Innovation Competition Award Ceremony during ‘Forum Innovation’
On 4th July 2019, in the presence of Emmanuelle Wargon, the current Ministre Déléguée au Logement (French Government Minister Delegate for Housing), the Energiesprong France team launched their first innovation competition, with support from the Union Sociale pour Habitat and co-financed by the Interreg NWE project MustBe0, the GRDF and the EEC Energiesprong France programme. The aim is to encourage multi-disciplinary teams to develop innovative, integrated, and cheaper solutions in terms of overall costs in order democratise access to guaranteed zero energy retrofits.
“The key is to show entrepreneurs the way forward in terms of the types of solutions needed to achieve Energiesprong retrofits. The faster these high-quality, less expensive solutions are manufactured, the faster ambitious retrofits will multiply. This competition should raise awareness that some high-quality solutions already exist, and that new ones need to be developed. The support of professionals in the process towards industrialising their business activities also appears as a key factor of success. The selected teams received remuneration and were supported in the process to develop their prototypes, in cooperation with their future clients”, said Sébastien Delpont, Director of the Energiesprong France programme.
Innovation Competition
After assessing the 78 entries, 24 groups of finalists were chosen in September 2019 to work on technical solutions corresponding to the three key modules of Energiesprong zero energy retrofits:
Several months later, the teams of finalists were finally able to present and exhibit the prototypes of their innovative solutions at the Energiesprong Innovation Forum. This event, that took place on September 3, concluded with the awarding of prizes to the winners, during which Emmanuelle Wargon, Ministre Déléguée au Logement, gave a new message of encouragement to congratulate the participants and their partners.
To find out more about all the winners and for further information on the competition, please do not hesitate to read the press kit. You can also find the specifications for the different categories, as well as the technical descriptions, videos and photos of all the solutions developed by the entrants on the page dedicated to the innovation competition (see the paragraph entitled “Pour aller plus loin”).
Forum Innovation
The day was devoted to exchanging and sharing knowledge through several round table discussions and activities. It provided an opportunity for those involved in the energy retrofitting sector to find out more about the Energiesprong approach and to benefit from the lessons learned by pioneers who have already embarked on the process. They also had the chance to reflect on the possible future for operators involved in energy efficient retrofits, to identify the potential of the market for this type of retrofitting in France, and to discover the new methods of cooperation created by the approach. Last but not least, participants also learnt about the impressive example of the large-scale territorial approach in the Pays-de-la-Loire during the Innovation Forum.
The event also provided the occasion for the Enedis – Energiesprong agreement to be signed which aims to facilitate the deployment of zero energy retrofits in the region. You can watch the whole of the conference as well as the prize giving ceremony here.