CULTURAL-E aims to define modular and replicable solutions for Plus Energy Houses (PEHs), accounting for climate and cultural differences, while engaging all key players involved in the building life cycle; to create comfortable, efficient, and affordable indoor environments. CULTURAL-E will develop technologies and solution sets that are tailorable to specific contexts and energy demands, as well as performing a comprehensive optimization of the value/cost ratio of PEHs. Sets of design-for-assembly technologies will be produced and driven by a careful mapping of European climates, building archetypes, and cultural energy habits; going beyond the positive by maximizing the share of the demand covered by renewable sources (toward Ø emissions in the operational phase). The CULTURAL-E solution sets are the result of a user-centric design process and aim to achieve and affordably maintain the best indoor environmental conditions. The houses become regenerative for the indoor and outdoor environment in the life cycle, with minor extra costs compared to nZEB, thus guaranteeing a sound return of investment. E-mobility is dealt through a dedicated management strategy to avoid energy demand peaks coming from the simultaneous fast-charging of multiple vehicles. Despite an “agnostic approach” to technology selection, CULTURAL-E will enhance the TRL of specific key technologies, such as air movement for summer thermal comfort, natural and mix-mode ventilation, packed and modular HVAC units, industrialized active window systems for natural ventilation and solar control, cloud-based house management system, and user involvement in the continuous building control, optimized envelope (tailored thermal features). Finally, to increase the replicability of the solutions and the adoption of a “cultural-centric” design, key market players involved in the PEH development are supported by dedicated tools and guidelines that will assist the development of robust, inclusive business models.

INFINITE aims at increasing the market penetration of industrialized all-in building envelope kits for the deep renovation, as competitive, reliable, stakeholders-accepted and life-cycle-based sustainable approach contributing to decarbonization of the EU building stock. INFINITE will work to narrow the gap towards the full adoption of an industrialized renovation approach developing a set of multi-user and multi-disciplinary tools, and all-in-one industrialised envelope technologies, based on robust business, meeting the demand side requirements, by keeping the focus on final users and all the stakeholders in the value-chain. The INFINITE development drivers are: (i) cost and timing reduction, (ii) Life Cycle perspective, (iii) design for assembly and disassembly, considering end-of-life residual value and the Construction-Demolition-Waste topics, (iv) low carbon impact materials adoption, (v) stakeholders-centered approach to assure concept acceptance. Moreover, INFINITE will setup an open structured knowledge hub and an organized network of entities as hard-facts based dissemination, for the demonstration of the coupling of digital and industrialised approach. Thanks to INFINITE, EU construction sector can take the chance to move forward towards a long-lasting decarbonisation of the building stock, exploiting the advantages of the “Renovation4.0” (industrialisation + digitalisation) as new generation of industrialised renovation process. The underpinned ground-breaking technologies, tools and business models, will impact the whole value-chain, being able to trigger the deep renovation market activation. Demo-cases can validate the mentioned Renovation4.0 approach, while the consortium already well-established commercial channels in EU that will facilitate an extensive replication potential and effective results exploitation.