The EU has selected OHL for the R&D Built2Spec project

The OHL Group has been selected by the European Union to participate, as a reference company in Spain’s construction sector, in the R&D project for unique construction, Built2Spec (Built to Specifications: Tools for the 21st Century Construction Site). In addition to this achievement, OHL is present in other EU R&D initiatives, such as NeTTUN (New Technologies for Tunnelling and Underground Works), RESSEEPE (Retrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Edification) and FOTsis (European Field Operational Test on Safe, Intelligent and Sustainable Road Operation).

Built2Spec, through a joint venture consisting of twenty partners from eight European countries, is 100 % financed under the new 2020 Horizonte program, over a 4-year term, with a 6-million euro budget. The project, commenced in 2015, is aimed at developing new techniques for inspection and measurement in efficient construction processes; it focuses on introducing ICT in construction processes, both for buildings and infrastructures, enabling decision-making, the fulfilment of specifications and lower execution costs.

The Group will also continue to participate over 2015 in another two relevant European R&D initiatives launched in previous years, further to the Seventh Framework Programme: the NeTTUN, directed at developing innovating processes and technologies, determining the future of tunnel construction, where OHL is the only Spanish partner, and RESSEEPE, aimed at the renovation of public buildings under strict energy efficiency standards which, thanks to new technologies, may become minimum energy consumption facilities, in line with the European Nearly zero-energy buildings policy. Again, OHL is participating in both joint ventures, with a four-year term each, as the only Spanish construction company, collaborating with a total of 42 different institutions -to include public bodies, enterprises, R&D centers and universities- in 11 European countries.

Also as part of the Seventh Framework Programme, OHL has led the FOTsis project in the Mobility of the Future initiative, launched in 2011 and recently finished in 2014. In this project, involving 25 partners from 9 different countries, large-scale development and standardization have been encouraged for services between infrastructures and vehicles, aimed at improving, through the use of new technologies, toll road safety and mobility management.

The following seven services were evaluated in the project: emergency management, incident management and alerts, intelligent control of congested traffic, dynamic route planning, monitoring of special vehicles, advanced auditing, and confirmation of infrastructure safety levels. These services have been successfully tested on nine toll roads in Spain, Portugal, Germany and Greece, integrating real-time communication between the various agents involved.

Furthermore, the OHL Group has sponsored and currently leads the Futuro Solar project, co-financed by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism. This initiative is aimed at identifying dominant technology in the thermosolar energy field.