Mission & Focus

Within the Urban Energy Systems Lab, the Buildings & Cities group investigates the role of the built environment and energy communities in the urban energy transition. We develop innovative strategies using advanced techno-economic and socio-institutional design methods to accelerate this transformation. Our mission is to drive the energy transition of buildings, districts, and cities by identifying cross-sector synergies and fostering sustainable, resilient, and energy-efficient urban areas.

Key Research Topics

Our main areas of research include:

• Integrated multi-energy system modeling and optimization 

  • Enhancing and maintaining the EhubX optimization framework as a leading tool to design multi-energy systems efficiently, considering energy conversion, storage, and sectoral interactions. 

  • Techno-economic assessment and design guidelines for combined heating and cooling networks for integrating renewable heat sources, waste heat recovery, and innovative storage solutions.

  • Enhancing the interaction between electricity, heating, cooling, and mobility sectors to improve energy system flexibility, and maximize the integration of renewable energy sources. 

  • Utilizing advanced urban digital twins to create real-time, data-driven models of urban energy systems, enabling collaborative decision-making. 

• Edge data centers and waste heat utilization 

  • Exploring the integration of decentralized edge data centers within urban environments while harnessing their waste heat for buildings and district heating. 

• (Positive) energy districts/communities  

  • Techno-economic and socio-institutional design of positive energy districts and energy communities, leveraging renewable resources, energy-sharing mechanisms, and community-driven energy management strategies. 

• Circular economy in the built environment  

   Applying circular economy principles to urban infrastructure, promoting resource efficiency, material reuse, and life-cycle assessment in construction, renovation, and energy systems. 

Selected research projects

Our group is actively involved in the following projects:

• Horizon Europe HEATWISE: This project develops an innovative, autonomously operated ecosystem that integrates buildings and edge data centers, enhancing waste heat recovery, power usage effectiveness, and energy reuse. It explores energy management systems, optimal control strategies, and multi-vector interactions to optimize waste heat utilization. Additionally, the project establishes design and operational guidelines for integrating edge data centers into tertiary buildings. A 20-kW edge data center with hybrid cooling (liquid and air) is being demonstrated at Empa's NEST. 
• SWEET DecarbCH: The DeCarbCH project addresses the colossal challenge of decarbonisation of heating and cooling in Switzerland. The project's overall objective is to facilitate, speed up and de-risk the implementation of renewables for heating and cooling in the residential sector and for the service and industry sector.  
• Colouring Dübendorf: The Colouring Dübendorf project aims to develop a digital platform that enables citizens and stakeholders to voluntarily share building-related information, supporting the design of more effective decarbonization policies. By fostering active participation and collaboration, the project enhances data quality while promoting public engagement and acceptance of the ongoing energy transition. 
• SNSF DUT Pol4PED: The Pol4PED project aims to develop tailored policy mixes for Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) across diverse European urban contexts, with a strong focus on existing districts and urban regeneration. By adopting a platform-based design (PBD) approach, the project will create a comprehensive toolbox that integrates various techno-economic and socio-economic models, capturing the complex interactions between key PED elements.