Built Environment

Where we live

The built environment includes buildings, the spaces, passages, and landscapes between them, and the above and below ground infrastructure that supports human activity such as transportation networks and utilities (e.g., water, energy, telecommunications).

Clean Energy Systems

Product, process, infrastructure, asset monitoring and management innovations relating to energy in context of clean generation, efficient transmission, smart distribution, and storage at different scales, both centralized and decentralized.

Energy Production

Reducing carbon emissions through clean and renewable energy generation and increased efficiency.

Energy Transmission and Distribution

Increasing power efficiency and reducing power loss during transmission and distribution, improving power flow and congestion management, enhancing grid flexibility, demand response capabilities and bi and multi-directional smart energy flows in distributed energy resources.

Energy Storage

Developing energy conversion and stationary storage systems applicable to the utilities, commercial, industrial as well as residential sectors, ranging from fast responsive options for near real-time to long-duration options.

Eco Efficient Water Infrastructure

Innovations targeting increased resource efficiency and energy efficiency, as well as improved reliability, capacity, security, and resilience across the water sector and across community dimensions. Relates to water processes and systems management in industry, the residential sector and agriculture.

Water Scarcity

Innovations enhancing water supply, reducing and managing water demand, reducing waste and non-revenue water.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficient extraction, purification, distribution, treatment, and reclamation of water resources.

Wastewater Treatment

Innovations in wastewater treatment to reduce fugitive waste gases such as methane and nitrous oxide, innovations for reuse of wastewater.

Water Infrastructure Resilience

Resilience of water infrastructure to the impacts of climate change.

Green Construction

On and off site construction that integrates low carbon and recycled construction materials, consumes less energy and natural resources through efficient design, processes and equipment, reduces waste and addresses end of life recovery of demolition debris.

Low Carbon Elements

Developing low carbon primary construction materials in upstream and on-site production.

Reduced Material Resources

Designing for modularity, durability and less material use. Integration of recyclable materials, nature-based materials, and implementation of closed material flows such as materials with a high recycled content. Revalorizing construction and demolition waste.

Heavy Equipment

Decarbonizing construction and quarrying equipment.

Infrastructure Resilience

Resilience of built infrastructure against the impacts of climate change.

Low Carbon Buildings

Technologies that facilitate zero or low carbon operational emissions from buildings and built infrastructure. This could be via increased energy efficiency or low carbon alternatives for energy demanding processes and appliances or alternatively, via enabling innovations that reduce the energy demand within a building.

Operational Systems

Low carbon and improved efficiency technologies for heating, cooling, ventilation, refrigeration, and lighting.

Optimized Control

Optimization in energy control and management for indoor and outdoor environments.

Building Performance

Energy-efficient architecture and innovations leading to performance improvement of buildings such as solar gain control, daylight control, night cooling and insulation.

Sustainable Mobility And Transport

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions generated by passenger mobility and transport of goods over land, sea, and air. This could be facilitated through innovation in fuels, transportation modality, infrastructure, services, optimized operations, innovative materials and route, system, and charge management.