About our partners in IDEAS project
The IDEAS project gathers organisations from 4 different domains: ICT, Construction & buildings, Energy and Territories:
The University of Teesside (project coordinator)
Within UoT, the Technology Futures Institute (TFI) carries out multidisciplinary research spanning innovation in process control, industrial informatics, energy and environment, life sciences and security as well as providing consultancy services to industry. As such, work is conducted with a wide number of academic and commercial partners. The TFI has approximately 35 academic members plus research staff and 64 PhD students. UoT as a whole has about 1700 employees. Members of the TFI currently participate as partners in four FP7 projects, in virtual environments, nanotechnology and micro systems and ICT for energy management.
The Technical Research Centre of Finland
A public multidisciplinary research institute in industrial technologies in Finland, which is involved deeply in the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP) and in particular in the Focus Area 7 that is related to the Processes and ICT in the construction sector being leader with ARUP and CSTB.
The Scientific and Technical Centre for Building
A state-owned research establishment in the construction sector. Applying a multidisciplinary approach, it contributes to innovation and to solving the most complex problems of the construction industry. CSTB comprises about 830 employees, including more than 450 engineers, research workers and experts in a wide range of topics such as building materials and techniques, equipment, safety, thermal energy, acoustics, aerodynamics, lighting, environmental and health issues, advanced information and communication technology, as well as economics and sociology.
Nobatek
A private technological service provider of which the purpose is to promote and to contribute to innovation in sustainable development in construction. It employs 40 people, mainly civil, material, and energy engineers as well as architects, with a turnover of more than 3 Million € for 2010 and two locations in France (Anglet and Bordeaux). Nobatek carries out both R&D activity and short-term assistance for private and public customers. It works both on local projects focusing on local specificities, and on international projects aiming at exchanging best practices. For private and public building owners and architects, it provides services in the design and assessment of sustainable buildings and neighbourhoods, with more than 100 references of sustainable buildings projects since 2005.
Porvoon kaupunki (The City of Porvoo)
The municipal authority which provides the public services (e.g. education, social, health and administrative services) to the citizens of Porvoo; CoP has a goal of making the most energy-efficient city in Finland. To this end, energy efficiency has been raised as one of the key priorities in the new city strategy. A new energy efficient residential area for 6,000 people will be built in Porvoo's Skaftkärr. The entire area will be designed and built so that the buildings, services, living environment, traffic arrangements and waste management will be run in an energy efficient way. The Skaftkärr project has given the City of Porvoo an opportunity to become a city of carbon free living. Inspired by the Skaftkärr project, the city of Porvoo has launched a versatile action plan that will systematically take Porvoo towards carbon-free housing. Such a substantial and genuine investment in energy efficiency is unique in the Finnish context. The units from CoP involved in IDEAS project are the city development unit and the permission and supervision unit. The former is responsible for the town planning, municipal engineering and assignment of plots, and the latter is responsible for giving building permissions.
Posintra Oy
The City of Porvoo will subcontract the work related to operating the Finnish demonstration area. Posintra Oy is a business development company in Porvoo, Finland and its main purpose is to facilitate development and structuring of small and medium sized companies. The company is privately owned by communities and local companies. Posintra Oy acts as the main contact point for the residents in the houses in the Finnish demo area and offers user support for the residents using the devices. The residents will be regularly contacted by members of the research team at Posintra.
Porvoon Energia Oy
A local energy company that provides its customers with electricity, district heating, and natural gas and grid installations. Its mission is to offer customers comfort in living and entrepreneurship by cherishing the environment. Its area of operation covers Porvoo, southern Pornainen, western Pernaja, Loviisa and Malmgård. Porvoon Energia is owned completely by the City of Porvoo. When it comes to electricity, their self-supporting rate is over 40 %, of which 1/5 is ecological energy. The focus of PE is on the local market and it aims to provide prices that are more advantageous for customers in our own area. It is one of the cheapest energy suppliers in Finland and has about 32 500 customers. District heating is the most popular form of heating in Finland. In Porvoo PE has over 20 000 direct or indirect customers, and 1000 in Loviisa. Their self-supporting rate is 100 % and almost 90 % of it is produced in CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plants. Porvoon Energia Oy has been granted quality certificates, which covers the concern’s all operations. PE has the ISO 9001 certificate and ISO 14001 (environment).
IBM
IBM is a globally integrated enterprise operating in over 170 countries. Today IBM is bringing innovative solutions to a diverse client base to help solve some of their toughest business challenges. In addition to being the world's largest IT and consulting services company, IBM is a global business and technology leader, innovating in research and development to shape the future of society at large. IBM's prized research, development and technical talent around the world partner with governments, corporations, thinkers and doers on ground breaking real world problems to help make the world work better and build a smarter planet.
