International Research and Development Collaboration Leads to Buildings Innovation in U.S. and China

The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE) Program: Delivering Innovation in Building Technologies through Bilateral Collaboration and Public-Private Partnerships

Led by the BTO and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), and managed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) Center for Science and Technology of Construction (CSTC), CERC-BEE currently engages with over 20 U.S. companies and more than 60 world-class scientists on technology innovation, evaluation, and real-building field validation in China and the United States. Through this partnership, U.S. industry leaders have also developed a platform to introduce leading building technologies into the world’s fastest-growing construction market – China. Through CERC-BEE, BTO and U.S. industry are working together to accelerate the RD&D of advanced U.S. building technologies to improve the services and performance of U.S. buildings; increase U.S. energy productivity and independence; and strengthen the innovation of U.S. companies. Since its inception in 2010, CERC-BEE has generated 12 new products; filed 12 patent applications; and developed 14 new copyrighted software tools to advance building performance. CERC-BEE is not the typical BTO-funded research project. Instead, it has a unique program model that combines U.S.-China bilateral collaboration with public-private partnerships. In fact, for every $1 DOE invests in RD&D it is matched by the Chinese government and leverages $3 from U.S. and Chinese industry.

For more information, please go to BTO Blog.