RWTH: Sustainable Building and Operation

Teaching and research area for real estate project development at RWTH Aachen University launches two new projects on sustainable construction and operation.


RWTH Aachen University’s Department of Real Estate Project Development (iPE), headed by Professor Elisabeth Beusker, has launched two new research projects to develop resource-saving facade technologies and optimize individual energy consumption.

Together with the Chair of Building and Indoor Climate Technology and the Institute of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Building at RWTH and the industrial partners Hagemeister, Vonovia and Viessmann, iPE is working on the development and testing of resource-saving facade technologies for the construction industry in the project “Resource-saving facade technologies: Energy clinker” (ReFaTEk). The novel clinker technology is used to increase the use of solar energy for the energy supply of buildings and is implemented, researched and evaluated both in the laboratory and in real construction projects in practice. The façade system is intended to help achieve the German government’s climate targets and become independent of fossil fuels. The project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection with around one million euros until 2025.

The Energy App (Epp) project is being funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia with around 100,000 euros over a period of one year. In cooperation with the Department of Computer Science 10 at RWTH Aachen University, the scientists are developing a user-friendly application for processing and optimizing individual energy consumption. Within the scope of the project, everyday situations are examined and generated emissions are processed transparently. In addition to the visualization of energy and CO2 consumption, users are shown optimization potential and given incentives for an energy- and resource-conscious lifestyle.