CO₂-Neutral Serial Building Renovation as a Key to Climate Neutrality

Achieving climate neutrality requires a drastic reduction in CO₂ emissions, particularly in the building sector. China and Austria are committed to close collaboration to advance efficient renovation measures. The research project “ReVation” is developing innovative and standardized solutions to enable sustainable building renovation.

Global climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. To meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, greenhouse gas emissions must be drastically reduced across all sectors, including the building sector. In both China and Austria, the existing building stock is responsible for a significant share of CO₂ emissions. Therefore, both countries have committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2040 and 2060, respectively. Achieving this goal requires a comprehensive renovation of existing buildings. However, current renovation methods are often inefficient and costly.

The research and development project “ReVation – Achieving CO₂-neutral Serial Building Renovation” fosters collaboration in the development and standardization of innovative solutions for low-carbon renovation technologies and evaluation methods for existing buildings, aligning with China’s and Austria’s sustainability commitments. ReVation is developing new approaches for renovating building facades using prefabricated, multifunctional solutions. This includes integrating renewable energy sources, innovative heat distribution and delivery technologies, and efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Additionally, smart tools for accurately calculating CO₂ emissions and setting standards for climate-friendly renovations are being developed.

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Research Focus

The project’s research focuses on developing, validating, and optimizing key technologies that integrate renewable energy sources into building renovation. Major tasks include analyzing existing technologies, researching new materials and energy supply systems, and developing solutions to reduce energy consumption.

Key project goals include improving energy efficiency, integrating innovative solar technologies, and providing practical concepts for implementing the developed technologies. Special emphasis is placed on adapting renovation measures to various building types, climate zones, and economic conditions. Another important aspect is the development of software solutions for evaluating CO₂ savings and decarbonization pathways in the building sector.

With the “Zero Emission Building Standard China” (ZEB) project, we established a pioneering energy and CO₂ standard for new buildings in the world’s largest building stock. Now, with “ReVation – Achieving CO₂-neutral Serial Building Renovation,” we are tackling the sustainable renovation of existing buildings in China.