Syn.ikia aims at achieving sustainable plus energy neighbourhoods with more than 100% energy savings, 90% renewable energy generation triggered 100% GHG emission reduction, and 10% life cycle costs reduction, compared to nZEB levels. This will be achieved while ensuring high-quality indoor environment and well-being. The main strategy for achieving these goals is to deliver a blueprint for sustainable plus energy buildings and neighbourhoods, leading the way to plus energy districts and cities, through:

1. Demonstrating new designs and efficient operation of sustainable plus energy neighbourhoods through the balanced application of integrated energy design, energy- and cost-efficiency measures, local renewables, local storage, energy flexibility, and energy sharing and trading. This will be demonstrated in four real-life development projects with plus energy apartment blocks located in four climatic zones and representing four different types of urban development strategies.
2. Delivering customized designs, innovative technologies, and decision support strategies and tools that enable informed decisions to be made by the key stakeholders in Europe.
3. Encouraging community engagement and empower user’s control facilitated by digital platforms and driven by housing affordability, improved quality of life, and environmental consciousness to inform and enable behavioural change.
4. Unlocking the potential of neighbourhoods as flexibility providers that enable more RES to enter the system and allow for flexible management of energy demand and RES generation in neighbourhoods, to avoid costly reinforcements of distribution grids while improving the quality and reliability of supply.
5. Providing big data-based infrastructure management and smart networks that, together with new and validated construction technologies and materials, unlock the flexibility potential, enable community engagement, and provide well-managed housing for the citizens.

Syn.ikia’s concept relies on the interplay between novel technologies at the neighbourhood scale, energy efficiency & flexibility of the buildings, good architectural & spatial qualities, sustainable behaviour, & citizen engagement.

Over the next four years, syn.ikia will pilot four real-life Sustainable Plus Energy Neighbourhoods to demonstrate the functionality of the plus-energy neighbourhood concept for the rest of Europe.

Syn.ikia’s team is formed by an excellent group of energy efficiency researchers, social, cooperative and housing provider, urban and building professionals and SMEs:

• NTNU, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• DTU, the Technical University of Denmark
• BPIE, the Building Performance Institute Europe
• SINTEF
• HE, Housing Europe
• IREC, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research
• OBOS
• AREA
• INCASOL (Catalan Land Institute)
• TNO
• ENFOR
• ABUD, Advanced Building and Urban Design

Start date: 1/01/2020 - End date: 30/06/2024