Construction is the world’s largest industry in terms of resource usage and waste generation, and buildings are the largest user of energy and driver for global warming. Improving resource efficiency and environmental impacts are considered the main challenges of the construction industry in EU. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools assess a buildings or building products environmental performance, and are necessary to design and build in an environmentally sustainable manner. However, currently there are no fast, affordable and scalable LCA tools. LCA study usually costs €3000-15000 and takes 40-150 hours, delaying the construction process and slowing the uptake of LCA. Economies of scale have not been achieved due to heterogeneous requirements in various certifications and regulations. Bionova, the leading construction LCA software firm in Northern Europe, has developed a prototype of “One Click LCA”. With this software, LCA can be done at least 100x faster (with 1 click) and it costs 10x less (€250-1300). A core element of it is an innovative “plug-in” interface with an adaptive recognition engine. It can be easily trained by the user to adapt to their particular data, enabling automatic processing of any data sources. Unlike competing solutions, it also allows building tailor-made sustainability applications, resolving the issue of diversity in LCA-related requirements. OneClickLCA project is aimed at implementing business model innovation – preparing a wide-scale market introduction of the One Click LCA using a novel business model (value-based pricing, radically improved value proposition, cloud-based delivery, novel sales and scalability strategy) and scaling up the industrial capability of the software. LCA software market grew at 39% CAGR in 2011-2015, exceeding €250 million, with consulting services generating additional €320M. Development of One Click LCA to a global scale would increase Bionova’s revenues by €32M in 2022.

ENSNARE’s main objective is to boost the implementation of renovation packages through (1) the digitalisation of the entire process by means of a digital platform and (2) the development of an industrialised envelope mesh enabling fast assembly and interconnection of passive and multifunctional building components. The methodology and tools provided will facilitate the necessary market uptake of novel and highly efficient solutions for nZEB, accelerating the current retrofitting rate and supporting the transformation of the European building stock into a highly efficient and technologically advanced built environment. Within a comprehensive systemic approach, the project will target the development of modular adaptable components to be integrated within the system (rather than marketed as standalone products that increase the cost and complexity of the system), including an active window for ventilation and heat recovery, solar harvesting devices (thermal collectors, PV and hybrid panels with advanced technologies such as roll-bonding), heat pumps and energy batteries for load shifting. The digital platform will comprise a set of digital tools supporting and accelerating all stages for a more efficient renovation process: automated data acquisition, LCA/LCC analysis and decision support, digital BIM model building and computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM), and a smart building management system (sBMS) for optimised operation and maintenance. All these tools are linked to a digital model, which increases in complexity and interaction potentialities as the project develops. At completion, the model becomes a Digital Twin of the renovated building allowing real-time monitorization, simulation and optimised operation of all building components. The ENSNARE solution will be validated through three pilot renovation projects covering Nordic, Continental and Mediterranean climates, and three virtual demonstration buildings aimed at upscaling the development of the solution.