The final MEZeroE video shows how companies in the building envelope sector can move from product development to evidence-based validation. Through the example of Rothoblaas and Eurac Research, the video illustrates how the MEZeroE ecosystem supports companies in testing innovative products, understanding their performance in real conditions and reducing uncertainty on the path to market.
Innovation in the building envelope sector is essential for improving building performance, reducing energy demand and supporting Europe’s transition towards a more efficient and decarbonised building stock. Yet bringing new materials, membranes, façade systems and construction components to market remains complex. Products need to be tested not only as individual components, but also as part of full building assemblies and, eventually, under real operating conditions.
The video follows Rothoblaas, Italian company developing solutions for timber and hybrid construction. Luca Sestigiani, Technical Director at Rothoblaas, and Alessandro Dauriz, Product Developer at Rothoblaas, explain how the company worked within MEZeroE to better understand the behaviour of an adaptive membrane used in flat roof assemblies. The membrane is designed to adapt its vapour resistance depending on environmental conditions, but Rothoblaas needed to investigate how it behaves inside a real roof build-up, where moisture movement depends on the interaction between different materials and operating conditions.
Through MEZeroE, the company combined laboratory work, sensor-based monitoring and Living Labs — real buildings where technologies can be tested under real-life conditions. This made it possible to observe how moisture moved within the roof assembly and to better understand how the membrane interacted with the full system, beyond isolated product testing.
The video also features Francesco Babich, MEZeroE scientific coordinator at Eurac Research, and Riccardo Pinotti, Senior Researcher at Eurac Research. They introduce the broader MEZeroE infrastructure: a European network of specialised laboratories and services created to support companies in testing and validating innovative building envelope components.
The Rothoblaas case is one example of a wider project outcome. MEZeroE has developed an Open Innovation Test Bed that helps companies move from individual product ideas to structured validation pathways. Instead of navigating testing facilities, expertise and real-building validation opportunities separately, companies can access a coordinated ecosystem designed to match innovation needs with the right support.
For the European construction sector, this is a significant step. Many innovative solutions struggle to reach the market because validation pathways are fragmented, testing facilities are not always easy to identify, and companies — especially SMEs — may not have direct access to the full range of expertise needed to assess performance, durability, indoor environmental quality, regulatory readiness and market potential.
MEZeroE addresses this gap by bringing together Pilot Measurement & Verification Lines, Open Innovation Services, Living Labs and a digital Single Entry Point. This structure helps companies generate more comparable evidence, make more informed technical decisions and better understand how their products perform across different scales: from materials to assemblies, from laboratory conditions to real buildings.
The approach is especially relevant for building envelope technologies, which have a direct impact on energy performance, indoor comfort, durability and the overall quality of buildings. By connecting laboratory testing with real-use validation, MEZeroE supports a shift from fragmented testing towards a shared European pathway for innovation.
The video also points to the project’s long-term legacy. As MEZeroE reaches its final phase, the ecosystem created through the project is expected to continue through the Building Envelope Alliance (BEA), a post-project association designed to carry forward the methods, relationships and community developed during the project. BEA is intended to keep the network of laboratories, Living Labs, services and expertise active beyond the end of the funded project, providing a durable structure for collaboration in the European building envelope sector.
From the Rothoblaas membrane case to the wider European network of testing facilities and Living Labs, the video shows how MEZeroE has transformed testing from a fragmented step in product development into a shared innovation pathway. For Europe’s construction sector, this means better access to validation, more comparable evidence and stronger support for bringing high-performing envelope solutions closer to the market.
Watch the video to discover how MEZeroE supports companies in moving from uncertainty to evidence — and how its ecosystem can continue to serve the European building envelope sector beyond the project.