Energy transition

We are working on the following projects (or have recently completed them):

• The renovated VUB swimming pool reopened in 2018. The building shell is passive and the technical installations are very energy efficient.
• On the VUB Health Campus in Jette, Theodoortje was built, which houses a school, a children's daycare centre, and a scout centre, among other facilities. It is an energy-neutral concept with a Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) system.
• The new building L, a research building on the VUB Health Campus, will be heated with a heat pump. This project is in the start-up phase.
• At the VUB Main Campus, the boiler room and the substations of the district heating network have been completely renovated. In 2024, VUB launched its own local electricity production through combined heat and power (CHP). The residual heat is used to heat buildings during winter, while the operation of the district heating network is being further optimised. In Etterbeek, all substations of the district heating network have been replaced with modern systems. In Jette, this upgrade is currently underway.
• The chemistry laboratories in Building G (VUB Main Campus) contain many fume cupboards, where work with chemicals is carried out. The ventilation system of the current fume cupboards was designed in the 1970s and results in significant heat loss. As part of the planned renovation, VUB is opting for a modern laboratory design. The ventilation system will be equipped with heat recovery, while heat pumps will provide heating during winter. This project is co-funded by the European Union and the Brussels-Capital Region under the ERDF programme (European Regional Development Fund).

Short-term measures (max. 5 years)

To meet the 2030 emission targets, we are already taking the following measures on our campuses:

Measures by 2050

Our goal is net zero emissions by 2050. To achieve this goal, we are exploring the following avenues:

• Belgian summers are characterised by excess heat and winters by excess cold. Therefore, we are investigating the potential of thermal storage. The aim is to temporarily store excess heat underground so that we can use it to heat our buildings in the winter. Conversely, we can use the winter cold to cool our buildings in the summer.
• Researchers from VUB are carrying out simulations with ‘digital twins’: virtual representations of our buildings. These simulations should allow us to optimise our energy system. They will also provide insight into the best energy management choices for the future.

In addition to these actions, we are constantly striving to optimise our systems. Under the motto ‘knowledge is power’, we are constantly collecting as much data as possible. This data provides more insight into possible optimisations.