Overcoming challenges to the adoption of Industrialized Renovation Kits and boosting the Renovation Wave

A recent workshop session at the Sustainable Places 2021 Conference brought together coordinators and participants from six Horizon-funded projects, including INFINITE, to discuss the challenges and barriers to the adoption of Modular Industrialized Renovation Kits. These kits are essential for decarbonizing the building stock and achieving the European Union’s climate goals for 2050. 

The methodology and structure of this workshop, the results and recommendations were summarized into a positioning paper titled “Boosting the Renovation Wave with Modular Industrialized Renovation Kits.” The paper provides an overview of the state of industrialized solutions and outlines strategies for the future of this sector, based on the direct experience of research projects partners and their vision for the future of this sector. 

During the workshop, 32 challenges and barriers to the adoption of Zero Energy Renovation Kits were identified and grouped into five categories related to 

– Political, legal or institutional aspects 

– Project context or building typology and geometry 

– Cost and time effectiveness of the renovation 

– Lack of training, knowledge and skills 

– Technology readiness 

To overcome these challenges, solutions were discussed, and a coherent framework was developed, mapping intervention strategies against barriers. This holistic overview provides implications for innovation managers, decision-makers, and policy-makers.

Future research could include large-scale studies that test the identified barriers and intervention mechanisms that affect the development, adoption, and implementation of Zero Energy Renovation Kits. 

Read the full study here.