The Research Centre on Zero Emission Buildings (ZEB)

ZEB Research Centre

The Research Centre on Zero Emission Buildings (ZEB Research Centre) was a national research initiative hosted by NTNU and lead together with SINTEF from 2009–2017. The centre vision was to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions caused by buildings throughout their entire life cycle from material production, construction, operation, and demolition.

Aim & Approach

ZEB’s aim was to develop competitive products and solutions that make (net) zero-emission buildings a natural choice for the construction industry. The centre combined research on innovative materials, low carbon building envelopes, smart energy systems, operation, and design strategies to show how future buildings can generate as much clean energy as they use.

ZEB House Multikomfort Larvik. Illustration: MIR.

Demonstration Projects

During its eight years, the ZEB Research Centre developed full-scale demonstration buildings in collaboration between industry, public and research partners. Each project tested real-world solutions for materials, technologies, and design.

Demonstration projects:

Heimdal VGS
Campus Evenstad
ZEB House Multikomfort Larvik
Powerhouse Brattørkaia
Skarpnes residential development
Zero Village Bergen
Powerhouse Kjørbo, Sandvika
Visund, Haakonsvern, Bergen

ZEB Definition

A Zero Emission Building (ZEB) produces enough renewable energy to offset the greenhouse‑gas emissions associated with its life cycle. A main contribution from research at the ZEB Centre was the development of the ZEB ambition levels—from operational energy to full life‑cycle compensation—which guide how far a building progresses toward true net‑zero. Explore the details on our ZEB Definition page.

Research and Contributions

Development of low-carbon materials and assemblies
Design methods for nearly and fully zero-emission buildings
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and environmental tools
Demonstrations of energy-positive and emission-free buildings in practice

Legacy & Connection to ZEN

ZEB paved the way for the next generation of research through the ZEN Research Centre, on Zero Emission Neighbourhoods (ZEN) in Smart Cities. While the ZEB Research Centre focused on individual buildings, ZEN expands the scope to entire neighbourhoods, including energy systems, transport, and mobility.

More Information

Partners and Acknowledgment

The ZEB Centre was financed by the Research Council of Norway through the FME programme (Researrch Centre on Environment-friendly Energy) and by a broad consortium of public and private partners from industry and the public sector.

Key Partners

Språkvelger