The ZEBAI project (Zero Emission Buildings through Artificial Intelligence) was conceived in response to the urgent need for transformative solutions in the building sector to meet the European Union’s climate neutrality goals. Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU, making them a critical focus area for achieving sustainability targets. Despite advances in individual areas such as energy modelling, life-cycle assessment, and material innovation, these solutions are often fragmented and fail to address the interdependencies among key design parameters. ZEBAI aims to overcome this limitation by developing a holistic methodology and AI-powered decision-support tool that enables the integrated design of zero-emission buildings (ZEBs).
The core objective of ZEBAI is to create an AI-assisted platform that optimizes building design by simultaneously evaluating multiple criteria: energy performance, environmental impact, cost-efficiency, circularity, and indoor environmental quality. This will be achieved through the integration of advanced simulation engines, a comprehensive materials database, and a robust optimization layer capable of handling complex trade-offs. The project is also closely aligned with EU strategies such as the European Green Deal and the Renovation Wave initiative, which emphasize the need for digital and sustainable transformation in the construction sector.
ZEBAI follows a clear pathway to impact by coupling technical development with real-world validation. A series of demonstrator buildings across different European climates and typologies will serve as testing grounds to apply and refine the methodology. These use cases will validate the AI tool’s capability to support decision-making and optimize performance under real conditions. In parallel, the project promotes standardization and interoperability with existing design workflows, ensuring the tool can be adopted widely across the sector.
Ultimately, ZEBAI is expected to deliver substantial and scalable impact by making high-performance, low-emission building design more accessible and efficient. By reducing the complexity and cost of integrated design, the project will help accelerate the adoption of ZEBs across Europe, contributing directly to the decarbonization of the built environment and supporting EU policy goals on climate, innovation, and digitalization.
