Boosting Research for a Smart and Carbon Neutral Built Environment with Digital Twins

Project Information

SmartWins

Grant agreement ID: 101078997

DOI

10.3030/101078997

Project closed

EC signature date 13 July 2022

Start date 1 October 2022

End date 30 September 2025

Funded under

• Widening participation and spreading excellence

Total cost

€ 1 499 973,75

EU contribution

€ 1 499 973,75

Coordinated by

KAUNO TECHNOLOGIJOS UNIVERSITETAS
Lithuania

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SmartWins (Boosting Research for a Smart and Carbon Neutral Built Environment with Digital Twins)

Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2025-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The overall objective of the project “Boosting Research for a Smart and Carbon Neutral Built Environment with Digital Twins – SmartWins” is to build the capacities for the Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania, through its “Sustainable Energy in the Built Environment” Research Group (SEBERG) within the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture to conduct high-quality research on the topic of next generation digital twins, applied for allowing the transition to a smart, sustainable, resilient and carbon neutral built environment. The concept of the SmartWins project is to form a network between KTU and leading institutions in the field of energy and sustainability assessment of buildings with the use of Industry 4.0 practices related research and innovation management, for know-how transfer and development of a long-term research collaboration. KTU will twin with the Politecnico di Milano University (PoliMi, Italy), the Centre for Research and Technology, Hellas (CERTH, Greece), a spin-off of the Technical University of Berlin, Contecht GmbH (CON, Germany), and Innotrope (France), aiming to develope its excellence and international reputation in the field, to both cover fundamental research aspects, as well as to further develop its skills, practices and structures to conduct top-notch research.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

SmartWins, substantially strengthened KTU’s scientific excellence and institutional capacity in Digital Twins for a smart, carbon-neutral built environment. A full bilateral staff-exchange scheme with CERTH, PoliMi and Contecht was implemented, tightly coupled to WP1 research on BIM–LCA, IEQ digitalisation, IoT/Digital Twins and BIM-based energy modelling. This programme led to a coherent portfolio of over 20 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, far exceeding the four-paper KPI and positioning KTU as a visible contributor in European DT research.
On the networking and visibility side, SmartWins organised the Building Digital Twin Scientific Conference (BDTSC) and Building Digital Twin International Congress (BDTIC) in Kaunas, plus two international scientific workshops in Berlin and Milan, establishing KTU as a recognised hub in this field.
WP3 delivered two brokerage events (Vilnius, Kaunas) and two citizen events, while WP3.4 produced and formally handed over a National Policy Report to ministries and municipalities.
Institutionally, WP2 implemented a RECORD-based research management review, upgraded research management units, and delivered grant-writing training, resulting in multiple successful proposals, including the Horizon Europe project CRedIBlE, an Erasmus Mundus Design Measures project (SmartCaNBE), and a Teaming Stage 1 proposal progressing to Stage 2.
Gender equality was embedded via continuous GEP monitoring and a high-profile Gender Equality Seminar, documented in D6.2.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Scientifically, SmartWins advanced beyond the state of the art by developing an integrated Digital Twin framework that links LCA, Level(s), BIM, IEQ, IoT and AI analytics into a single, operational methodology for whole-life building assessment. This moves from static, design-only evaluations to dynamic, data-driven Digital Twins that continuously combine real-time sensor data, BIM geometry and life-cycle indicators for energy, comfort and environmental performance.
The project produced a strong, thematically coherent publication portfolio (20+ papers) on BIM–LCA integration, geometric requirements for DT-ready energy models, IEQ digitalisation, AI-enabled analytics and interoperability. This portfolio is systematically connected to twinning activities (staff exchanges, schools, new PhD course), illustrating a genuine co-creation of frontier science between the widening institution and advanced partners, and not mere knowledge transfer.
Beyond research methods, SmartWins innovated in education and institutionalisation: it created and formally approved a PhD module on “Sustainable Decision Making in the Construction Sector” and then leveraged these capacities to secure SmartCaNBE, an Erasmus Mundus Design Measures project preparing a joint master on Industry 4.0 and smart, carbon-neutral built environments.
Finally, the transition from Twinning to funded technology-transfer (CRedIBlE) and a long-term EMJM pipeline demonstrates a novel Twinning model where capacity building directly unlocks innovation deployment and European educational leadership.