"Quantum" Partners

Institute for Building Services and Energy Design (IGS), Technische Universität Braunschweig (Germany)

www.tu-braunschweig.de/igs

The legal entity is Technische Universität Braunschweig (TUBS) which is a member of TU9, the group of leading Universities of Technology in Germany. In QMBP, TUBS participates with the research Institute for Building Services and Energy Design (IGS) that handles the entire spectrum of energy and climatic design in buildings. The main areas of activity are building technology, edificial physics as well as passive and active usage of solar energy for residential and office buildings. Along with new buildings, the restoration of existing buildings takes center stage. Professor Dr.-Ing. M. Norbert Fisch has been the director of the IGS since 1996.

The focus and philosophy of the IGS is the integral planning of buildings while taking all relevant aspects of energy consumption and occupant comfort into account. A team of around 20 staff members works on innovative solutions in fields like edificial physics, heating, cooling, air conditioning and renewable energies. The research and development of new concepts, systems and components of innovative architecture are operated by computer-aided simulations, experimental investigations in the institute’s laboratory, as well as realization and validation in practice.

At the same time, the IGS cooperates in many projects with other research establishments and companies from commerce and industry. Appropriations are provided by, among others, the German Federal Environmental Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor as well as other institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany. Work results are immediately expanded into the institute’s curriculum. In addition to lectures for basics and current topics, the IGS offers a simulation laboratory for the students, in which the possibilities of practical software for integral building planning can be experienced instantly.

Building Research Establishment LTD (United Kingdom)

www.bre.co.uk

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) is a company (registered company no.:3319324) and we are the UK’s leaders in research and innovation within the built environment. BRE is wholly owned by a charitable trust (BRE Trust, charity no.:1092193) and all profits are gift aided to fund further research and education in the built environment. The BRE was first founded as a government department in 1921, and privatised into the current charitable status in 1997.

BRE helps government, industry and business to meet the challenges of our built environment through independent and impartial, research-based consultancy, testing and training organisation, offering expertise in every aspect of the built environment and associated industries. We help clients create better, safer and more sustainable products, buildings, communities and businesses - and we support the innovation needed to achieve this.

BRE provides an extensive range of value added consultancy services, best practice guidance, digital tools and industry training for the construction sector in the UK and beyond. BRE, through BRE Global, also owns and operates the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), a sustainability assessment scheme that was been used in more than fifty countries. As a result of the considerable range of services and support BRE provides to the UK construction industry, we also have excellent dissemination and influence links in to the industry and government departments that legislate upon it.

The BRE has an expert staff of more than 600 with centres in England, Wales and Scotland in the UK, and with further centres as far afield as Hong Kong and Brazil. Through this strong staff base, BRE has the skills and experience to deliver the technical understanding required from the QUANTUM project, including building engineers, architects and building scientists, which is supplemented by the dedicated media team who have considerable experience in publishing, dissemination and market awareness-raising. As the UK’s pre-eminent leaders in research and innovation, BRE therefore provides an excellent ‘fit’ to the tasks set out in the QUANTUM project.

Ceske Vysoke Uceni Technicke v Praze (Czech Republic)

www.cvut.cz/en

Czech Technical University (CVUT) in Prague was established in 1707. The Czech Technical University educates future experts in technical fields. The university supports scientific work, educates new scientists and is a centre for scientific and educational activities in technical fields. The university develops scientific and educational research, creative and technical activities in accordance with the social requirements, worldwide trends and the principles of freedom of intellectual activities. Among other priorities is a continuous and wide-ranging development of international cooperation and further improvements in external relations and the university position in the Czech Republic and abroad. More than 21000 students visit six Faculties - Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Architecture and Transportation Sciences.

CVUT provides bachelor, master and doctorate programs with more than 1400 academic staff. Dean of CVUT FCE is representing CVUT in European technology construction platform. CVUT group is based on academic staff from Faculty of Civil Engineering - Department of Microenvironmental and Building Services Systems Engineering.  The department provides courses in building services systems for study programmes Buildings and Environment, Building Engineering and Architecture.

In pedagogical and research work, the department focuses on various professions in building energy systems, the theory of indoor environment, including sanitary systems, heating and air-conditioning, artificial lighting, simulation of building energy performance, and electrical installations, including intelligent buildings. Scientific research, publishing, consulting and expert activities are concentrated on solving special problems in practical applications and on IT applications in individual disciplines. Staff: 1 Professors, 3 Associate Professors, 9 Assistant Professors, 21 doctoral students.  The main task of CVUT in the project is to be academic partner focusing on indoor environmental quality evaluation and pilot projects´ measurement analysis.

COWI A/S (Denmark)

www.cowi.com

COWI is a multidisciplinary independent consulting company operating world-wide within all principal fields of enginering and related sciences.

COWI has a total of 6.200 employees, of which 2.900 are based in Denmark. The turn-over amounts to 709 million euros (in 2013).

Complex, multidisciplinary projects are planned and implemented according to an integrated approach, which involves traditional engineering services as well as energy and environmental science, economy, sociology, training and transfer of technology.

COWI has specialised knowledge within innovative energy systems, Eco-management and large-scale projects. With status as independent consultant (and a member of FIDIC), COWI must retain absolute independence of contractors, manufacturers and suppliers. COWI is among the leading consultants in Northern Europe within sustainable energy solutions combining energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies offering a comprehensive range of services in all aspects of tailored energy concepts. COWI has operated the EC energy centres.

COWI is a company (service provider) in energy efficiency and ICT solutions able to maintain the services and with commercial interest in the developed solutions. It is very relevant for COWI to include quality management procedures for building energy control as a product as part of the overall building design, and will provide this service after the end of the project in addition to the design which is already provided to the customer as part of the building design. COWI is already a provider capable of continuing offering the services after the end the project.

e7 Energie Markt Analyse (Austria)

www.e-sieben.at

e7 Energie Markt Analyse GmbH is a research and consulting organisation working in the fields of energy efficient construction and renovation and energy economy. The company was founded in July 2007 and is located in Vienna, Austria. 

EKODOMA (Latvia)

www.ekodoma.lv

Ekodoma Limited group is an engineering consultancy practice with its permanent office in Riga, Latvia. Ekodoma operates in the Baltic countries since 1991. The scope of the company is to ensure energy efficiency and use of sustainable energy sources to achieve economic development with the lowest possible impact on the environment. This is accomplished by bringing sustainable climate and energy concepts in each stage and aspect of design and consultancy.

Ekodoma offers project development, project management, technical supervision of projects, which involve energy measures, assessment of the social impact of energy efficiency and interfaces with neighbouring fields. The firm works together with clients, engineers, architects and economists from the start of the process, considering each step from the standpoint of thermodynamics and physics.  

For each project potential strategies and solutions are assessed and evaluated, creating a strong identity for every situation; but Ekodoma goes beyond the limited idea of energy efficiency, looking at the interdependence of comfort issues and the integration of each solution in the build environment within a larger environmental context.

Recently, Ekodoma has been providing services for ESCO companies active in Latvia. In the residential sector the company is working in network with RenEsco, providing them with energy audits, baseline studies for EPC and monitoring systems. This includes direct contact to residential buildings addressed for the implementation of deep renovation and energy efficiency projects. Since 1991, Ekodoma has carried out more than 1000 energy audits in buildings, covering the residential, public, tertiary and industrial sector.

In the last years, Ekodoma has provided several services to Latvian Ministries and institutions, among all the Latvian Ministry of Environment and Regional development and the Ministry of Economics for the implementation of national policies and transposition of European directives. For the Latvian Investment and Development Agency Ekodoma is part of the group selected for quality checks of energy audits under the support programme for renovation of multifamily residential buildings. Ekodoma has an extensive local network of partners including different house maintenance companies, building cooperatives, associations, municipalities, district heating and utilities companies providing professional consultancy and energy services for the implementation of energy efficient measures, renewable energy projects and energy management activities and investments.

Since 2006, Ekodoma has participated in more than 40 European international projects supported by the European Commission, many of which focused on the energy efficiency services and buildings. The company's scope of services has widened and it operates in new markets: Russia, Ukraine, Kosovo, Moldova and Romania.

Energy Team spa (Italy)

www.energyteam.it

Founded in 1996, Energy Team SPA is a company focused in the development and commercialization of solutions to permit the effective use of resources. Since its beginning, Energy Team has never stopped growing in both size and ideas. Our company has installed Energy management solutions (hardware and software) in over 9,000 manufacturing sites.

Energy team spa is a well established SME that despite the financial crisis, was able to maintain its revenue in the last years, reaching in 2013 8,3 Million € and a net profit of 0,8M €. In 2013, we have increased our staff by 13% in relation to the previous year, reaching 51 employees plus 13 collaborators as freelances, stagier and temporary agency staff.  From the technical and commercial relationships developed over the years with major energy suppliers and distributors, we have developed advanced applications for monitoring, detecting and managing energy related data.

In 2010 we started our internationalization and expanded our commercial offer to other EU countries and third countries. Nowadays we have clients in more than 21 countries and we are now in a phase of consolidating our international presence.  In Europe, the countries where we have more revenue after Italy, where our headquarters is situated, are: Poland, France, Sweden, Spain and Germany. At international level, outside EU, we have clients in 10 countries, including Mexico, USA, South Korea and Japan. The wide range of Tools & Services we offer allows us to support users engaged in virtually every industry. The implementation of our solutions generates extremely low structural impact in plants and offices.

ENESA a.s. (Czech Republic)

www.enesa.cz

ENESA (Czech Republic) is a privately owned energy service company founded in year 2005. ENESA focuses dominantly on development of energy performance contract (EPC) type of projects in both public and private (commercial, industrial and residential) sectors. ENESA ́s main activities are: a) Implementation of energy performance projects (EPC) and energy conservation projects in public sector and private (mainly industrial) sector; b) Providing feasibility studies, energy audits and consultancy in energy and energy efficiency; c) International consulting services to support development of energy efficiency market (EBRD) and d) Cooperation and participation in several projects funded by EU.

Management team has extensive experience of successful development and implementation of energy efficiency projects since 1993. Members of the management completed the first EPC projects in the Czech Republic in early 1990s. ENESA has completed several large and complex EPC projects both public and industrial sector since 2005. ENESA is a founding member of Czech Association of Energy Services Companies (APES). ENESA has participated as a member of consortium for services to the EBRD in promoting an ESCO scheme in several countries including Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Russia. ENESA was awarded as the Best European Energy Services Provider of the year 2009 and EPC project in Jihlava hospital obtain the award of Best Energy Service Project 2014 in European Energy Service Award (EESI). ENESA also holds several major domestic awards.

ENESA has participated in several EU projects: BEST Energy (ICT-PSP) - Implementation and validation of several pilot actions in several European public buildings, with the aim of substantially improving the energy efficiency in those buildings by the use of market ready ICT solutions, demonstrating also the economic viability of the systems to be installed. PERMAMENT (Intelligent Energy Europe) – Adaptation of the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) and the methods for measurement and verification of energy savings, leading to improved financing and reliability of energy savings and also the promotion of the ESCO business. ChangeBest (7FP) Contribution to the development and implementation of the Directive on energy end-use efficiency and energy services (ESD).

Ethniko Kai Kapodistriako Panepistimio Athinon (Greece)

www.en.uoa.gr

The Group of Building Environmental Research (GRBES), operates under the frame of the Section of Applied Physics, Department of Physics of the University of Athens. It carries out specific research and development programs on the field of environmental quality of the built environment. In parallel, offers education and training to under and post graduate students, and prepares educational material and books on the field of energy and environment.

It works on topics related to : Development of Intelligent Materials, Energy Performance of Buildings,  Solar Energy Systems and Techniques,  Energy Efficient Technologies,  Indoor Environmental Quality, IT Technologies applied to Buildings, Urban Environmental Quality, Energy and Environmental Rating.

The Group is organised around five laboratories:  Intelligent Materials, Outdoor Components Testing, Daylighting and Solar Radiation, Intelligent Buildings, Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality, Urban Environment. All laboratories are located in the open field experimental facility of the University of Athens.The Group is equipped with all the necessary infrastructure to perform experimental studies on the field of environmental quality of the build environment.

The Group is working on specific International projects aiming to apply and demonstrate energy efficient technologies. Simulation techniques are used to optimise the efficiency of the energy systems while the finalized projects are monitored in details to experimentally assess their energy and environmental performance. By using its modern and complete experimental facilities the Group has undertaken many audits aiming to identify energy and environmental problems in the built environment. Specific and optimised solutions are then prepared  and proposed for implementation.

Design advice on energy and environmental performance of new projects aiming to present a high environmental quality is offered by the Group. Many prestigious International and National projects have been undertaken and completed in collaboration with  well known professionals.

Factor 4 BVBA (Belgium)

www.factor4.eu 

Factor4 is an ESCO and EPC-facilitator specialised in the realization of comfort, energy efficiency and renewable energy in non-residential buildings, large housing projects and industrial plants. It’s services include energy and comfort audits, cost-benefit analysis, engineering of energy saving measures and facilitation of EPC-projects.

Factor4 operates as an ESCO in the market of private companies, realising performance based energy efficiency and comfort improvement projects in cooperation with a network of preferred partners, using its innovative Plus+ approach and Comfortmeter. In the market of public buildings, it operates as an EPC-facilitator supporting public authorities in the preparation and the realisation of EPC-projects.

Factor4 is member of several professional organisations active in the field of energy efficiency (e.g. Belesco, Agoria GreenBuilding platform, EVO, ATIC, ASHRAE,..), is recognised by EVO as a 'Certified Measurement and Verification Professional' and is Belgian expert in Task XVI Energy Performance Contracting van het IEA (International Energy Agency).

Norges Teknisknaturvitenskapelige Universitet (Norway)

www.ntnu.edu

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is the primary Norwegian university in engineering and technology with 12 campuses in the Trondheim area. With more than 21 000 students, it is Norway’s second largest university. As a full range university, NTNU encompasses seven faculties and 53 departments. Between 250 and 300 PhD-degrees are awarded yearly, within the fields of technology, science, arts and humanities, social sciences, and medicine. NTNU has a broad range of contacts with industry. The annual budget of NTNU is around € 600 million, 25% of which is externally funded. NTNU is an active participant in the EU R&D Framework Programmes and participated in 126 FP7 projects.

The Building and Construction Engineering Group of the Department of Civil and Transport Engineering will participate in the project.

The Department of Civil and Transport Engineering belongs to the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology. It is organized into four research groups, which contribute to both research and education: Building and Construction Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Marine Civil Engineering, and Road, Transport and Geomatics. Research is often conducted across these research groups.

The Building and Construction Engineering Group, consisting of 19 professors and several researchers and Ph.D. students, is dedicated to researching the technological, economics, and regulatory aspects of sustainability and energy efficiency in the building sector and to developing systems, policies, methods, tools and techniques that are used by Norwegian and international industrial project owners, consultants, contractors and property managers.

The enhancement of sustainability in the building sector is a central theme for this research group, which aims at optimizing the trade-off between economic, social and environmental benefits. In particular, the research group pursues to focus on the following sub-themes:

• Early phase of projects,
• Sustainable and energy efficient constructions,
• Effective construction on-site operation,
• Optimization of the construction process,
• Climate adaptations,
• Development of new materials.
• Risk and uncertainty are important factors in all of the aforementioned themes.

Politecnico di Milano (Italy)

www.polimi.it/en

The Politecnico di Milano is the most important Italian technology university. 

Part of the Energy Department, the end use Efficiency Research Group (eERG), consisting of a staff professor and five researchers, is dedicated to researching the technological, economics, and  regulatory aspects of end use energy efficiency.

Born on the efforts of the group leader, initiated twenty years ago at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, California, the group is now one of the leading proponents of energy efficiency programmes in Italy.  

Areas of research and didactical activity are:

• Energy efficiency market analysis and policy analysis: the group has realised a number of technical and market analysis on end use technologies (heating systems, refrigerators and freezers, lighting systems,...), scenario analysis, estimates of energy saving potentials.
• eERG contributed to the EU NZEB definition with the study “Towards nearly zero-energy buildings: Definition of common principles under the EPBD”.
• eERG participated to several EU projects on market transformation for appliances (PremiumLight, PrimeEnergyIT, energy+, energy+pumps), for buildings and their components (PROST, PassiveOn).  Other past activities include: design and evaluation of Energy Demand Management programmes and market research and market transformation of efficient end-use technologies (PicoLight) and  technologies innovation/intergration (RenewSchool,Matrid, PassReg,  Greenbuilding, Greenbuilding+).
• eERG is involved in a number of teaching activities: Master in Renewable, Decentralised and Energy Efficiency: eERG teaches the module dedicated to energy efficiency; the university course "Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer for Building Design", for Building Engineers at the Politecnico di Milano

REHVA (The Netherlands)

www.rehva.eu

REHVA, the Federation of European HVAC Associations founded 1963 is an umbrella organisation connecting European associations in the area of building engineering services. Recently REHVA represent more than 100.000 HVAC engineers and technicians from 26 European countries. REHVA also has supporters representing the HVAC industry from overall Europe. REHVA is the leading independent professional HVAC organization in Europe, dedicated to the improvement of health, comfort and energy efficiency in all buildings and communities. It encourages the development and application of both energy conservation and renewable energy sources. In these areas, REHVA has a significant impact on national and EU level policy making, implementation and research initiatives.

REHVA’s mission is to promote latest technologies, research, knowledge exchange and capacity building in the field of buildings energy efficiency and indoor environment quality, as well as to support the related EU policy development, and national level EPBD implementation. REHVA’s main profile is the dissemination of knowledge and promotion of new technologies in international events and through its member associations, which will be used also to promote the project outcomes.

synavision GmbH (Germany)

www.synavision.de

synavision GmbH Aachen was founded in 2010 as a spin-off company of Software Engineering Department at RWTH Aachen University and Institute for Building Services and Energy Design at TU Braunschweig University. The focus of synavision is the design, implementation and distribution of innovative software infrastructures and tools to support planning and operation of energy efficient buildings and facilities. Additionally synavision has expertise in domain of engineering innovative building management concepts.

The synavision software products were developed in co-operation with renowned Universities and business partners. Based on a global unique methodology synavision is solving current issues of building industry in an practical EduEco 72 and effective way. With its innovative software products and engineering skills synavision is a capable partner in planing, analysis and optimization of energy efficient building automation. synavision can offer:

• practically approved software and online services
• next generation technology for building industry
• software based tools and infrastructures for quality management
• education in innovative methodologies and tools
• customization of software
• management of software development projects

The main tasks of synavision GmbH in the proposed project are:

• bringing in the knowledge in data sensing, processing and high performance storage
• supporting software engineering activities (e.g. requirement analysis, design of software architecture, implementation, quality assurance)
• providing infrastructure for sensor data management
• providing monitoring/benchmarking software infrastructure (synavision energie navigator)