EU-ASE appoints its new Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson

As of January 2023, European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) has appointed Quentin Galland as new Chairperson and renewed the mandate of Bonnie Brook as Vice-Chairperson.

Quentin Galland is Group Public & Regulatory Affairs Director at Knauf Insulation. He is a driven, collaborative and business-focused senior public affairs professional, with a passion for sustainability and energy efficiency related topics.

Bonnie Brook is Vice-President of Industry Affairs at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. She is a vibrant and engaged industry advocate for innovation in buildings to increase comfort and productivity, reduce impact on the environment and improve property value.  

Both Quentin and Bonnie bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge, coming from leader businesses in the energy efficiency world. The whole EU-ASE team warmly congratulates them for their appointment and looks forward to working together in their term.

Monica Frassoni, President of EU-ASE, said: “The urgency of the climate crisis cannot be ignored. While the energy transition is paved with many challenges, we look forward to continue working together with our business and thought leaders towards an energy efficient Europe. I welcome the appointment of Quentin and Bonnie and I am confident that they will greatly help the Alliance in its work in the years to come, starting from a busy 2023.” 

Quentin Galland said: “It has never been a greater time for Europe to save energy. Global challenges are opening up opportunities for the energy community to seize, starting with putting energy efficiency at the heart of the political agenda. I am convinced that the Alliance will be a driving and paramount contributor to high-level discussions and important decisions for all citizens.”

Bonnie Brook said: “System energy efficiency is key in achieving the EU decarbonization goals. We need the political will in the Fit for 55 legislation, subsequent accelerated implementation with vast participation and effective collaboration of all stakeholders.”

The newly appointed Chair and Vice-chair will stay in charge for the next three years, as per the internal rules of the Alliance.

More information about EU-ASE management here.

 

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The European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) is a cross-sectoral, business-led organisation that ensures that the voice of energy efficiency is heard across Europe. EU-ASE members have operations across the 27 Member States of the European Union, employ over 340.000 people in Europe and have an aggregated annual turnover of €115 billion.

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The great potential of non-residential buildings and how to tap into it

Decarbonising non-residential buildings is crucial to meet Europe’s carbon neutrality goal by 2050. To do so, and in view of the upcoming Renovation Wave, Member States should focus on the ambitious implementation of the EPBD and produce renovation strategies targeted also to this sector.

There are many reasons why making also non-residential buildings energy efficient should be among the priorities for the European Union and its Member States. The share of non-residential buildings in the total EU building stock is just 25%, but they require in average 55% more energy than residential buildings. Take Germany, for example, non-residential buildings (excluding industry and trade) are the smallest group in terms of numbers, at around 2.7 million units. However, due to their larger area per building they represent the second largest group in terms of building energy consumption (36%).

Decarbonising non-residential buildings is advantageous because, due to their nature, ownership structure and the high energy demand schools, hospitals and offices are ideally suited to help shape important paths for a future-oriented energy system based on energy efficiency, digitalisation, and an increasing role of “prosumers”.

Indeed, in 90% of cases, the energy efficiency potential of those buildings can be realized economically within their life cycle. The technologies required for this have been available for a long time and are constantly being enhanced by the industry. These include systems for energy-efficient management of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, integration of renewable energies, electromobility, as well as for workplace management. 

In addition to the energy-efficient renovation of the building envelop, investments in building automation technologies offer savings in energy and cost of around 30%, with payback periods between 6 months and 3 years. 

To achieve these figures, all technical systems in a non-residential building should be coordinated to go beyond their individual functions in order to optimize the energy productivity. This can be done through the harmonization of demand and supply energy flows, and the proactive management of thermal and electrical storage. Doing so would enable the integration of renewables even on a small scale as well as the application of various demand side management strategies.

In this perspective, a coherent modernization and digitalisation of the energy infrastructure of non-residential buildings will support the transformation of the energy system and the active implementation of the EU’s climate protection policy. The advancing digitalisation in the building sector will be the determining pathfinder for more energy efficiency in the future and will pave the way for grid-interactive efficient intelligent buildings. 

Smart buildings integrate technology and equipment to proactively predict faults, monitor performance in real time, and provide predictive insights regarding building systems and facilities, including power management, energy usage, and occupant comfort.

The revised EPBD set out a clear path towards achieving a stock of low and zero-emission buildings in the Union by 2050. This path is based on national roadmaps with intermediate targets and progress indicators, with public and private funding and investment. An ambitious EPBD implementation and financially sound renovation strategies for non-residential buildings are needed to kick-start the Renovation Wave. 

In this context, buildings should no longer be considered as pure energy consumers but as active players and dynamic assets in the future, climate-neutral energy system.

 

This article was written by Bonnie Brook, Vice-chair of the Board of the European Alliance to Save Energy and Senior Manager Industry Affairs at Siemens, and Volker Dragon, Senior Manager Industry Affairs at Siemens.

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