What is the Innovation Lab?

RENOWAVE.AT is the innovation laboratory for climate-neutral building and neighbourhood renovations throughout Austria. As an independent contact point for innovation projects in the renovation sector, we support, among others, initiators of demonstration buildings and neighbourhoods in order to set impulses for a climate-neutral building stock. The innovation lab is open to all stakeholders and interested parties. We want to make high-quality renovations easier, cheaper and quicker to implement and are pushing innovations to achieve this. We design and provide experimental spaces and laboratory infrastructure to get the best ideas off the ground.

THE GOAL IS A LIVEABLE & CLIMATE-NEUTRAL BUILDING SECTOR AND A RENOVATION TURBO FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY.

What can the Innovation Lab do for me?

The RENOWAVE.AT innovation laboratory has extensive expertise in forward-looking renovation technologies. In addition to events and networking formats, the Innovation Lab offers services such as innovation workshops, training courses, access to databases, experimental spaces and research infrastructures. We would like to explicitly encourage you to contact us. We will be happy to advise you on your innovation idea or solutions for your renovation project. We are also happy to develop a project with you in order to claim funding.

What are climate-neutral renovations and why is it important?

Climate neutral means that buildings and neighbourhoods are in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 (COP21), which states that global warming should be limited to 1.5°C if possible. Die Treibhausgasemissionen von Gebäuden sollen durch die Sanierung, den weiteren Betrieb und auch die „End of Life“-Phase auf ein Maß reduziert werden, das natürlich kompensiert werden kann. In order to achieve the Austrian goal – climate neutrality by 2040 – the renovation rate and the renovation quality are to be massively increased in the coming years. The innovation laboratory RENOWAVE.AT develops solutions to implement affordable renovations at the highest possible level of quality over the life cycle. Partial refurbishment or refurbishment at a moderate level leads to a negative “lock-in” effect in the long term, as these buildings will most likely not be brought up to the latest technological standards in the near future, thus worsening the greenhouse gas balance for the Austrian goal of “climate neutrality by 2040”.

Our fields of innovation

For the fields of innovation we have identified, we are constantly sounding out the current need for research with the support of various working groups:

• Data basis
• Resources
• Multifunctional, climate-neutral building envelope
• Renewable and climate-neutral energy supply
• User:internal integration / process support
• Business Models & Law
• Interdisciplinary, holistic planning, construction and operating process
• Building Culture / New European Bauhaus

Would you like to belong to a working group or form one yourself?
Please get in touch with us.

Advisory councils

Expert advisory boards provide advice and support to the Innovation Lab.
Advisory boards are planned in the following areas:

• Science, Research & Development
• Financing and business models
• Energy poverty and social aspects of building renovation
• Building culture and design
• international cooperation
• Other relevant topics