21st Century Buildings and Climate Neutrality

Presentation by Simón Aledo at the LXXII National Congress of Industrial Engineering

On March 13, 2025, Simón Aledo Vives, Director of Operations and founder of the companies “Proyectos e Instalaciones térmicas S.L.” (Prointer) and “HVAC Ingeniería S.L.“, participated as a speaker at the LXXII National Congress of Representatives of Industrial Engineering (AERRAITI), held at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH). This event, organized by the Student Delegation of the Higher Polytechnic School of Elche (EPSE), brought together professionals, academics and students from the sector to discuss the challenges and opportunities of industrial engineering in Spain.

Simón’s talk, entitled “Buildings of the 21st Century: Towards Climate Neutrality”, addressed the challenges and opportunities faced by the construction sector of different sectors and activities, and thermal installations, on the way to the goal of total decarbonization by 2050.

Buildings and their Impact on Climate Neutrality

Simón began his speech by highlighting that buildings consume 40% of the total energy in the European Union and are responsible for 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, air conditioning accounts for 50% of a building’s energy consumption, making this sector a key player in achieving European climate goals.

Under the framework of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC 2023-2030) and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), it was explained how the decarbonisation of buildings will be one of the fundamental pillars to achieve a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. The objectives are clear: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality in the next three decades.

Keys to the Buildings of the Future

During the presentation, it was highlighted that the resilient buildings of the future must comply with four fundamental pillars:

1. Energy Efficiency and Flexibility: optimisation of consumption and adaptation to the demands of the electricity grid.
2. Climate Neutrality: zero on-site emissions and use of renewable energies.
3. Low Global Warming Potential: reduction of environmental impact throughout the life cycle of the building.
4. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): ensuring a healthy environment for occupants.

In addition, Simón emphasised the importance of energy flexibility and demand management, stressing that the buildings of the future will need to be able to adapt their energy consumption, generation and storage based on external signals.

Questions and Discussion with Attendees

The talk sparked an interesting debate among attendees, who raised questions about some of the most controversial topics in the sector:

• Nuclear Energy: Simon shared his vision on the role of nuclear energy as a low-emission energy source, although he highlighted the need to address challenges related to waste and safety, and that this energy dilemma poses is the risk in case of leaks/accidents and the management of its waste.
• Green Hydrogen: on this topic, he explained that green hydrogen could be a promising solution for decarbonization, especially in sectors that are difficult to electrify, but stressed that there is still a long way to go in terms of costs and scalability. And that today, one of the challenges is to be able to contain hydrogen in a completely watertight way.
• Legislative and Market Challenges: Attendees showed concern about whether legislation and the market will be able to make decarbonization goals feasible by 2050. Simón pointed out that, although the challenges are significant, the combination of technological innovation, public policies and collaboration between sectors will be key to achieving these goals.

Conclusion: A Necessary Paradigm Shift

Simón closed his speech by stressing that the energy transition towards a decarbonised building sector represents a paradigm shift. The buildings of the future will not only need to be efficient and sustainable, but also smart and flexible, able to interact with the electricity grid and adapt to the needs of users.

From Prointer we would like to publicly thank the LXXII National Congress of Industrial Engineering Representatives (AERRAITI) and the Student Delegation of the Higher Polytechnic School of Elche (EPSE), as well as the Miguel Hernández University of Elche for inviting us to participate in these conferences, which are so enriching for all parties.

We will continue to work on the design and implementation of advanced thermal solutions that contribute to this objective, always with a focus on energy efficiency, indoor air quality and sustainability.