INTERNATIONAL APPROACH
Prior to the involvement of the Toni Piëch Foundation in 2021, the City Energy Analyst had already been applied in several European countries as well as in Canada and Singapore – developed countries with well-organized data environments. Crucially important, however, is the sustainable development of rapidly growing cities in the Global South, where data environments are more diverse and less organized. The Toni Piëch Foundation therefore decided to support ETHZ in upscaling the applicability of the City Energy Analyst to any location. In the first phase of the collaboration, the tool’s application in Navi Mumbai, India, proved that it can be used in less organized data environments while producing satisfactory results.
FOCUS ON ENABLEMENT AND NETWORKING
The second phase now focuses on supporting the widespread use of the modelling tool and lowering the entry barrier for external users. To reach this objective, ETHZ is concentrating its efforts on enablement, development and networking. Existing tutorials and webinars are being expanded to cover all relevant steps of the modelling and of the results interpretation process. They are also being made available via several communication channels to enable new users. A moderated online forum and live user conventions will foster exchange of knowledge, data and best practices. The tool has already been used as a main resource in a project class at ETHZ, and workshops and lecture series are being held at universities across three continents as well.
USER MEETINGS IN ZURICH AND SINGAPORE
The first City Energy Analyst user meeting was held in November 2023 in Zurich, while the next meeting in 2024 is scheduled to be held in Singapore. Through the proactive expansion of the network of engaged universities and research teams as local change agents, the project directly supports the local energy transition in many locations across the globe. At the same time, the tool is being continuously improved in terms of simulation speed, interface and the creation of a macOS application and a web-based version. The second project phase is being funded by the Toni Piëch Foundation with an annual grant of CHF 110,000.
