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INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research

An International Alliance to Minimize Built Environment’s Carbon Footprint

Alternative title: En Internasjonal samarbeidsallianse for å minimere karbonavtrykk fra bygd miljø

Awarded: NOK 10.0 mill.

To enable a rapid global movement toward the built environment’s carbon footprint reduction, the Net-Zero Future project will initiate an international alliance to coordinate and perform research, educational, and outreach activities to realize net-zero built structures. This project will lead to a well-grounded, credible, and innovative alliance in line with short- and long-term sustainable development goals in the absence of similar missions. The planned activities are original and will effectively engage Norway and four selected countries, i.e., Germany, India, South Africa, and the USA, following the Panorama Strategy (2021–2027). Such a multi-country alliance is crucial for the decarbonization of the built environment. The bodies of knowledge and experience in the emerging domain of net-zero structures significantly vary from one region to another, while common needs and questions call for seamless international collaborations and exchanges. The Net-Zero Future project involves five academic institutions from five countries, along with several public and industry partners who work on developing, producing, and implementing materials and technologies required for net-zero structures. Production of original knowledge bases and inspiration of a new generation of engineers, researchers, and educators to contribute to minimizing the built environment’s carbon footprint are among the main objectives. Given the complementary background and expertise of the project team members, along with their institutional strengths and support, this international alliance is expected to transform the state of the art and practice for net-zero structures. In particular, by harnessing the latest advances in this critical domain, the Net-Zero Future project will have lasting impacts that carry positive externalities across a broad spectrum of civil infrastructures and societal ecosystems.

The proposed project aims at establishing the very first international alliance for creating research and educational exchange opportunities with a focus on net-zero structures. With an overarching goal of moving toward minimizing the carbon footprint of the built environment, this project will lead to a well-grounded, credible, and innovative alliance in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. The planned activities will effectively engage Norway and four priority countries, i.e., Germany, India, South Africa, and the USA, following the Panorama Strategy (2021–2027). Such a multi-country alliance is deemed crucial for the decarbonization of the built environment, as the bodies of knowledge and experience in the emerging domain of net-zero structures significantly vary from one region to another, while common needs and questions call for seamless international collaborations and exchanges. With a theme of net-zero structures, the proposed project will directly contribute to increasing the extent and enhancing the quality and relevance of academic cooperation among five academic institutions. This will be further strengthened by engaging several public and industry partners who work on the development, production, and implementation of net-zero materials and technologies. The proposed project is anticipated to have tangible short- and long-term benefits, addressing the gaps identified in two clusters of ongoing projects at OsloMet. The main activities planned for the five-year duration of this project span the development and organization of an annual international conference, an annual summer school, an open-access Ph.D. course, and research and educational exchange visits. This will be accompanied by a regular progress assessment and risk mitigation plan, ensuring that the research and educational activities that will be initiated, fostered, and established through this project will be successfully continued beyond the project’s duration.

Funding scheme:

INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research