The MPC-: GT project brought together a transdisciplinary team of SMEs, large industry and research institutes, experienced in research and application of design and control systems in the combined building and energy world. Based on prior research, supported by (joint) EU and national projects, and practical experience the bottlenecks where identified that prevent at this moment a real breakthrough of geothermal heat pumps (GEO-HP) combined with thermally activated building systems (TABS) - GEOTABS. Solutions, which need to be implemented in an integrated way, were identified and sufficient proof of concept was gathered to join forces in a RIA. The innovative concepts aim at increasing the share of low valued (low-grade) energy sources by means of using low exergy systems on the one hand and aim at upgrading low/moderate temperature resources on the other hand. The overall solution consists of an optimal integration of GEOTABS and secondary supply and emission systems. To allow for an optimal use of both the GEOTABS and the secondary system, a split will be made between a so-called “base load” that will be provided by the GEOTABS and the remaining energy needs that should be supplied by the secondary system. A generic rule, eliminating case-by-case simulation work, will be developed. The second part of the proposed solution aims at a white box approach for Model Predictive Control (MPC) to generate a controller model with precomputed model inputs such as disturbances and HVAC thermal power to avoid case by case development. Research is needed to assess the overall performance and robustness of such an approach towards uncertainties. As such, the MPC-: GT consortium believes to have identified an integrated solution that will provide a near optimal design strategy for the MPC GEOTABS concept using optimal control integrated design. The solution will support the industry, especially the SME members, to expand their activities and strengthen their competitiveness.

GEOFIT is an integrated industrially driven action aimed at deployment of cost effective enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) on energy efficient building retrofitting. This entails the development technical development of innovative EGS and its components, namely, non-standard heat exchanger configurations, a novel hybrid heat pump and electrically driven compression heat pump systems and suite of heating and cooling components to be integrated with the novel GSHP concepts, all specially designed to applied in energy efficient retrofitting projects. To make viable the novel EGS in energy efficient building retrofitting, a suite of tools and technologies is developed, including: low invasive risk assessment technologies, site-inspection and worksite building monitoring techniques (SHM), control systems for cost-effective and optimized EGS in operation phase and novel BIM-enabled dedicated tools for management of geothermal based retrofitting works (GEOBIM platform). Furthermore, the project is commited with the application of novel drilling techniques as the improved low invasive vertical drilling and trenchless technologies. GEOFIT brings these technical developments within a new management framework based on Integrated Design and Delivery Solutions for the geothermal based retrofitting process.The IDDS driven process will materialise in the Geo-BIM enabled Retrofitting Management Platform (Geo-BIM tool). By using the 5 demonstration sites as open case studies in 4 countries and climates, featuring different representative technical scenarios/business models, GEOFIT will leverage its key exploitable results, adapted business models and market oriented dissemination for maximizing impact and wide adoption of these novel geothermal technologies and approaches.

As climatic conditions are constantly changing and the frequency of extreme events increases, there is an urgency of planning, designing and retrofitting the built environment in order adapt it to present and future risks. Too frequently the built environment is a driver of vulnerability, rather than being a shelter for citizens. For this reason, mitigation and adaptation need to be pursued actively, putting built environment and human resilience at the center of a climate and future-proofing action. The MULTICLIMACT project aims to develop a mainstreamed framework and a tool for supporting public stakeholders and citizens to assess the resilience of the built environment and its people at multiple scales (buildings, urban areas, territories) against locally relevant natural and climatic hazards and supply-chains, as well as to support them to enhance their preparedness and responsiveness across their life cycle. The mainstreamed approach will include a method specifically targeted for including several types of built environment assets, including human well-being, health, and quality of life as an essential scale of analysis and action. MULTICLIMACT will support resilience-enabling ACTions by implementing a toolkit of 18 reliable, easy-to-implement and cost-effective Design methods, Materials, and Digital Solutions, enabling users to easily estimate the impact of their implementation on the resilience of the targeted asset, integrating a multidisciplinary approach integrating socio-economic, life, engineering, and climate disciplines. The MULTICLIMACT approach is integrated with relevant international and European initiatives, building upon existing knowledge and instruments, and demonstrating the proposed approach in four case studies that represent various geographical location, natural and climatic hazards, social and economic systems and scales of analysis, ranging from single buildings (including cultural heritage) to the urban and territorial scales.