Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AFCOS (Agile and Flexible Construction Materials Standardization for Boosting the Twin Transition)
Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2024-10-31
Over the past decades, European standards have delivered great benefits for companies and consumers on the single market. In the light of the social and environmental ambitions of the new growth strategy: the EU Green Deal and the twin transition, Europe’s competitiveness, technological sovereignty and ability to reduce dependencies will directly depend on how successful European actors are in standardization at national, European and international level. The EU Standardization Strategy from 2022 calls for more flexible and focused approach to standardization processes which can respond to the fast pace of twin transition innovating.
The “Agile and Flexible Construction Materials Standardization for Boosting the Twin Transition” (AFCOS) project aims to set up recommendations for more agile standardization processes for construction products based on pre-normative research performed horizontally in a collaborative way between key ecosystem players – research, standardization and industrial actors. AFCOS focuses on identified standardization urgencies within the industrial ecosystem of construction and more specifically on standards supporting the following product groups:
• low carbon cement and low carbon cement-based products (concrete, mortar, grout, etc.) – the project focus in Bulgaria and
• bio-based products for the insulation of the buildings’ envelope – the project focus in Romania.
Building on a set of activities combining research work with stakeholder engagement, educational activities and ambitious exploitation initiatives, AFCOS already produced 2 roadmaps for standardization and capacity building and moves forward to the development of a Strategy for education and skills development in the field of standardization of new building materials and also exploitation models for the benefit of the European Standardization Organizations (ESOs), national standardization bodies, educational institutions and industry.
AFCOS is funded by the European Union Horizon Europe Programme under Grant Agreement 101135855 and brings together 7 full and 5 associated partners from 9 EU countries encompassing research capacity, standardization expertise and industry representation and ecosystem actors, ensuring EU coverage and exploitability of the project results to a high level.
The “Agile and Flexible Construction Materials Standardization for Boosting the Twin Transition” (AFCOS) project aims to set up recommendations for more agile standardization processes for construction products based on pre-normative research performed horizontally in a collaborative way between key ecosystem players – research, standardization and industrial actors. AFCOS focuses on identified standardization urgencies within the industrial ecosystem of construction and more specifically on standards supporting the following product groups:
• low carbon cement and low carbon cement-based products (concrete, mortar, grout, etc.) – the project focus in Bulgaria and
• bio-based products for the insulation of the buildings’ envelope – the project focus in Romania.
Building on a set of activities combining research work with stakeholder engagement, educational activities and ambitious exploitation initiatives, AFCOS already produced 2 roadmaps for standardization and capacity building and moves forward to the development of a Strategy for education and skills development in the field of standardization of new building materials and also exploitation models for the benefit of the European Standardization Organizations (ESOs), national standardization bodies, educational institutions and industry.
AFCOS is funded by the European Union Horizon Europe Programme under Grant Agreement 101135855 and brings together 7 full and 5 associated partners from 9 EU countries encompassing research capacity, standardization expertise and industry representation and ecosystem actors, ensuring EU coverage and exploitability of the project results to a high level.
One of the AFCOS main aims is the establishment of wide stakeholder engagement on the first place through the creation of a Multistakeholder research group at project start. It combines external experts from the government, academia and industry and is structured in 3 pillars – legislation, standards and industry corresponding to the 3 main topics of the pre-normative research conducted under the project. The research findings are parts of an analysis done in 3 different countries – Bulgaria, Romania and Italy. It defines the needs of the different stakeholders and based on that it also sets guidelines for the production of 2 roadmaps:
• Standardization as enabler of innovation uptake in the new building materials field and
• Capacity building in standardization of new building materials as a booster of new knowledge in industry.
The AFCOS roadmaps have been prepared through the implementation of a Methodology for co-design of roadmaps produced by the project partners. It defines the main principles for engagement and common work with different stakeholders during the whole process of roadmaps production. The methodology is designed as transferable and scalable to be used in other projects beyond standardization where research findings will need to be applied for the purposes of process design and strategic development.
The Capacity Building Roadmap also sets the frame for the development of standardization training programmes for new building products which follows in 2025.
Wide stakeholder dialogue was in place during the consultations organized on the 2 roadmaps – the overall feedback is highly positive which proves the future practical applicability of the AFCOS results.
• Standardization as enabler of innovation uptake in the new building materials field and
• Capacity building in standardization of new building materials as a booster of new knowledge in industry.
The AFCOS roadmaps have been prepared through the implementation of a Methodology for co-design of roadmaps produced by the project partners. It defines the main principles for engagement and common work with different stakeholders during the whole process of roadmaps production. The methodology is designed as transferable and scalable to be used in other projects beyond standardization where research findings will need to be applied for the purposes of process design and strategic development.
The Capacity Building Roadmap also sets the frame for the development of standardization training programmes for new building products which follows in 2025.
Wide stakeholder dialogue was in place during the consultations organized on the 2 roadmaps – the overall feedback is highly positive which proves the future practical applicability of the AFCOS results.
EU industry and in particular the companies from the construction sector and the companies working in the field of construction materials production need standards that underpin the twin transition of the industry while at the same time innovation owners need to implement faster and more flexible standardization procedures that will allow their products to be put on the market in a shorter time frame.
The standardization roadmap developed under the AFCOS project will support innovation owners through presenting different standardization pathways they could follow. During the pilot trainings planned the target groups will be introduced to the basics of standardization with the aim that they will be able to apply this knowledge further in practice. The trainings will be openly accessible on different training platforms which will ensure wider coverage. Through the cooperation with national and international standardization organizations, incl. CEN-CENELEC and ISO, the AFCOS results will be further exploited and we’ll guarantee that the project outcomes reflect the current standardization priorities and needs on European and international level. We have already integrated the market context into the pre-normative research made thus aligning the innovation trends and the needs of companies with the standardization development process.
The AFCOS approach will directly improve the position of standardization as an enabler of innovation deployment and commercialization in Europe and the capacity of the industrial ecosystem on how to use standards in support to innovation. This will, in return, result in sustainable, high-quality jobs performed by skilled workforce being able to drive the twin transition.
The standardization roadmap developed under the AFCOS project will support innovation owners through presenting different standardization pathways they could follow. During the pilot trainings planned the target groups will be introduced to the basics of standardization with the aim that they will be able to apply this knowledge further in practice. The trainings will be openly accessible on different training platforms which will ensure wider coverage. Through the cooperation with national and international standardization organizations, incl. CEN-CENELEC and ISO, the AFCOS results will be further exploited and we’ll guarantee that the project outcomes reflect the current standardization priorities and needs on European and international level. We have already integrated the market context into the pre-normative research made thus aligning the innovation trends and the needs of companies with the standardization development process.
The AFCOS approach will directly improve the position of standardization as an enabler of innovation deployment and commercialization in Europe and the capacity of the industrial ecosystem on how to use standards in support to innovation. This will, in return, result in sustainable, high-quality jobs performed by skilled workforce being able to drive the twin transition.