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ECTB hope the JTI will be adopted
by the European Parliament in 2009 |
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The overall objective of E2B JTI is to deliver, implement and optimise building and district concepts that have the technical, economic and societal potential to drastically cut the energy consumption and reduce CO2 emissions due to existing and new buildings on a European scale.
The E2B JTI is aimed at speeding up research on key technologies and develop a competitive industry in the fields of energy efficient products and services, with the main purpose of reaching the goals set forth for 2020 and 2050 to address climate change issues and contribute to improving EU energy independence thereby transforming these challenges into business opportunities.
What is a JTI?
The JTI is an innovative instrument of the 7th European Framework for supporting industrial research. It is an industry-led public-private partnership called a Joint Undertaking (JU), equally funded and governed by industry and the European Commission and in some cases by Member States. The JTI will closely collaborate with national governments to achieve common objectives:
- very large scale research programs at short, medium and long term;
- programmes driven by the industry;
- programmes focused on clear technological and economic objectives;
- creating a long-term European-wide initiative
The private part of the Joint Undertaking will be an International Not for Profit Industrial Association (INPIA). A limited number of Founders are working on the statutes of the association. Once established, all the organisations accepting the statutes may be incorporated to the INPIA.
Why a JTI in Energy Efficient Buildings?
Activities in and related to buildings are responsible for about 40% of all energy consumption and generate about 33% of so-called ‘greenhouse gases’. The European Construction Technology Platform is of the clear view that the building sector needs a number of coordinated investments at a European level to:
- bring to the mass market affordable, energy-efficient buildings;
- to solve technical difficulties in applying existing technologies to building renovation;
- to increase the dissemination of projects results; and
- to integrate the customer and value chain requirements (performance, social, environmental and economic) and create new business models
To meet our goals new knowledge is required in areas such as nano-science, materials, energy efficiency, integration of renewable energy systems, indoor environment, storage technologies, building energy management systems, guidelines and methodologies for the design of energy-efficient buildings, and reliable simulation and prediction tools.
Clear prospects exist to generate new added-value products and services worldwide as deliverables for buildings and districts or cities, and for exemplary energy-efficient renovations in particular domains such as schools, hospitals, social housing and offices. The E2B JTI has the potential to give Europe a critical competitive advantage for increasing its growth potential and to fight the threat of de-localisation.
For the E2B JTI to be a success it requires a substantial, long-term industry commitment. The scale and scope of the ECTPs Strategic Research Agenda is so ambitious that they extend significantly beyond the timescale of a simple framework programme. The objective is that the European Commission sends to the Council a proposal for the Council regulation concerning the setting up of the E2B JTI during the second half of 2008 to be adopted by the Council and the Parliament in 2009.
For further information please visit the ECTP website at www.ectp.org or contact the UK National Platform for the Built Environment (020 7592 1100).
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