From microbiomes to smart mirrors: 8 innovations at the 25th CFP Innovation Day (Atelier)

During the 25th CFP Innovation Day, 16 innovators presented their solutions for the built environment. They were divided across two rooms, Atelier and Boardroom, where they pitched their ideas to an audience of real estate professionals, entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers.

In this article, we take you to the Atelier, where eight pitchers shared their innovations. From energy and circularity to health and climate risks, these are the ideas that took centre stage.

Curious what happened in the other room? Read the recap from the Boardroom here.

Energy-efficient living and working

1.    SAEVER – Ole Kramer

1. SAEVER – Ole Kramer
Smart changes in and around buildings are essential to make them future-proof. SAEVER is one of the companies actively working on this. Ole showed how the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is still causing energy waste today. In many buildings, ventilation systems are still running at full capacity 24 hours a day, often without anyone realising it. This is one of the reasons why around 20 to 30% of energy is lost in buildings. “The problem is not poor installations, but how they are controlled. That is why we developed EnergyPilot.”

What makes the system stand out is continuous digital control and optimisation. While other digital twin systems optimise once after an initial analysis, SAEVER manages systems proactively and continuously based on usage data and weather forecasts. Ole is confident: “Every building can save at least 10%.” A valuable step forward for anyone aiming to achieve Paris Proof targets.

2.    DIRECT – Lisanne Einhaus

DIRECT’s innovation lies in renewable energy. At the University of Twente, Lisanne is developing smart mirrors that reflect sunlight onto solar panels. This can increase winter energy yield by up to 60%. It sounds intuitive, yet the technology behind it is complex.

“The mirrors consist of multiple layers. They capture light from all angles and always direct it towards the solar panels. Especially with the low winter sun, this creates significant gains for both existing and new installations.”

DIRECT is currently working on large-scale prototypes and pilots and aims to enter the market in 2027. With the phase-out of net metering, the growing need for energy independence and increasing pressure on supply chains, the timing could not be better.

3.    Inventum Technologies – Jorn van Strien

Host of the event, Inventum Technologies, is also continuously innovating in renewable energy. Innovation here is not abstract, but part of everyday practice, something visitors could immediately sense upon arrival.

Jorn explained how Inventum has been developing heat pumps since 1989. One example is the ventilation air heat pump, which uses indoor air at around 21 degrees instead of fluctuating outdoor temperatures, resulting in high efficiency.

However, there are limits to ventilation levels if comfort is to be maintained. This led to the development of their 8th generation heat pump. “Our latest heat pump combines two airflows, ventilation air and outdoor air. This significantly increases capacity,” Jorn explained.

This system can be used both fully electric and hybrid alongside any boiler and can easily achieve three energy label improvements. It underlines how Inventum has been building the heating solutions of tomorrow for generations.

From building materials to waste

4.    Madaster – Martijn Oostenrijk

Making material value part of your business case is what Madaster enables. “We connect material data with building data across individual assets and entire portfolios. This provides insight into the environmental performance and circularity of your real estate.”

In addition to enabling data-driven decisions on circularity, carbon and lifecycle assessments, the data is highly valuable for reporting and certification processes. When faced with the decision between renovation and demolition with new construction, these insights become particularly relevant.

Martijn also introduced the Madaster Area Register, which provides value on a larger scale. Public datasets are enriched with project data, making information such as material intensity, energy labels and building functions transparent. It also shows future scenarios for buildings within a region, ranging from demolition to renovation and redevelopment. “This allows materials from a building that is being demolished or renovated to be reused just a few streets away.”

5.    PLAEX – Tyrell Pantohlet

Inside commercial buildings, Tyrell took the audience to an unexpected place: waste bins. Not the most obvious topic, but highly relevant. “Waste is often contaminated, which makes proper separation and recycling difficult, and waste audits are expensive.”

PLAEX’s smart cameras provide a solution. Using AI technology, they deliver real-time waste data through a dashboard. This enables organisations to make data-driven decisions and monitor progress. Sensors also measure how full each bin is, improving operational efficiency.

Instead of costly one-off audits, PLAEX offers continuous and affordable monitoring.
“We help reduce contamination in stadiums, educational institutions, offices and airports. Our cameras are relevant for any organisation with zero waste ambitions or CSRD requirements.”

Striking numbers and simple solutions

6.    De Groene Garage – Laurens Drogendijk

Laurens then left the audience astonished with statistics about tyre pressure: 65% of cars are driving with underinflated tyres. Surprisingly, a visit to the air pump at a petrol station does not always solve the problem. Half of all drivers leave with tyre pressure that is still too low, for example because the increased pressure in warmed-up tyres is not taken into account. That clearly should not be the case.

That is why De Groene Garage developed its smart tyre pump, made from circular materials. The benefits are extensive: fuel savings, reduced CO2 emissions, less tyre wear and therefore lower replacement costs, as well as less pollution caused by tyre wear.
“We now have 232 tyre pumps that are used half a million times per year. Our goal is to have 2,500 pumps across the country. We could save 1 billion euros per year.” Locations such as shopping centres, DIY stores, businesses, sports clubs, public car parks and municipalities can all benefit.

What does this deliver in practice? With the smart tyre pump, companies achieve direct cost savings across their vehicle fleet, while the environmental savings can also be included in sustainability reporting.

7.    Bac2Nature – Lune Walder

Lune’s pitch also left the audience open-mouthed. Not only because of the surprising kilo of micro-organisms we carry in our gut, but even more because of the importance of those micro-organisms. They regulate digestion, the immune system and our hormones. The more diverse our microbiome, the healthier we are. Yet that diversity is declining rapidly. The research into the effects of this is staggering.

“As a result of reduced contact with biodiversity, we are seeing more chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression and dementia,” Lune explained. Compare that with the blue zones around the world and the difference becomes immediately clear: regular contact with nature leads to high microbial diversity and healthier people who live longer.

A green environment makes us healthier straight away, which is why Bac2Nature researches and advises on how urban design, interior design and policy plans can facilitate that contact with biodiversity.

Lune concluded with a simple tip that everyone can use to improve their health: “Did you know that after just half an hour walking in nature, you already have more micro-organisms in your nose and on your skin?”

Klimaatrisico’s

8.    CFP Green Buildings – Bram Weggemans

CFP Green Buildings, organiser of the event, is also continuously innovating. While NXTBLDNG was presented in the Boardroom by CFP founder Bram Adema, product owner Bram Weggemans introduced a new climate risk module within the Green Buildings Tool.

Due to climate change, climate risks are no longer limited to specific regions. Every building is exposed to risks such as heat stress, flooding, wildfires, groundwater issues and foundation damage. This makes the topic particularly complex, as multiple risks often apply to a single building, the surrounding environment plays a significant role and collecting reliable data can be challenging.

Bram explained: “We developed a module that provides insight into climate risks at address level and links these directly to concrete actions. Based on DGBC’s Framework for Climate Adaptive Buildings, both environmental and building-related risks are included. This allows climate risks to be mapped across an entire portfolio.” For each building, the tool suggests specific measures, including expected investment and complexity. This enables real estate owners to confidently plan actions and make their buildings more future-proof.

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The pitches in the Atelier clearly showed how broad innovation in the built environment is. From technology to nature, and from data to behaviour, the solutions are already there. Now it is time to implement them at scale.

Curious about the other 8 pitches? Read the recap from the Boardroom.
Or read more about the CFP Innovation Day.