultation: awareness, training and support, responding to the critical points of market barriers, as identified in most European countries.

Project Consortium

Within the project consortium, 5 countries, from different parts of European Union and with different implementation status are involved as pilot cases: Croatia, Poland, Romania, Portugal and Bulgaria. The project outcomes will be easily scalable to all member countries and easy to implement in any other country, regardless of the nZEB implementation level and knowledge. This is why the nZEB ready project has a key role in developing the nZEB market needs and skills all around Europe. Germany, office base for ICELI, is not considered because ICLEI acts at EU level and represents an integrator partner.

Pro-nZEB Cluster – the coordinator of the project has a deep understanding of implications and a general overview about the nZEB concept, and its main goal as institution is the same as the main objective of nZEB ready project: to increase the nZEB market, a spin-off from the research institute URBAN INCERC and represents an umbrella for its members, all nZEB providers. Pro-nZEB, has expertise on all directions, regarding the awareness, the training of skilled professionals and the promoting of support instruments. pRO-nZEB has a large expertise and know-how in EU projects related to energy efficiency and nZEB implementation.

Complementary, the second Romanian partner is the Technical University of Civil Engineering (UTCB) which brings learning programmes advanced know-how very useful for achieving the O4 objective of the project related to the increase of the skilled nZEB professionals and the implementation of the mutual recognition procedures. Besides, UTCB will assist the other partners to fulfil their own learning frameworks in their own countries.

From Portugal we have the National Laboratory for Energy and Geology (LNEG) which will lead the work related to replication and post implementation roadmaps related to the O7 objective of the project due to the high experience in other energy efficiency projects.

The Energy Efficiency Center – EnEffect is the Bulgarian partner which has large experience regarding the assistance of central and local authorities in harmonization of the legislation with the EU directives, on providing solutions to existing barriers related to EE and RES, on EE funding and financial schemes. Its main role has a direct impact to achieve objectives like O3 – regarding consultation to dedicated financial services or O5 related to support instruments for public authorities to integrate the nZEB requirements in tender process. Given the wide expertise of EnEffect on nZEB concept implementation it will coordinate the activities related to communication, dissemination and afterlife engagement of the project.

The Research and Innovation Centre Pro – Akademia (RIC) is a Polish NGO active in the field of interdisciplinary applied research in the field of social sciences and engineering related to sustainable energy and circular economy. Its expertise regarding the implementation of over 200 research and advisory projects for EU over 20-year long institutional experience as partner or as leader of H2020 projects recommends it as the main asset to fulfill the strategic objective O1 regarding the bridge between the past and the current initiatives in order to have the whole image about nZEB market.

The partner from Croatia is the Regional Energy Agency North (REAN) which is an expert partner for public authorities, SMEs, citizens and other organizations supporting them for the realization of ambitious plans for sustainable development, providing support for all the key categories of energy market stakeholders. REAN has the expertise and knowledge to provide a very important contribution to achieve the objectives O2 and O6 focused on the awareness of the key actors regarding the nZEB ecosystem benefits and on awareness of sustainability and energy related professions among the new generation.

The last but not the least partner is ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. Germany is not one of the pilot countries of the project, but ICLEI, an integrative partner, has a strong focus on supporting local governments in the implementation of sustainable development at community level. It has a strong role in the project to the development of tools and instruments for use by local authorities and other public sector actors to stimulate market demand for nZEB skills in construction projects. The main competences of the consortium partners demonstrate their rich expertise needed for a successful nZEB Ready implementation and, more important, sustainability of results.

Learn From Industry Leaders

nZEB Ready brings together some of the most experienced and well prepared professionals on matters related to high performance buildings.

Learn at Your Own Pace

Once the on-line platform will be fully operational, you will be able to find everything you need to implement nZEB in one place.

Professional Certification

New market driven mutual recognition training and certification scheme for nZEB deployment.

Want to learn more?

Objectives

The overarching goal of the project is to support the increase of the market readiness for an effective nZEB implementation and to stimulate the demand for energy related skills.

Complete the nZEB puzzle with outcomes and results from past and current sustainable energy initiatives, identifying what we have, what is missing and what needs to be done to reach an nZEB functional market, gathering findings and using them for further advancement.

Create specific instruments for awareness increase regarding the sustainability and nZEB concept with dedicated campaigns for different types of key actors from the whole construction chain, including final users in order to increase the demand on the market.
Urge the nZEB projects funding process by encouraging financial target groups to develop and to use energy performance bank products and dedicated financial services. Moreover, a sub-objective is to encourage beneficiaries to apply for nZEB projects funding through dedicated financial education and support calculation tools.
Respond to the market barriers and needs, generated by the lack of skilled professionals which are essential in nZEB construction chain, by expanding the pool of nZEB specialists for the design, execution, evaluation and validation of nZEB projects through dedicated training modules and replication activities. This will facilitate the increase of the available pool of skilled persons to be requested in nZEB tendering documentation.
Creation of support and guiding instruments for public authorities and private investors to integrate the nZEB technical constraints and requirements to use skilled professionals in the tender phase to facilitate a clear and smooth nZEB process.
Raise awareness of sustainability, constructions and energy related professions, especially addressed to new generation (high-school, university students), through closely relating to digitalisation and environmentally responsible lifestyles. A side objective is to raise the number of female nZEB professionals by career orientation and counselling in high schools.
Define post-implementation roadmaps that will guarantee the sustainability, replicability and reusability of the project results in order to reach the specific objectives (SO2-SO5) for other regions and European countries, using and integrating the obtained results, trainings, tutorials, guidelines, nZEB human resources e-fair.