Workshop Takeaways – Facilitating Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Smart Solutions for Real Estate, Energy Service Companies, and Financiers
Politecnico di Milano – Campus Bovisa, 5 June 2025, CLIMA2025
The joint ENERGATE & MODERATE workshop gathered stakeholders from across the real estate, energy, and finance sectors to explore the integration of digital and financial innovations in building energy efficiency.
Key Highlights:
1. Opening Remarks
Frank Hovorka (AICVF & FPI France) emphasized the urgency of transforming Europe’s building stock, pointing to data-driven and finance-ready approaches as pivotal enablers for scaling energy efficiency.
2. MODERATE – Data-Driven Decision Support
Cristian Pozza and Daniele Antonucci (EURAC) showcased how MODERATE’s digital tools facilitate energy efficiency investments by improving access to, and the usability of, building performance data. This approach supports informed decision-making for real estate actors and policymakers alike.
3. ENERGATE – Unlocking Finance for Renovation
Katerina Papapostolou (NTUA) presented ENERGATE’s strategy to empower sustainable investments in building renovation through innovative financial mechanisms and the integration of market actors, with a focus on reducing perceived investment risks.
Panel Discussion – Challenges & Opportunities in the Digital Era
Moderated by Frank Hovorka, the panel focused on the practical challenges and enablers of energy efficiency investments in the building sector.
Sara Canepa (Prelios Integra)
- Emphasized real estate asset managers’ growing interest in energy efficiency but highlighted operational and financial hurdles.
- Decision-making still heavily depends on upfront cost and perceived ROI.
- Key concern: whether digital tools can provide reliable, actionable insights without overcomplicating workflows.
Gabriele Fregonese (SINLOC)
- Pointed to challenges in aggregating smaller projects and aligning technical solutions with viable financing structures.
- Digital tools are useful but must be embedded in clear business cases to reduce both technical and financial risks.
Francesca Hugony (ENEA)
- Stressed the importance of national policy alignment with EPBD goals.
- Advocated for the role of One-Stop Shops to support standardized data collection, improve trust, and reduce fragmentation.
- Italy still faces challenges with regulatory clarity and implementation capacity.
Csaba De Csiky (Enersave Capital)
- Offered insights from an investor’s perspective, emphasizing the need for clear value propositions, aggregated project pipelines, and risk mitigation to attract private capital into energy efficiency projects.
Conclusions & Outlook
Key Discussion Pillars:
- Barriers – Fragmentation, lack of standardisation, and unclear business cases are limiting large-scale energy renovations.
- Successful Models – MODERATE and ENERGATE provide practical frameworks for using digital data and financial innovation to overcome these barriers.
- Scalable Pathways – Cross-sector collaboration and policy support are essential to mainstream energy efficiency investments.
Bridging the gap between technology and finance isn’t just possible — it’s already happening. Now, the focus must shift to scaling up what works.
