In line with the general principles of sustainable development, the Construction sector is preparing its transition to a performance based approach. The complete sector will have to adapt and needs operationnal and efficient tools for all actors. Life cyle assessment is unanimously considered as the reliable tool for environmental performance assessment of buidlings. However, its everyday use by non experts in actual construction or refurbishment projects is limited due to several scientific and technical locks. The BENEFIS project will try to provide efficient answerr to some of the most important locks identified : - need for improvement of energy and environmental modelling of energy efficient buildings (EEB), - need for simplified models for building programming and design, and for quick assessment of items that details assessment is not required in all situations, - Improvement of reproducibility fo studies from a tool to another or for tool user to other, by providing guidelines and educational softwares for energy and LCA modelling, improving hypothesis traceability, simplifying data collect and capture, - Difficulty of LCA results analysis and use (understanding, interpretation, conditions of use for decision making, robustness, uncertainties...). The project partners will be careful in providing knowledges and know how deliverables that can be used by all interested parties (methodological reports, scientific papers, scientific popularization documents...). ELODIE and EQUER developers will use all knowledge and know how provided by the project to improve their softwares in new releases. All project partners will use their scientific, technical and professionnal network to widely communicate and disseminate the knowledge and know how developed in this project.

Context Today’s theoretical and political trends call for a new sustainable development path in order to make economic growth compliant with environmental and social challenges. The Building sector must feel concerned especially. On the one hand, the building sector stands for around 40% of final energy consumption in Europe and the building owner will have to take that into account in the frame of Social Responsibility and on the other hand they generate economic activities and local employment. Unfortunately, existing assessment tools of energy-related building projects (construction or retrofit) focus mainly on the first cost (investment), or sometimes on a “first overall cost” calculated from first cost and discounted operations and maintenance costs. These methods fail to give a right valuation to solutions which can be compliant with the oncoming energy and social challenges. Principles and objectives This DECADIESE project aims to design a building investment (construction and refurbishment) economic assessment tool which could encompass on one hand the main features related to sustainable development or social responsibility (social and environmental impact...) and on the other hand the “use value” of the building. The considered DECADIESE method relies on the “Service Economy model”. This theory deals with business models which are designed in the supply of a service in response to a functional need. This functional offer is made of an integrated and compliant set of products and services and it is implemented by both the service provider and the client in the frame of a co-construction process. The economic agreement deals with an assessable performance rather than with the supply of disjoined products and services. Interactions with territories are fully involved in this functional offer. In this project, we consider a building as a system designed to host activities or business. In this purpose, the building provides seven main functions with an achieved performance after the construction/renovation works: providing space, providing comfort (e.g. temperature), providing weatherproof protection, providing suitable goods and tools for hosted activities, managing the relationship with outside people, beneficiating from the site in a harmless way, carrying a message and an image. This building sight underlines that far more than a set of components, it is a use value producing system during its designed life.. Expected results The project first aims to develop a strong extended economic assessment of a building project relying on an accepted and legitimated theoretical basis. This would reinforce its acknowledgement by building stakeholders and decision-makers. The DECADIESE method will be applied to several building project alternatives with respect to building owner’s, client’s, occupant’s and other stakeholder’s expectations. It will support the initial dialogue stage between building’s stakeholders, which is expected in the frame of an eco-conception approach. The DECADIESE method will underline how ambitious and performing buildings stand for an economic optimum although they are not seen so when applying a traditional overall cost approach. This project aims secondly to contribute to the emergence of a new sustainable economic model giving energy efficiency investment their real value. Such economic model asks for such innovative assessment tools. DECADIESE will help identify the ways of economic transfer between impacted stakeholders. Partners EDF (energy supplier) acts as project leader. DECADIESE partners are Bouygues Construction, Vinci construction (building sector major companies), Foncière des Régions (real-estate major player), ATEMIS (territory economy specialist), Ladyss/Paris 7 (Service Economy Specialist), Centrale Paris LGI (Value engineering), CGS Mines Paristech (change sociology and management). The project will be supported by a scientific council.

Despite the high degree of industrial automation, robotic solutions are not yet prevalent in construction and demolition industry due to the complex environment and demanding requirements. For hazardous tasks, like the removal of asbestos contamination from a flat (rehabilitation site), manual performance is very inefficient, due to the intense safety measures. This leads to the main objective of Bots2ReC: “Introducing, testing and validating an operational process for the automated removal of asbestos contamination at a real world rehabilitation site using a robotic system.” After the necessary clearing from furniture and containment, the site is less complex and separated from human workers. In this environment safe automated robotic operations can be realized with current state of the art technology. The proposed robotic system will consist of multiple robotic units (lightweight robotic arms with abrasive tools and aspiration on a mobile platform) and a central process control system. Optical and radar sensors will allow environmental perception and navigation and local monitoring of the asbestos-removal, even in dusty conditions. The developed control system allows the user to specify and supervise automated tasks (e.g. disk grinding of contaminated paint from a wall), supported by a virtual representation of the site. The process and robotic system will be developed and enhanced in several iterations, supported by permanent testing on a test rehabilitation site benchmarked on a real life rehabilitation site at project end. Bots2ReC will have strong impacts to the robotics industry and society in Europe: It provides a step change towards a system prototype demonstrated in the operational environment of the demolition and construction industry and will strengthen the European robotic industry by later commercialisation of the system. Avoiding exposure to highly dangerous asbestos fibres will sustainably help protect the health of humans in Europe and worldwide.

The ShieldBot project is designed to revolutionize the construction industry by integrating advanced robotics with sustainable practices to tackle critical challenges in renovation and building efficiency. As the demand for energy-efficient buildings increases, traditional construction methods fall short in meeting modern sustainability standards. ShieldBot aims to address this gap through the deployment of specialized robotic solutions (Façade-ShieldBot, Inner -ShieldBot, and Inspection-ShieldBot) each tailored to enhance the energy efficiency of buildings while reducing environmental impact. Façade-ShieldBot focuses on installing thermal shielding on building façades, improving insulation and reducing energy consumption. Inner-ShieldBot is designed for internal renovations, applying similar thermal shielding to walls and ceilings to enhance comfort and efficiency. Inspection-ShieldBot utilizes advanced sensors to assess building exteriors, identifying areas needing repair or insulation improvements, ensuring thorough maintenance and long-term sustainability. Complementing these robots, the Digi-Shield digital twin collects, organizes, and analyses data from the robots’ operations, enabling real-time decision-making and precise planning. The use of Eco-Shield materials, sustainable, eco-friendly insulation options, further supports the project's environmental goals by reducing the carbon footprint associated with traditional building materials. ShieldBot also emphasizes the integration of human-robot collaboration to ensure that robotic solutions support rather than replace human workers, enhancing safety and efficiency on-site. By combining cutting-edge technology with a focus on sustainability and efficiency, ShieldBot aims to set a new standard for construction and renovation projects, paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient future in urban development.

Cost optimal and nearly zero energy performance levels are principles initiated by the European Union’s (EU) Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which was recast in 2010. These will be major drivers in the construction sector in the next few years, because all new buildings in the EU from 2021 onwards are expected to be nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB). While realized NZEB have clearly shown that nearly-zero energy target could be achieved using existing technologies and practices, most experts agree that a broad scale shift towards nearly-zero energy buildings require significant adjustments to prevailing building market structures. Cost-effective integration of efficient solution sets and renewable energy systems, in a form that fits with the development, manufacturing and construction industry processes, as well as with planning, design, and procurement procedures, are the major challenges. CRAVEzero will focus on proven and new approaches to cost reduction of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) at all stages of the life cycle. The main goal is to identify and eliminate the extra-costs for NZEBs related to processes, technologies, building operation, and to promote innovative business models taking into account the cost-effectiveness for all the stakeholders. Main project pillars will be: (i) CRAVEzero pinboard as a structured framework organizing all needed information and data to build an effective low life cycle cost NZEB business model (ii) reliable lifecycle cost databases with cost reduction potentials in processes and technologies (iii) methodologies, robust solutions and business models for low LCC NZEBs. Costs reduction will indeed cover all stages of the process, from urban planning, to building design, construction, until the building operation, while ensuring high building overall quality, considering in particular architecture and indoor environmental.