European subsidy for BAM innovation project
Bunnik, the Netherlands, 7 May 2015 – The European Commission has approved a project proposal for BAM’s REnnovates innovation project. The award of a grant of approximately €5 million is part of Horizon 2020, the leading European subsidy programme for research and innovation. BAM considers REnnovates the next step in the serial renovating of homes.
The REnnovates project was developed by BAM Advies & Engineering and BAM Woningbouw W&R- Renovatie as an expansion of the comprehensive innovation programme ‘de Stroomversnelling’ (the Rapids - electricity acceleration), an industrial approach to net-zero retrofitting of the Dutch housing stock. For this, the gas connection is removed and only electricity is used in the home. The electrical energy is generated by solar panels and heat by heat pumps, thereby increasing the flow on the electricity network. The goal of ‘de Stroomversnelling’ is to retrofit approximately 111,000 homes and make them energy neutral.
Major impact on energy grids
‘De Stroomversnelling’ innovation programme has a major impact on the energy grids. Therefore, the network operator Stedin is one of the project partners. Households will only use electricity in the project. There is therefore a high demand for electricity in the winter and there is a surplus in the summer because residents generate their own energy with solar panels and want to give this energy back to the grid. Through control with heat pumps and absorbing these peaks with batteries, it is possible for Stedin to minimise or avoid costly investments in more capacity on the electricity network. BAM eventually expects to offer this as a new service to grid operators. The REnnovates innovation project includes two hundred homes in ‘de Stroomversnelling’ project.
European consortium
BAM sought cooperation with eight European partners for the innovation project. The consortium includes two construction companies: Mostostal (Poland) and Mondragon (Spain). The Dutch network operator Stedin will examine the impact on the network. Belgium is represented in the consortium by the Flemish research institution VITO, the Flemish start-up in the area of ‘smart grids’ Enervalis and by Belfius Bank. The other partners are MassiveCell Technologies, a Finnish start-up that builds innovative battery systems, and KEO, a German electronics company that will introduce its EEBus communications standard.
For further information:
- press: Arno C. Pronk, +31 (0)30 659 86 21;
- analysts: Joost van Galen, +31 (0)30 659 87 07.