Passive systems engineered from first principles.

The built environment problem

Buildings produce around 37% of global energy-related CO₂ (IEA, 2023) – operational emissions plus embodied carbon from construction. In the EU alone, buildings account for approximately 40% of final energy consumption and 36% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (European Commission) – the largest single sector. As building energy standards tighten, operational carbon falls – while the embodied share rises: for new buildings, half of future CO₂ will come from embodied carbon, half from operations. Renovation rates remain well below 1% of existing stock per year in most markets – far below what net-zero trajectories require. Most of the 2050 building stock already exists today. Decarbonising that stock – at scale, without demolition and material-intensive reconstruction – is the central challenge of the energy transition. Retrofit solutions that require no scaffolding, no active energy systems, and no extended downtime are not a niche category: they are an infrastructure requirement. For owners, this narrows to one question: which assets can be decarbonised without demolition, and on what timeline.

Engineering approach

We apply thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and materials science in place of active energy systems – the laws of physics require no maintenance. Where operation is passive there are no control electronics and no routine maintenance obligation: the principle reduces the building's operational carbon while the system itself generates no maintenance or replacement cycle. Active systems introduce control complexity, multiple failure modes and ongoing energy consumption that compound over a building's lifetime; passive physics-based principles do not. The retrofit-first constraint is embedded in every design decision: a solution is only commercially relevant if it can be applied to the existing building stock without demolition, extended downtime or scaffolding. Performance parameters are measured by independent test laboratories; where a test followed an accredited procedure, we state that separately. Performance figures are based on measured field and laboratory data – not simulation models, not unverified manufacturer declarations. Every figure we publish names the body that measured it and the conditions of measurement.