3 Questions to Accenta's Founders
TF - What issues does Accenta's energy system address?
AF - In France, the building sector represents 46% of final energy consumption and 27% of CO2 emissions. Along with transportation, it is the most critical sector for the energy transition. But it has the particularity of having an ambivalence that it has not yet been able to resolve. The energy problem of buildings is well identified: nearly 70% of energy consumption is used to heat and cool them. Reducing thermal energy consumption and eliminating fossil fuels must therefore be a priority. However, the massive thermal renovation of buildings that everyone has been calling for many years has not yet taken place. The French High Council for Climate is not mistaken, pointing out on page 52 of its annual report for 2020 that the building sector is responsible for France's delay in meeting its climate objectives, with an energy efficiency renovation rate of only 0.2% per year. This is mainly due to the cost issue. The more ambitious we are, the more it costs. In particular because we associate thermal renovation with thermal insulation, this solution being one of the most expensive to implement.
TF - How does Accenta's energy system concretely address these issues?
AF - Our energy system combines inter-seasonal thermal storage and AI to reduce heating and cooling energy consumption in commercial buildings by up to 70% and CO2 emissions by up to 90%.
We use AI to:
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Simulate thousands of sizing options in seconds and choose the one that maximizes performance at the lowest cost
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Operate the system predictively with guaranteed performance
We make low-carbon building affordable by offering an alternative to costly exterior insulation through inter-seasonal thermal storage and AI. We decarbonize up to 2 times more at a cost up to 5 times lower. To make our innovation accessible to the greatest number of people, we simplify its accessibility by providing a turnkey system that we finance and operate. We are paid on performance, which is guaranteed.
TF - What would be the ideal scenario for the diffusion of Accenta's energy system?
AF - Ideally, we would like (and we are working hard for this!) public and private decision-makers to realize that geothermal storage, where it can be implemented, is often the best option, all technologies considered, to drastically reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions in buildings. It is therefore necessary to promote it at least as much as the promotion of electric renewable energies, as the decarbonization of heat is decisive to succeed in the energy transition.
Those 3 questions were written following the Transition Forum Call for Expressions of Interest. Accenta’s energy system is part of the top 20 selected projects.
