A new consortium funded by Innovate UK as part of their Net Zero Heat programme has been formed to tackle the multiple barriers to retrofitting homes, with a new approach to deliver one million homes per year.
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… partners in the project….will provide expertise in retrofit planning and resident engagement…
Energiesprong writes:
Through collaborative working, the experienced and diverse group of 13 industry-leading partners involved in the Transform-ER (Transform. Engage. Retrofit) project will catalyse the transformational change that’s required to meet the 2050 net zero deadline.
Transform-ER will enable the rapid deployment of high-quality retrofit solutions, with the aim of retrofitting one million homes per year by 2030. It will achieve this by accelerating several market mechanisms simultaneously, launching a new system and marketplace for retrofit that’s open to existing and new delivery partners.
The project will focus on levers for change that will overcome the barriers to retrofitting homes rapidly and cost effectively. It will adopt the Demand-Develop-Deploy structure to achieve a new retrofit system:
- Demand – New digital tools and approaches to assessing portfolios, categorising typologies, aggregating demand, understanding property and retrofit risk, and enabling pipelines for standardised solutions – led by Ambue, Tallarna, Energiesprong UK and Planarific.
- Develop – Kits-of-parts retrofit solutions and defining interoperability standards, streamlining accreditation routes, and prototyping products to cost effectively meet demand – led by BRE (Building Research Establishment), MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre), KIN Architects, Ultraframe, Tata Steel, Bow Tie Construction and VundaHaus.
- Deploy – New approaches to deploying retrofit solutions, including a product database and procurement platform, a digitally driven Community Interest Company (CIC) vehicle, and standardised contracts for deployment focussing on collaboration. The legal structuring for the CIC will be supported by insurance, empowering the introduction of flexible and long-term private finance – led by Energiesprong UK and Tallarna.
The London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham and Hammersmith & Fulham are also partners in the project. They will provide expertise in retrofit planning and resident engagement and benefit from better data on their housing portfolio to develop pre-qualified pipelines, as well as a new contracting approach for kit-of-parts to enable rapid volume delivery. Other named housing stakeholders include Places for People, Southern Housing and Clarion each with extensive property portfolios and sustainability targets who see the benefits of scaling retrofit to improve the energy efficiency of homes and comfort for their residents.
Social housing is the primary target for the initial 18-month Transform-ER project, which starts on 1 April 2024. Deployment approaches, products, accreditation processes, and pipeline development tools will be developed concurrently, with the project enabling the required cooperation between these parts, resulting in a new retrofit system being developed and tested, ready to launch by the close of the project in 2025. This system will be expanded to serve commercial buildings and private owners once it is embedded, and the developed tools and solutions are proven.
Emily Braham, Director of Strategy & Operations at Energiesprong UK, said: “Two homes per minute need to be retrofitted in the UK to achieve net zero goals. At the moment the market is fragmented with complicated supply chains, labour shortages, increasing costs, and variable quality and performance.
“Transform-ER will develop an industrialised retrofit system by bringing together experts from all parts of a future value chain while embracing the migration towards offsite construction and taking the best learning from other manufacturing-led sectors to apply to the retrofit market.
“The result will be reduced risks and optimised financing for social housing landlords with trusted advice and solutions, and clear delivery routes. And ultimately happy residents living in warm, affordable, decarbonised homes.”
The Transform-ER concept was developed during Innovate UK’s Net Zero Heat: Design Engineering Innovation Lab, a collaborative five-day residential workshop with a cross-disciplinary cohort of 40 organisations to explore game changing ideas to speed up the roll-out of decarbonised heat for buildings.
For further information about the project, please visit the project page.…
Innovate UK is the national innovation agency, supporting business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies, and regions. The Net Zero Heat programme is focused on the challenges and opportunities of moving all buildings off gas for heating space and water. This contributes to the wider organisational aim of the UK prospering from being the fastest transitioning economy to net zero. https://ktn-uk.org/news/iuk-net-zero-heat-programme/
