Stronghouse

Stronghouse is ‘scooping the impact’

08 June 2022 - Published by Deirdre Buist
Just looking at the numbers, there is no denying the great successes currently being booked as the Stronghouse project progresses. This was visualized during the North Sea Region Annual Conference in Bruges on 23 May, as we had the opportunity to share with Interreg project peers during the Deep Dive sessions. Stronghouse is ‘scooping the impact’.

At the Interreg Programme’s  ‘All Aboard’ event, selected projects took to the stage to show and tell. Stronghouse Project Coordinator Hein Braaksma illustrated the CO2 emission cuts already achieved with bespoke balloons. Each balloon represented 0,7 kg of CO2. The consortium have actually achieved a reduction equivalent to 2,4000,000 balloons!

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Stronghouse takes to the stage in Bruges to scoop the impact

New urgency

During the course of the Stronghouse project, world affairs have undeniably influenced results.  Energy prices, the tragic situation in the Ukraine and the ensuing geopolitical arm-wrestling have  given an extra urgency to accelerating the energy transition. Now that everyone’s focus is on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, energy renovation enables individual homeowners to mitigate some of the impacts.

High scores 

Stronghouse partners are supporting homeowners in terms of the technical and financial aspects of energy renovation, as individuals or as a neighbourhood. Initially the consortium’s focus was on raising awareness, but whether a result of campaigns or current affairs - or a combination of both - the project scores are already much higher than anticipated. In 2021, Stronghouse efforts resulted in more than 9 kiloton CO2 reduction, 5455 houses renovated and generated a huge 88-million-euro investment in energy renovation, forming a significant contribution to the EU Green Deal and Renovation Wave, while also having a positive impact on the lives of individual homeowners and energy communities.

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All Aboard 2022: The Stronghouse and INDU-Zero exhibition stand

Progress & potential

The most recent Stronghouse progress report also includes the outputs and results of the partners who joined the project following the extension June 2021. 

Some progress highlights:

  •  The continued development of the Stronghouse Green Finance Tool
  • The improvement of existing digital tools and compatibility with EU taxonomy.
  • The enablement of more efficient and targeted digital support with improved CRM systems.
  • The headway made with the neighbourhood approach in Bremerhaven, Sonderborg, Noordenveld and Roeselare - raising awareness and demonstrating the potential of energy renovation.
  • The investigation of the potential of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source for homes.

Market shift 

Stronghouse set out to give SMEs a better access to the energy renovation market. The energy crisis, the growing awareness regarding energy renovation and the positive effects of local Stronghouse campaigns have resulted in a significant shift in the market. Now  it’s difficult for individual homeowners to find the SMEs and skilled workers to implement their renovation. Stronghouse partners are discussing what can be done about the lack of craftsmen, materials and the overall capacity necessary to further speed up energy renovation.

The work continues.