Data is an essential component to understand our climate impact and artificial intelligence can assist in using data to develop climate measures accordingly. For this reason, ICLEI and its partners in the EU project MATRYCS are concluding the final testing phase of a decision support model, powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning technologies, for a profitable renovation of the building sector at eleven large scale pilot projects. Once finalised the MATRYCS model will support optimising the energy performance of buildings; the design and development of building infrastructure; policy impact assessment; and de-risking of investments in energy efficiency.
ICLEI has been coordinating the testing of the MATRYCS tool in a large-scale pilot project aiming to support local authorities in the implementation of their Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs), developed as part of voluntary initiatives such as the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) for Climate and Energy. The pilot initiative sourced data from existing SECAPs and associated monitoring reports submitted to the Covenant of Mayors and the ICLEI Carbon Climate Registry. This data was then integrated into the MATRYCS tool to perform data-driven forecasting, planning, development, impact assessment, and monitoring of these SECAPs.
The tool allows governments and planners at various levels to simulate the effects of different policy measures through digital test runs in Digital Building Twins. Additionally, MATRYCS offers policymakers measurable and realistic key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics, supporting the formulation of effective climate strategies, and related measures and investments. “Citizens are expecting decisive and efficient leadership and services from their local governments to transform our building stock and address the housing, climate and energy crises’. At ICLEI we believe that the MATRYCS tool will be an invaluable 'artificial' companion for policy-makers and building stakeholders alike, using real-life data from numerous cases to evaluate and predict the environmental and social impacts of energy efficiency measures and investments,” says Marcelo Lampkowski, Expert for Sustainable Resources, Climate and Resilience at ICLEI Europe.
The significance of being able to evaluate and shape public policies and renovation projects based on solid data, carries an additional benefit: reliability and limited risks associated with private and public energy efficiency investments. Accurate predictions of energy and economic savings will not only support credit allocation for building energy investments but also aid in the development of new, energy-efficient real estate projects.
To learn more about MATRYCS or get started with your building decarbonisation powered by artificial intelligence and real-life data, click here, reach out to https://matrycs.eu/contact, or visit the MATRYCS Market Uptake Launch on 25 September 2023 in Brussels (Belgium).