Researchers from the University of Exeter and other partners in a GW4 Alliance-led project will retrofit UK homes to be ‘Beyond Net Zero’, with help from a £4.6 million award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The award will enable the team from Exeter and other members of the GW4 Alliance (Bath, Bristol and Cardiff universities) to test bio-based lower carbon solutions to improve energy efficiency and resilience in the retrofitted homes. They will also evaluate the performance of the new homes in comparison to traditional synthetic materials.  

Green Transition Ecosystems (GTEs) – large-scale projects including this one – are the flagship funding strand of the £25m Future Observatory: Design The Green Transition programme, funded by the AHRC and delivered in partnership with the Design Museum.