From 1 to 3 April 2025, the META BUILD consortium gathered in Bolzano, Italy, for its third plenary meeting, hosted by Eurac Research. This was the second time partners met in person, marking a milestone: after one year of project implementation, it was the perfect moment to reflect on achievements, share challenges, and define the next steps towards decarbonising Europe’s building sector.
The event brought together more than 40 partners across the building value chain, all committed to transforming innovation into concrete, scalable solutions that make buildings truly decarbonised.
Progress Across Work Packages and Pilots
During the meeting, each partner presented developments in their work packages, technologies, pilot sites, and replication activities. These updates showcased the strength of META BUILD’s multidisciplinary approach, spanning research, technology integration, demonstration projects, and market replication.
Highlights included:
- Advances in brine-to-water heat pumps and hybrid systems to enhance efficiency.
- District heating integration and second-life battery applications for flexibility and resilience.
- Early prototypes of a hybrid solar panel, capable of producing both heat and electricity.
- Replication strategies to ensure technologies can be scaled and adapted across diverse European contexts.
Tackling Challenges Together
Beyond technical achievements, partners discussed open issues such as regulatory hurdles, stakeholder engagement, and the complexities of technology installation. By openly sharing barriers and opportunities, the consortium reinforced its collaborative spirit and its role as a driver of systemic change in the building sector.
Looking Ahead
As META BUILD enters its next phase, efforts will focus on interoperability - developing open APIs that enable seamless communication between energy systems. At the same time, work will continue on advancing prototypes and ensuring their effective integration across pilots in Austria, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, and Spain.
Press release from EHPA here