oPEN Lab – Leading the Transition to Positive Energy Neighbourhoods
oPEN Lab is a European project funded in the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Under the coordination of VITO, 32 partners from 7 countries are working together to revitalise urban areas across Europe to accelerate the transition to energy-positive neighbourhoods. Activities are taking place in three cities in Europe: Genk (Belgium), Pamplona (Spain) and Tartu (Estonia).
Objectives
oPEN Lab is a large-scale European innovation project focused on the transition to energy-positive residential areas. The project investigates and demonstrates how renewable energy, smart technologies and innovative collaboration models can be integrated into existing buildings to contribute to a sustainable built environment.
‘The European Union aims to be climate neutral by 2050. This requires a complete decarbonisation of the building stock. A priority must be to redesign and adapt our existing buildings and neighbourhoods while creating a positive impact on society. The oPEN Lab project contributes to this objective by demonstrating the feasibility of promising technologies, processes and social innovations that lead to energy-positive buildings and neighbourhoods, paving the way for implementation on a larger scale,’ stresses Sylvain ROBERT, project manager at the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.
Integrated, participatory and neighbourhood-based approaches
The oPEN Lab project uses an integrated, participatory and neighbourhood-oriented approach:
- The integrated approach combines sustainable building design tailored to the local context (in Genk, Pamplona and Tartu), with seamless industrial renovation workflows, renewable energy generation combined with energy flexibility, inclusive energy storage systems, urban service facilities, smart operation, life-cycle thinking and circularity;
- The participatory approach is based on an approach where industry, government, academics and participants from Genk, Pamplona and Tartu work together to create and drive change together that goes far beyond what one organisation or individual could do alone;
- The district-based approach focuses on an analysis that leads to the design and implementation of the most optimal renovation and technology approaches at the district level from an integrated perspective. This approach reduces construction costs and time, facilitates the pooling of funding, reduces the burden on residents and enables the roll-out of new services (e.g. comfort as a service).
Impact and knowledge sharing
‘The oPEN Lab living lab is growing into an innovation hotspot where innovation processes, technologies and services will be tested and validated in real communities and environments for the duration of the project and beyond,’ says Maarten De Groote, oPEN Lab project coordinator.
The neighbourhoods and regions targeted by this project are all characterised by a history of economic decline that has led to a poor state of the building stock in need of positive transformation. As a result, these areas have great reconversion potential and can contribute significantly to the European Recovery Plan. The context, challenges and opportunities of each neighbourhood are different, but together they represent a large part of European cities and urban areas across Europe.
Consequently, the project acts as an important living lab for the roll-out of future energy-positive neighbourhoods and provides important insights for policymakers, urban developers and companies. The knowledge gained is also shared through publications, workshops and collaborations with other European initiatives.
Zoom-in on oPEN Lab in Genk: from renovation to energy-positive neighbourhood
Genk plays a crucial role within the oPEN Lab project. Since the start of the oPEN Lab project in Genk, every effort has been made to transform a social housing estate (New Texas) and a former miner’s neighbourhood (Tuinwijk Waterschei) into an energy-positive neighbourhood.
A total of 35 homes (27 rented by Wonen in Limburg and 8 private homes) are being renovated energetically using various innovative techniques. To obtain an energy-positive neighbourhood, it will then be examined how these renovation techniques can be scaled up. In addition, research is being carried out into how energy can be used collectively. Thus, energy surpluses are bundled and optimised via an energy hub, which increases the neighbourhood’s energy flexibility. VITO, partner within EnergyVille, is responsible for the development and implementation of smart energy management systems, which can eventually be fully automated.
Thanks to continuous monitoring, the techniques can also be adapted and optimised as we go along, so that each house ultimately receives the most efficient and sustainable solution. Moreover, collaboration and co-creation with industrial partners and the local community is an important pillar of the project. This not only improves the energy performance of the houses, but also develops a future-proof, affordable and socially supported renovation model that can serve as an example for other urban areas in Europe.
Want to know more about the latest developments in oPEN Lab Genk?
Then be sure to read the news articles below:
- European innovation project oPEN Lab turns New Texas in Genk into residential neighborhood of the future
- Behind the Scenes: Renovation works of oPEN Lab in Genk entering final phase
- Building an positive energy neighborhood together: how the industrial partners of oPEN Lab Genk are joining forces to create the positive energy neighborhood of the future
Partners
oPEN Lab is a collaboration between 32 international players from 7 countries.
And forms a unique testing ground within the Open Thor Living Lab.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme under Grant agreement ID: 101037080
