ORGANIZATION:
WITH THE SUPPORT OF:
2nd Edition of the International Conference on Zero Carbon Built Environment (ZCBE 2026)
Welcome
Welcome to the 2nd International Conference on Zero Carbon Built Environment (ZCBE 2026), jointly organized by the Portuguese National Laboratory of Energy and Geology (LNEG), NOVA School of Science and Technology (NOVA FCT), and the University of Nottingham, with the support of the European projects SHERLOCK, WeGenerate, and SOLACE.
The conference will take place on 8–10 July 2026, in Lisbon, Portugal. Building on the success of the first edition, with over 200 participants and 100 peer-reviewed papers, ZCBE 2026 continues to foster international dialogue between academia, industry, and policy-making.
On 8 July 2026, the conference will feature Student Workshops on Net Zero Carbon Strategies (14:30–17:00) with hands-on thematic sessions designed for MSc and PhD participants, focusing on practical approaches to carbon-neutral design, sustainable materials and construction, and digital tools.
The plenary and parallel sessions will take place on 9–10 July 2026.
By connecting researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers, ZCBE 2026 offers a platform to share innovative solutions and promote collaboration towards a zero-emission built environment.
For highlights from the previous edition, visit the ZCBE 2024 website.
Background
Addressing climate change and achieving global sustainability goals requires urgent action. The built environment is key—responsible for nearly 40% of global energy use and 37% of CO₂ emissions. Many existing buildings remain energy-inefficient and reliant on fossil-fuel systems.
Aligned with the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the path to carbon neutrality by 2050 demands that all new buildings become Zero Emission Buildings (ZEBs)—combining high energy efficiency with renewable energy supply and no on-site fossil fuel emissions. ZEBs create comfortable, healthy, and resilient spaces while generating or integrating renewable energy on-site or nearby.
ZCBE 2026 provides a collaborative forum for researchers, industry experts, and policymakers to advance the transition to a zero-emission built environment.
We invite all stakeholders to share their insights and join us in shaping a sustainable, carbon-neutral future.
Conference topics
The ZCBE 2026 will include keynote and invited speeches, plenary sessions, oral presentations, and poster sessions on the below topics, but is not limited to:
1. Climate, Environment and Society
• Climate impacts: rising heat, wildfires, and floods
• Resilient cities and infrastructures
• Regenerative planning and landscapes
• Low-carbon and energy-positive communities
• Health, wellbeing, and comfort in the built environment
• Social equity and a just transition
• Citizen science and participatory approaches in the built environment
• Sustainable and inclusive Mobility
2. Design, Materials and Construction
• Resilient and affordable buildings
• Regenerative design and adaptive architecture
• Innovative building design, materials and construction
• Decarbonisation of the building stock
• Circular economy and resource efficiency
• Indoor environmental quality and occupant comfort
• Adaptive façades, passive systems and bioclimatic design
• Life cycle assessment and sustainable development goals
3. Technology and Innovation
• Artificial Intelligence in the built environment
• Digital transformation and smart design tools in the built environment
• Advances in renewable and low-carbon energy technology
• Energy storage, hybrid systems, and integration
• Performance monitoring, digital twins and operational outcomes
• Smart grids, energy flexibility and energy management platforms
4. Policy, Governance and Skills
• Policy frameworks, governance and finance
• Education, capacity building and workforce transition
• Zero carbon building and environmental assessment, certification and compliance
• Behavioural change, engagement and energy transition culture
We are pleased to announce outstanding papers will be considered for full publication in two special issues for: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews and Applied thermal engineering. For detailed and updated information on the conference please email: iczcbe2026@fct.unl.pt
We look forward to welcoming you to Lisbon.
KEYNOTES SPEAKERS
Professor Christos Markides
Head of the Clean Energy Processes Laboratory
Professor Veronica Soebarto
University of Adelaide / School of Architecture and Built Environment
Professor Koen Steemers
BSc BArch MPhil
PhD LLD ARB
Bio
Christos Markides is Professor of Clean Energy Technologies at Imperial College London, Head of the Clean Energy Processes Laboratory, and leader of the Experimental Multiphase Flow Laboratory—the largest facility of its kind at Imperial.
He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Applied Thermal Engineering and the founding Editor-in-Chief of the new journal AI Thermal Fluids.
Professor Markides is internationally recognised for his work in applied thermodynamics, fluid flow, and heat/mass transfer within high-performance technologies for energy recovery, utilisation, and storage, with a strong focus on solar-thermal conversion.
He has authored more than 430 publications and several influential reviews and books, attracting over 20,000 citations (h-index 77). Recent highlights include:
– A review of solar hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) collectors and systems
– High-efficiency bio-inspired hybrid multi-generation photovoltaic leaf
– Renewable and waste-heat utilisation technologies (Cambridge)
– Power generation technologies for low-temperature and distributed heat (Elsevier)
His contributions have been recognised with numerous awards, including:
– IChemE Global Clean Energy Medal (2025)
– IChemE Global Award for Best Research Project (2018)
– IMechE Donald J. Groen Outstanding Paper Prize (2016)
– Imperial College President’s Awards for Research Excellence (2017) and Teaching Excellence (2016)
He is also active in innovation and technology transfer as a founding Director of Solar Flow.
Bio
Veronica Soebarto is a Professor of Architectural Science at the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, The University of Adelaide / School of Architecture and Built Environment, Adelaide University (from 2026). She is the Initiative Lead in Green Urban Futures and Planetary Health at the Environment Institute and Theme Lead in Sustainable Futures of Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance at the University. Her research interests span from age-friendly built environment, environmental performance assessments of buildings, building performance simulation, building monitoring, human thermal comfort, to the social dimension of sustainable design. She collaborates and publishes with researchers from various disciplines including in economics, social sciences, law, public health, and gerontology. She recently led 2 consecutive Discovery Projects, funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), to investigate the thermal environment in homes of, and develop resilient housing for, older people in South Australia. She also leads CSIRO-funded project to address overheating and investigate occupant behavioural settings in a hot arid climate in Australia as well as co-leads an ARC Linkage Project to determine the social value of a mixed-use urban development. From 2026 she will be co-leading a new ARC Discovery Project to advance the integration of greenery and solar energy for buildings.
Veronica is an Associate Editor of Energy & Buildings and Solar Energy Advances. She is Fellow of Architectural Science Association and of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (she was the second recipient of IBPSA Outstanding Young Contributor Award, awarded in 1997). To date she has supervised more than 30 PhD students (25 completed).
Bio
Koen is the Professor of Sustainable Design at the Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge. He is an architect and built environment academic, was Head of Department from 2009-14, after five years as Head of Research. Together with four colleagues he directs of the ‘Behaviour and Building Performance’ (BBP) group of ca. 25 collaborators undertaking analysis at the intersection of the sustainable design, health, and neuroarchitecture. More recently he is co-director of a newly formed ‘NeuroCivitas Lab’ investigating how the built environment modulates psychophysiological processes – including perception, cognition, affect, and behaviour. He has been involved in £40m of funded research projects and has produced over 200 publications, including 10 books, with over 15000 citations (Google Scholar). Koen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) “in recognition of his distinguished career and his international standing as one of the world’s experts on sustainable building design”.
Professor Zuo Wangda
ASHRAE and
IBPSA Fellow
Professor Soteris Kalogirou
Cyprus University of Technology
Professor Denia Kolokotsa
University of Crete
Bio
Zuo Wangda is a full professor in Architectural Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, USA. His lab has contributed to the development of several major open-source tools for building and community energy systems, including the Fast Fluid Dynamics (FFD) model, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)’s Modelica Buildings Library, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)’s URBANopt platform.
A former Research Scientist at LBNL, Professor Zuo currently holds a joint appointment at NREL and maintains extensive collaborations with multiple DOE national laboratories. He is a Fellow of both ASHRAE and IBPSA and has received numerous recognitions, including Penn State’s World Class Engineering Faculty Award, IBPSA Innovative Application Award, IBPSA-USA Emerging Professional Award and Outstanding Researcher Award, and ASHRAE’s Distinguished Service Award and Exceptional Service Award.
Professor Zuo has served as PI or Co-PI on more than 30 research projects sponsored by the NSF, DOE, DOD, and DHS, with total funding exceeding $19 million. He has supervised 20+ Ph.D. students and published more than 170 peer-reviewed papers, reflecting both scholarly impact and dedication to workforce development.
Bio
Professor Soteris Kalogirou is at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Sciences and Engineering of the Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus. In addition to his Ph.D., he holds the title of D.Sc. He is a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, Founding Member of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, Member of Academia Europaea and Fellow of International Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance.
For more than 35 years, he is actively involved in research in the area of solar energy and particularly in flat plate and concentrating collectors, solar water heating, solar steam generating systems, desalination, photovoltaics, geothermal energy and absorption cooling.
He has a large number of publications in books, book chapters, international scientific journals and refereed conference proceedings. He is Editor-in-Chief of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Renewable Energy and Honorary Editor of Energy, and Editorial Board Member of another twenty journals. He is the editor of the book Artificial Intelligence in Energy and Renewable Energy Systems, published by Nova Science Inc., co-editor of the book Soft Computing in Green and Renewable Energy Systems, published by Springer, editor of the book McEvoy’s Handbook of Photovoltaics, published by Academic Press of Elsevier and author of the books Solar Energy Engineering: Processes and Systems, and Thermal Solar Desalination: Methods and Systems, published by Academic Press of Elsevier.
Bio
Denia Kolokotsa is a Professor at the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Crete, whose research focuses on promoting sustainability in the built environment, including buildings and urban spaces. Her work has advanced energy efficiency through key contributions in integrated energy management systems, zero-energy buildings and communities, and urban overheating mitigation using nature-based solutions and highly reflective materials. She has developed cutting-edge monitoring and control systems for buildings and districts, as well as innovative energy technologies and materials. Denia Kolokotsa has coordinated eight international research projects and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Solar Energy Advances (Elsevier), and as Subject Editor for Scientific Reports (Nature) and PLOS Climate. Her recent research emphasizes the integration of nature-based solutions in urban and building contexts, enriched by social, cultural, and digital innovations. She is committed to fostering healthy, climate-resilient urban environments aligned with the New European Bauhaus principles, emphasising the harmony between planetary ecosystems and the built environment.
Abstract submission
Submit your abstract before 1st January 2026.
Abstract template
Download our template here.
REGISTRATION FEES
| Types of fee | Early bird fee (until 15/05/2026) | Normal fee (after 15/05/2026) |
| Student a,b | €150 | €200 |
| Full delegate a | €400 | €500 |
| Accompanying person c | €150 | €150 |
a) Each registered author may present up to two papers in total (oral and/or poster).
Regular Fees includes (non-student): Access to conference sessions, conference materials, coffee breaks, lunches, the welcome cocktail on 9 July, and the conference dinner on 10 July.
b) Full-time students (excluding postdoctoral researchers) must provide proof of full-time enrolment (a copy of a valid student ID or a letter from the Head of Department or Programme Director).
Student Fees includes: Access to conference sessions, conference materials, coffee breaks, lunches, and the welcome cocktail on 9 July.
Note: The conference dinner on 10 July is not included in the student fee.
c) Accompanying persons may not attend conference sessions. The accompanying-person fee covers only the welcome cocktail on 9 July and the conference dinner on 10 July. Please email the conference organizers to register an accompanying person.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Open for abstract submissions:
1 November 2025 - Deadline for abstract submissions:
31 December 2025 - Notification of abstract acceptance:
15 January 2026 - Deadline for full paper submission:
1 March 2026
- Notification of full paper acceptance:
1 April 2026 - Final paper submission for conference proceeding:
1 May 2026 - Deadline for early bird registration:
15 April 2026 - Conference: 9 – 10 July 2026
CONFERENCE CHAIRS
Laura Aelenei
National Energy and Geology Laboratory – LNEG
PORTUGAL
Yupeng (Jack) Wu
University of Nottingham
UK
Daniel Aelenei
NOVA University Lisbon
PORTUGAL
Mattia de Rosa
University of Genoa
ITALY
ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE
Helder Gonçalves, Susana Viana, David Loureiro, Henriqueta Teixeira, Filipe Barreira (LNEG, Portugal)
Evdokia Bairampa (Three o’clock, France)
Vicky Albert-Seifried (Fraunhofer ISE, Germany)
Joaquim Teixeira, Guilherme Coelho (NOVA FCT, Portugal)
Saveria Boulanger (University of Bologna, Italy)
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE (TO BE UPDATED)
Jorge Facão (LNEG, Portugal),
Sofia Simões (LNEG, Portugal)
Susana Viana (LNEG, Portugal),
David Loureiro (LNEG, Portugal),
Henriqueta Teixeira (LNEG, Portugal),
João Cardoso (LNEG, Portugal),
Maria João Brites (LNEG, Portugal),
João Martins (NOVA FCT, Portugal),
Radu Godina (NOVA FCT, Portugal),
Paulina Faria (NOVA FCT, Portugal),
Rui Lopes (NOVA FCT, Portugal),
João Pedro Gouveia (NOVA FCT, Portugal),
Yanyi Sun (University of Kingston, UK),
Xin Liu (University of Lincoln, UK),
Yang Ming (Southwest Jiaotong University, China),
Jan-Frederik Flor (Taylor’s University, Malaysia),
Runqi Liang (University of Nottingham Ningbo, China),
Vicky Albert-Seifried (Fraunhofer ISE, Germany),
Saveria Boulanger (University of Bologna, Italy),
Cristiana Croitoru (Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest – UTCB, Romania),
Serena Orlandi (University of Bologna, Italy),
Paolo Civiero (Roma Tre University, Italy),
Ivan Luque (IREC, Spain),
Antonieta Cunha e Sá (NOVA School of Business and Economics – NOVA SBE, Portugal),
Margarida Ortigão (NOVA SBE, Portugal),
Ana Rodrigues (NOVA SBE, Portugal),
Jacopo Gaspari (University of Bologna, Italy),
Lia Marchi (University of Bologna, Italy),
Rosa Romano (Università di Firenze – UNIFI, Italy)
Maria da Glória Gomes (Instituto Superior Técnico – IST, Portugal),
Eva Barreira (University of Porto – FEUP, Portugal),
Iva Pires (NOVA FCSH, Portugal)
Ricardo Martins (NOVA IMS, Portugal)
Teresa Santos (NOVA IMS, Portugal)
Ligia Moga (UTCN, Romania)
Nuno Simões (Itecons, Universidade Coimbra, Portugal)
Florin Bode (Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest – UTCB, Romania)
José Dinis Silvestre (Instituto Superior Técnico, IST, Portugal)
PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
8 July 2026 – Day 0
• 14:30–17:00 – Student Workshops on Net Zero Carbon Strategies
Specific content and invited instructors will be announced soon.
(Details on the workshop venue and room allocation will be provided closer to the date.)
9 July 2026 – Day 1
• 08:30–12:00 – Registration desk open
• 09:00–17:00 – Plenary and Parallel Sessions
• 17:30–19:00 – Networking Cocktail
10 July 2026 – Day 2
• 08:30–12:00 – Registration desk open
• 09:00–17:00 – Plenary and Parallel Sessions
• 17:00–17:30 – Closing Session
• 20:00 – Conference Dinner
(Times and details are subject to minor adjustments in the final programme.)
© ZCBE 2026