Smart materials for energy-efficient built environment control
Today’s buildings are responsible for 40% of the global use of primary energy. New paradigms in building technology, where materials play a central role, can lead to massive energy savings and can be instrumental to improve air quality, as well as providing a platform for renewable energy technologies and sinks for greenhouse gases.
Incremental improvement of known materials never changes the world, but just one new material may, since novel materials often form the basis for technological paradigm shifts.
Our main research topics:
- Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for cooling and dehumidification
- Precise humidity control materials (PHCM)
- Phase change humidity control materials (PCHCM)
- Smart materials for energy-efficient indoor air quality control (e.g. VOCs removal)
- Metal-organic frameworks for thermal storage