FP10: Built4People and DUT call for a European Partnership on a Resilient Built Environment

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In a joint statement published on 20 October 2026, the Built4People (B4P) Partnership, represented by ECTP and ENCORD, and the Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Partnership call for a dedicated European Partnership on a Resilient Built Environment under FP10, with a clear mandate, dedicated resources and a defined scope.

Why FP10 needs a dedicated European Partnership on a Resilient Built Environment

Recent events highlighted Europe’s growing exposure to climate risks and the criticality for the built environment to be prepared. Resilience means addressing these and other risks as natural and human-made threats that can disrupt essential services, damage critical infrastructure and compromise security. Stronger research and innovation are needed to help cities, buildings and infrastructure withstand both nature-related hazards and human-made threats, safeguard essential functions and citizens’ security, while advancing affordable construction and renovation, and strengthen Europe’s resilience and competitiveness.

Building on B4P’s industry expertise and innovation networks, alongside DUT’s experience in cooperation among public stakeholders and place-based innovation, a dedicated thematic area on the Resilience of the Built Environment could help develop and scale up solutions to face these risks across Europe.

Read and share the joint statement

Read the full joint statement by the Built4People and DUT Partnerships, and share it with your networks to highlight the importance of strengthening European research and innovation for a more resilient and secure built environment under FP10.

EU Innovation Finance Forum explores building renovation funding models

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The EU Innovation Finance Forum’s fourth roundtable, held online in May 2026, explored innovative financing models for building renovation, including Energy Service Company (ESCO) contracts, One-Stop Shops, Property-Linked Finance and impact investing.

Discussions focused on how these approaches could address market fragmentation, create investable project pipelines, and connect renovation activity with private capital.

One-Stop Shops and renovation pipelines

One-Stop Shops can coordinate designers, suppliers, installers, and financiers, helping homeowners navigate renovation and access finance. Participants highlighted their potential to aggregate projects and create investable pipelines, while noting the need for greater financial expertise and coordination between public and private initiatives.

The discussion also highlighted challenges faced by One-Stop Shop initiatives, including funding limitations and insufficient client uptake.

Securitisation of ESCO receivables

Participants explored how future payments from standardised ESCO contracts could be pooled through a special-purpose vehicle and used to issue notes or bonds to investors.

This approach could provide ESCOs with upfront capital to reinvest in further renovations and connect smaller projects with institutional investors. Challenges identified included securing sufficient project volumes, ESCO balance-sheet constraints and lengthy contract negotiations.

Property-Linked Finance

Property-Linked Finance (PLF) was discussed as a model that attaches long-term financing to a property rather than an individual, with repayment responsibility transferring with ownership.

This could better align repayment periods with the useful life of building improvements. Its wider application depends on suitable legal and market conditions, consumer protections and access to capital.

Impact investing and patient capital

The roundtable also explored the differences between sustainable, transition, and impact investing, particularly their objectives and approaches to measuring environmental and social outcomes.

Participants discussed patient capital, collaboration between capital providers and blended finance as potential ways to support renovation and innovation.

Overall, the discussion highlighted the importance of matching financing structures to project scale, revenue models, contractual arrangements and investment horizons.

Through the EU Innovation Finance Forum, STAR*track is bringing together perspectives from across the finance and built-environment sectors to explore ways of mobilising private capital for innovation and sustainable renovation. The discussions also offer opportunities for Built4People Innovation Clusters (B4PICs) to strengthen connections between innovators, financiers and other stakeholders, helping promising solutions progress towards wider adoption.

 

 

Built4People Projects Clustering Event: Strengthening Collaboration Across the Built4People Community

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On 6 October 2026, the Built4People Projects Clustering Event, organised by CINEA, with the support of the European Commission, ECTP and ENCORD, took place in Brussels within the framework of the Built4People (B4P) partnership. This annual event brings together representatives from projects funded under the Built4People calls to strengthen collaboration across the community, foster knowledge exchange and facilitate networking. It provides a valuable opportunity for participants to share experiences, discuss common challenges, exchange lessons learnt and showcase good practices developed through their projects, helping to maximise synergies and strengthen the collective impact of the Built4People partnership.

Introduction and welcome

The event opened with a welcome address by Martin Lange, Head of Unit at CINEA C2, who highlighted CINEA’s role in supporting green growth and clean industries through the management of EU funding programmes, including Horizon Europe, the Innovation Fund and the LIFE Programme, among others.

Representing the private side of the Built4People partnership, Anastasiya Yurchyshyna, ECTP Secretary General, encouraged participants to strengthen collaboration and co-creation across the community to address challenges facing the built environment and shape the partnership’s future. Magnus Österbring, Secretary General of ENCORD, echoed this message, stressing the need to move beyond isolated initiatives and pilot projects towards a more connected innovation ecosystem that brings together the expertise of Europe’s construction industry and helps scale up innovative solutions.

Together, the opening contributions set the tone for the day, highlighting the importance of collaboration in accelerating innovation and maximising its impact across Europe.

Policy update

Barbara Pirchner, Policy Officer at DG ENER, provided an update on the implementation of the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), highlighting the May 2026 transposition deadline and the upcoming National Building Renovation Plans, due by the end of the year. She also presented the Electrification Action Plan, adopted in July 2026, and its measures to support heat pumps and district heating and cooling.

The presentation also addressed the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF, 2028–2034) and the future FP10 research and innovation programme. European Partnerships are expected to remain key instruments, with a simpler structure, more strategic priorities and greater emphasis on private-sector contributions. The proposals are still subject to legislative negotiations.

The Built4People Innovation Clusters Network | STAR*track project 

Claudia Hunziker-Keller (Nobatek) presented the STAR*track project, a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) supporting the growth of the Built4People Innovation Clusters (B4PIC) Network. The network currently comprises 29 Emerging and 5 Prospective B4PICs, with the ambition of establishing 10–15 fully operational B4PICs by 2028 to strengthen collaboration between industry and research and accelerate the market uptake of Built4People innovations.

She also highlighted key tools supporting this ecosystem: the Metabuilding platform, connecting construction and related sectors to share innovations, find collaboration partners, showcase solutions and access R&D, testing and certification support; and the Maturoscope, which helps assess technological maturity and market readiness. Through the B4PIC Network, projects can also access testing facilities, demonstration sites, funding opportunities and innovation support services, helping them build synergies and bring their solutions closer to market.

Project presentations: The newcomers

The event also featured presentations of recently funded Built4People projects, showcasing innovative approaches to sustainable renovation, robotics, digitalisation and circular construction.

Industrialisation of sustainable, circular deep renovation

SPHEERE – Presented by Sudhanshu Verma

SPHEERE introduces a prefabricated renovation approach combining technological and circular solutions to make deep building renovation faster, more affordable and less disruptive, while improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions.

FRAIMwork – Presented by Lorenz Van Damme

Focusing on small-scale European buildings, FRAIMwork combines modular prefabricated elements with BIM-based digital tools to simplify deep renovation, reduce on-site work and lower costs and construction waste.

Robotics for construction, renovation and maintenance

ShieldBot – Presented by Iker Mancisidor

ShieldBot brings robotics to building renovation, combining solutions for interior works, exterior inspections and façade insulation. Its digital twin and sustainable insulation technologies aim to improve energy performance while reducing environmental impacts.

RADIANCE – Presented by Gálata Martínez

RADIANCE integrates robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies throughout the renovation process, from building inspection to repair. By combining autonomous systems with AI-based defect detection and digital twins, the project seeks to make renovation safer, faster and more sustainable.

RoboCons – Presented by Andoni Amurrio

RoboCons is creating a human-centred construction ecosystem that combines robotics, AI, Building Information Modelling (BIM) and other digital tools. Its approach aims to improve safety, productivity and quality while reducing costs, waste and environmental impacts.

BIM-based processes and digital twins for circular energy renovation

INTEGRATES – Presented by Cristian Pozza

INTEGRATES connects BIM, digital twins and data-driven services through accessible digital tools designed to support energy-efficient and circular renovation. Digital Product Passports and Digital Building Logbooks are among the solutions intended to facilitate material reuse and improve decision-making, including for SMEs.

DTERBIM – Presented by Sonia Álvarez Díaz

DTERBIM is developing an open, interoperable BIM-based framework incorporating AI services and digital twins. By improving data exchange and collaboration across the building lifecycle, it aims to optimise resources, reduce costs and time, and integrate circularity into renovation processes.

Design for adaptability, re-use and deconstruction of buildings

CRedIBlE – Presented by Sofia-Natalia Boemi

CRedIBlE combines BIM, life-cycle assessment (LCA), digital twins and AI to support circular building design. Its digital tools, including Digital Product Passports and modular design solutions, help make buildings more adaptable and easier to disassemble and reuse materials from.

Digital solutions to foster participative design, planning and management of buildings, neighbourhoods and urban districts

RenoVisor – Presented by Máirtín Ó Méalóid

RenoVisor helps citizens, homeowners and energy communities make informed renovation decisions by combining building simulations, social science and participatory advisory tools. It aims to clarify renovation costs, benefits and impacts while supporting more affordable, comfortable and inclusive outcomes.

BLUEPRINT – Presented by Léa Faure

BLUEPRINT combines digital technologies, including multi-scale digital twins, AI and augmented reality, with participatory approaches inspired by New European Bauhaus values. Its goal is to support inclusive urban regeneration, ensuring that digital innovation is complemented by accessible, low-tech ways for communities to participate.

Breakout Sessions

Session A: Discuss the projects’ results and innovations in relation to the four strategic action pathways of the Built4People partnership

Facilitated by Anastasiya Yurchyshyna (ECTP), Vedran Angebrandt (CINEA) and Cornelia Partsch (ECTP), the first breakout session explored how Built4People projects contribute to the partnership’s four Strategic Action Pathways: Net-Zero, Affordable, Resilient and Productive Built Environment.

Discussions highlighted the diversity of solutions emerging across the community, from circular construction materials and heritage renovation to robotics, digitalisation and inclusive urban regeneration. Participants also identified common challenges, including bridging the gap between research and market uptake, improving data sharing and facilitating collaboration across disciplines.

Three priorities emerged for future collaboration: establishing a common language across disciplines, involving more start-ups alongside SMEs, and addressing industrial partners’ concerns about data sharing. These insights highlighted the importance of closer cooperation to turn project results into scalable solutions.

Session B: Explore how the results from projects can inform policies and the future MFF

Facilitated by Bogdan Atanasiu (CINEA), Veronika Schröpfer (CINEA) and Nerea Gómez (ECTP), the second breakout session examined how Built4People project results can inform policymaking and future priorities under the EU MFF and research and innovation programmes. Discussions focused on renovation as a key driver for addressing climate objectives, energy security, housing affordability and resilience.

Participants highlighted the potential of digitalisation, AI, robotics and industrialised renovation to reduce costs and implementation times. Better access to reliable building data, interoperable tools and circular material markets could further improve efficiency and resource use. However, solutions must remain adaptable to Europe’s diverse building stock and consider factors such as durability, accessibility and climate resilience.

Beyond technology, the discussion stressed the need for effective financing mechanisms, skilled workers, supportive regulatory frameworks and greater engagement with homeowners, tenants and social housing providers. Participants also emphasised the importance of building on existing project results and accelerating their uptake. Future EU research and innovation programmes should therefore support not only the development of new solutions, but also the market conditions and practical capacity needed to deploy them at scale.

 Closing of the event

The event concluded with closing remarks from Annarita Ferreri, Head of Sector for Energy Efficiency and Smart Cities at CINEA, and Veronika Schröpfer, who thanked participants for contributing to another successful edition of the Built4People Projects Clustering Event. They highlighted the value of the discussions, knowledge exchange and networking throughout the day, reinforcing the importance of collaboration across the Built4People community to turn project results into practical solutions and accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable, resilient and people-centred built environment in Europe.

5th Built4People Stakeholders Forum: Full Programme Available

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The 5th Built4People Partnership Stakeholders Forum, “Building Europe’s Resilient Future”, organised by the European Commission, CINEA, ECTP and ENCORD, is just around the corner.

7 October 2026 | 9:00–16:30 CEST (doors open 8h30)

Buildwise Zaventem, Brussels (Kleine Kloosterstraat 23, 1932 Zaventem)

Bringing together policymakers, industry representatives, researchers and key stakeholders, the Forum will explore how research, innovation and collaboration can contribute to building a more resilient European built environment.

This year’s programme focuses on “From securing Europe’s built environment, to transforming how we use resources, scaling how we build, harnessing intelligence, and ultimately delivering resilient places for people.”

📋 The full programme is now available:

8h30-9h30          Registration and good morning coffee

9h30-9h40          Welcome by the Built4People Partnership Management Team (DG ENER, CINEA, ECTP, ENCORD)

9h40-10h05        Keynote “Resilience by Design: Building a Europe Ready for an Uncertain Future”, Captain João Galocha, Military Counsellor in the Portuguese Delegation to NATO

10h05-11h05      Panel 1: From Vulnerability to Resilience: Securing Europe’s Built Environment, moderated by Sami Kazi, VTT

  • Rita Moura, Director of Innovation, Teixeira Duarte
  • Stergios-Aristoteles Mitoulis, Professor of Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure; Director, UCL Centre for Global Infrastructure Resilience; ​the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London 
  • Niall Buckley, Senior Project Manager, IES, Resilience of the Built Environment Cluster, Coordinator of the Minority Report project
  • Emmanuelle Frénéat, Group Chief Technical Officer, EGIS

11h05-12h05      Panel 2: Circular by Design: Building Europe’s Resource-Efficient Future, moderated by Cornelia Partsch, ECTP

  • Marianne Haavardsholm Aandahl, National Experto to the EC – Energy; NCP, Horizon Europe – Energy, Research Council of Norway (RCN)
  • Ilari Aho, Head of Glabal Business Sustainability, Georg Fischer
  • Isabel Rodríguez Maribona, Technology Director, Energy, Climate & Global Transition, TECNALIA
  • Valia Tsiala, Senior Technical Offcier, EBC
  • Roy Pennings, Senior EU Projects Manager, CERN

12h05-13h05      Panel 3: From Innovation to Impact: Industrialising and Scaling Up Construction, moderated by Magnus Österbring, ENCORD

  • Natalia Zebrowska, Head of Unit – Construction, EC DG GROW, H1
  • Javier Bonilla Diaz, Senior Manager, Innovation Strategy & Digital, ACCIONA
  • Celina Solari, Senior Innovation R&D Project Manager, RINA, Coordinator of the MULTICLIMACT project
  • Tim van Ee, Consultant & Knowledge Manager – Conceptual and Industrialised Construction Department of Digital Built Environment, TNO
  • Maira Madala, EU Public Affair Manager, Knauf Insulation

13h05-14h05   Lunch break

14h05-15h05      Panel 4: Boosting Competitiveness: AI, Robotics and the Future of the Built Environment, moderated by Vedran Angebrandt, CINEA

  • Stavros Stamatoukos, Policy officer, Digitalisation and AI, EC DG ENER.B4 – Digitalisation, Competitiveness, Research & Innovation
  • José Solís Hernández, Research & Innovation Director, CEMOSA
  • Miguel Segarra, Senior Vice President of Innovation, DRAGADOS
  • Rosie Shapiro, VP of Partnerships, CivicLabs

15h05-16h05      Panel 5: People at the Heart of Resilience: Scaling People-Centred Innovation, moderated by Clémentine Coujard, Dowel Innovation

  • Stefan Moser, Head of the Housing Task Force at European Commission
  • Edward Woods, Head of R&D | Innovation | Venture Capital, Bouygues Construction, ECTP President
  • Masi Mohammadi, Professor and Chair of Smart Architectural Technologies, Eindhoven University of Technology
  • Floridea Di Ciommo, Director of cambiaMO, Coordinator of the InclusiveSpaces project
  • Vera Winthagen, Deputy Head of NEB Unit, Joint Research Centre, European Commission

16h05-16h20      Special Session on B4PIC network, moderated by Nerea Gómez, ECTP

16h20-16h30      Round up and closing

Join us on 7 October 2026 and discover the latest perspectives, initiatives and solutions shaping Europe’s resilient built environment.

Registration closed on 30 September at 17:30 CEST. For last minute registration, please contact info@built4people.eu

Help map R&I Gaps for the New European Bauhaus

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NEB Junction, the NEB Hub for Results and Impact, has launched a survey to identify Research & Innovation gaps, implementation barriers and future priorities for the R&I component of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Facility, as well as how it connects to the Roll-out component.

The primary purpose of this survey is to identify Research and Innovation gaps related to the R&I component of the NEB Facility, the funding instrument of the New European Bauhaus initiative. Furthermore, it aims to identify implementation barriers, future priorities for the NEB Facility and links between its R&I and Roll-out components.

The survey targets stakeholders involved in the New European Bauhaus Initiative, especially those from public administration and the construction sector. Other actors are encouraged to complete the survey as well. Your insights will contribute to recommendations for shaping the future NEB Facility.

The survey is especially keen to hear from the construction sector. Your input will directly feed into recommendations for shaping the future NEB Facility!

📝 Take the survey (~15-20 min): NEB Facility Survey

📅 The survey is open until 6 October
💡 Not familiar with the NEB Facility yet? Consult the NEB Facility factsheet first

New opportunity for clusters across Europe to join the Built4People Innovation Cluster Network!

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3rd Expression of Interest: Join the Built4People Innovation Cluster (B4PIC) Network

On 21 August 2026, STAR*track will launch the third Expression of Interest (EoI) for innovation clusters to join the Built4People Innovation Cluster (B4PIC) Network.

The EoI is open to innovation clusters and hubs in EU Member States and beyond, working across the whole Built Environment ecosystem and committed to advancing the objectives of the Built4People (B4P) Partnership and the principles of the New European Bauhaus (NEB).

A B4PIC brings together innovation-driven stakeholders across the Built Environment value chain at local and regional level. The B4PIC Network connects these ecosystems across Europe, creating a space for peer learning, knowledge exchange, collaboration and joint action, while strengthening links between local and regional innovation and the wider European R&I landscape.

Joining the B4PIC Network is an opportunity for clusters to learn from and contribute to a growing European community of Built Environment innovation ecosystems. B4PICs are expected to actively engage in the network by sharing experiences and best practices, participating in peer-learning and knowledge-exchange activities, exploring collaboration opportunities, and contributing to relevant future initiatives and calls.

As part of the network, clusters can also benefit from:

  • stronger connections with European and international innovation ecosystems;
  • opportunities to identify and engage in R&I and funding opportunities;
  • exchange with other clusters and Built4People stakeholders on common challenges and solutions;
  • guidance and knowledge exchange on integrating New European Bauhaus values and principles into innovation activities;
  • increased visibility of their ecosystem and activities at European level;
  • opportunities to connect with European institutions and other relevant stakeholders.

We are particularly interested in committed and active innovation ecosystems that see value not only in what the B4PIC Network can offer them, but also in what they can bring to the wider community.

Submit your Expression of Interest here to join the B4PIC Network by 14 September 2026.

For further information or enquiries, please contact info@built4people.eu 

Updates from the latest EU Innovation Finance Forum

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What is the EU Innovation Finance Forum? 

The EU Innovation Finance Forum is a key element of STAR*track’s aim to facilitate access to finance opportunities and seeks to unlock private innovation finance in clean technology and new business models in the built environment, with a view to increase EU competitiveness. 

From first contact to funding 

The journey from identifying initial funding requirements to securing a tangible funding opportunity is rarely straightforward. Discussions in the EU Innovation Finance Forum showed that, when searching for an investor, understanding which type of funding best fits the company’s situation is crucial, as is finding the right match, building trust and improving readiness. 

Lessons learnt from the latest forum: 

Define the right funding need 

Forum discussions highlighted that innovators should identify what type of funding they need prior to approaching investors. 

Innovators often approach investors when they need new financing, but the term ‘private funding’ can mean different things, including debt, equity, blended finance, corporate-backed opportunities or public-private instruments. 

The message is clear: identify exactly what is needed before starting to look for funders. 

Targeted matchmaking matters 

Participants stressed that networking alone is ineffective when investors and innovators are not aligned on sector, geography, maturity or mandate. More selective, in-person formats were seen as valuable for building meaningful connections. 

Finding the right match is essential both for innovators and investors, but broad networking is not enough. Conversations are often poorly targeted, as innovators sometimes forget to research who they are addressing and why they want to be matched. This often leads to a mismatch in terms of mandate, geography, or sector focus. 

Participants of the Forum highlighted the importance of more selected formats, with a preference for in-person matchmaking: short one-to-one meetings, and clearer pre-selection.  

Trust is essential on both sides 

Even with the right matchmaking, mistrust can prevent effective communication on both sides and can ultimately become a barrier to financing. Founders may worry that investors will push them in directions misaligned with their vision to maximise profits, and investors may worry about unrealistic assumptions and a lack of credibility. 

Relationship-building skills, integrity and due diligence were all identified by forum members as key to overcome potential mistrust.  

Overinflated company valuations could also potentially be viewed as a red flag by investors, with the potential to damage trust and cause investors to back out. At the same time, trust must go both ways: investors also need to show that they can be reliable partners who support both the growth of the company and positive outcomes for their founders. 

Public and private finance can work together 

Public and private funding should not always be seen as opposing factors. In many cases, they can be combined as part of the innovation journey. There already exists an existing range of EU-level instruments that combine public and private logic.  

Programmes such as the EIC Accelerator, EIT Manufacturing, and other smaller initiatives can be a first step to help innovators move forward while preparing for private capital.  

The support of well-known institutions via accelerator participation, demonstrations with large corporations or public institutions and strong partnerships can all strengthen investors’ confidence.  

These signals do not replace due diligence, but they help show that a solution has already been tested or challenged in a meaningful way. 

To summarise 

The main lesson from this meeting of the EU Innovation Finance Forum was that private funding is not only about access to the funding itself; it is a journey that usually starts with a financing need but depends on trust, requires capacity building, and necessitates seeing the investors as partners. 

Funding discussions, therefore, can only begin with the right match, the right preparation, and enough trust to move forward.  

Built4People Partnership Stakeholders Forum

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Save the date! The 5th Built4People Partnership Stakeholders Forum “Building Europe’s Resilient Future” is coming this October

7 October 2026 | 09h00 – 16h30 CEST

Buildwise Zaventem, Brussels (Kleine Kloosterstraat 23, 1932 Zaventem)

The 5th Built4People Partnership Stakeholders Forum, organised by the European Commission, CINEA, the European Construction and sustainable built environment Technology Platform (ECTP) and the European Network of Construction Companies for Research & Development (ENCORD), will take place on 7 October 2026, from 09:00 to 16:30 CEST, at Buildwise (Kleine Kloosterstraat 23, 1932 Zaventem, Brussels).

Celebrating its fifth edition, this year’s Forum will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, researchers and key stakeholders from across Europe to explore how research, innovation and collaboration can strengthen the resilience of the built environment. Under this year’s motto, the event will focus on advancing resilient, sustainable and people-centred solutions to address Europe’s evolving environmental, societal and economic challenges.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage with high-level representatives from the European Commission and leading experts through keynote speeches, policy discussions and interactive exchanges. The programme will address some of the most pressing priorities shaping the future of the built environment, including:

  • defence, preparedness, security and technological sovereignty in the built environment;
  • circularity and resource-efficient construction solutions;
  • industrialisation and scale-up in construction;
  • the role of artificial intelligence and robotics in supporting climate resilience and the robustness of the built environment;
  • affordable housing as a driver for inclusive and resilient communities;
  • the New European Bauhaus and the transition beyond pilot projects.

The Forum will also provide an opportunity to discuss the future of the Built4People Partnership, including its phasing-out strategy and legacy towards FP10. In addition, participants will witness the Built4People Innovation Clusters (B4PICs) Charter Signing Ceremony, during which a new cohort of prospective B4PICs will officially sign the Built4People Charter and become Emerging B4PICs. The event will also celebrate the continued growth of the B4PIC community through a Declaration of Further Level of Maturity, recognising the progression of the most advanced B4PICs from Emerging to Established status.

Secure your spot by registering here.

The preliminary agenda will be published soon. Stay tuned for further announcements, including confirmed speakers and the full programme.

Innovation in action: unlocking data and digitalisation for smarter buildings in Europe’s built environment

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As Europe’s built environment becomes increasingly digital, secure data sharing, interchangable platforms and intelligent systems are becoming essential to improve building performance, enable smarter decision-making and accelerate the clean energy transition.

From data space connectivity to integrated renovation platforms and service-level energy optimisation, digital innovation is reshaping how buildings, systems and users interact across the energy and information and communication technology (ICT) landscape.

Through its engagement with European Union (EU)-funded projects, STAR*track is identifying and showcasing innovations that are being developed, tested and deployed across Europe.

This article brings together a growing portfolio of data and digitalisation-focused solutions that address the challenge from different angles, from secure data exchange systems to user-driven sustainable digital infrastructure.

Please note: This page will be updated regularly as additional projects and innovations are added.

 

Featured data and digitalisation projects and innovations:

WeForming – Data Space Connector

Innovation type: Software
Innovation development status: under development (MVP 2.0)

A secure and interoperable data-sharing solution that:

  • enables seamless and sovereign sharing of datasets and energy applications across intelligent grid-forming buildings (iGFBs)
  • provides a modular connector with local data storage, data management and a user-friendly interface
  • supports interoperability through alignment with European Common Energy Data Spaces
  • introduces Connector-as-a-Service (CaaS), enabling buildings to connect to data spaces without complex hardware or software installations.

Learn more about WeForming.

EBENTO – One-Stop-Shop Platform for Energy Performance Contracting and Renovation

Innovation type: Software / System
Innovation development status: Under development (TRL 7–8, public testing phase)

A collaborative digital renovation platform that:

  • brings together renovation design, financing, contracting and performance monitoring within a single platform
  • uses BIM-based simulations to compare technical and financial renovation scenarios
  • includes digital Energy Performance Contracts (EnPC), smart contracts and digital logbooks to improve transparency and traceability
  • helps reduce transaction costs while strengthening collaboration and citizen engagement throughout the renovation process.

Learn more about EBENTO.

EXIGENCE – Per-Service Energy Consumption in Sustainable 6G

Innovation type: System / Technology
Innovation development status: Under development (TRL 4 validated in lab and 5G testbed environments)

A service-layer energy optimisation approach that:

  • measures and optimises energy consumption and carbon emissions at the service level rather than only the infrastructure level
  • encourages users to adopt lower-carbon service options through dynamic incentive mechanisms
  • connects ICT performance with carbon markets to support commercially viable, sustainability-driven operations
  • contributes to international standardisation, helping accelerate the adoption of greener digital infrastructure.

Learn more about EXIGENCE.

Next steps

These innovations aim to demonstrate how secure data spaces, integrated digital platforms and service-level optimisation can transform how buildings and digital systems operate, supporting greater efficiency, transparency and sustainability across Europe’s built environment.

STAR*track will continue to engage with EU-funded projects and expand this overview, highlighting practical and emerging solutions as they are developed, tested and deployed across Europe.