LIFE Zero Energy Mod: Cutting energy use in mobile buildings

Easy to transport and quick to construct, modular buildings are commonly used for military bases, emergency shelters and research camps in remote locations. But without surrounding energy infrastructure in place, they often rely on dirty diesel generators for power. An innovative new type of modular building could soon change that, thanks to the work by a LIFE project.

The LIFE Zero Energy Mod project has developed a modular habitat that can be assembled anywhere in the world without the need for fossil fuel energy. The project uses an innovative 'plug-and-play' solution in which the modules are built to PassivHaus standards that makes them highly energy efficient. The design cuts energy use by 85-90%.

The buildings also come with a smart energy unit that generates power from solar and wind, with batteries and hydrogen tanks to store energy for when it is needed. The structures offer a green alternative to Europe's military who often need to construct durable buildings at short notice in distant locations. This will help efforts by EU member states to reduce the carbon 'bootprint' of their militaries, which has seen the European Commission provide close to €10 million over the past seven years to help the defence sector improve its energy sustainability.

Although the modules have initially been tested for use by the military, they will also be useful for civilian purposes too. The modular habitats can provide emergency shelter for victims of disasters, give aid agencies buildings to work from and research camps for scientists in remote area, according to the LIFE Zero Energy Mod team.

'At present, the systems supplying energy to these facilities are usually fossil fuel based,' says Pedro Casero Cabezón, technology area manager at the Foundation for Hydrogen in Aragon, Spain, which is coordinating the LIFE Zero Energy Mod project. 'In previous studies, it has been estimated that any of the 20-foot containers installed at the Spanish base in Afghanistan, had an annual fuel consumption of 15 000 litres, 20% of which was used for lighting and 80% for heating and air conditioning.'

The LIFE Zero Energy Mod approach provides comfortable and self-sufficient accommodation that can be quickly and easily deployed to camps around the world. The system has been undergoing testing in desert-like conditions at a military base Zaragoza, Spain. It is also due to be put through its paces in one of the harshest environments on earth - Antarctica - when it is installed at Spain's Gabriel de Castilla research station on Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands.

The project, which ran for 3 years until May 2025, demonstrated the shelters cut the amount of energy used by 96% compared to conventional modular buildings. They also avoided the release of 120 tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to removing 26 fossil-fuel powered cars from the road.

'By demonstrating scalable, zero-energy modular infrastructure that replaces diesel generators with renewable generation and hydrogen storage, the Zero Energy Mod project enhances EU energy resilience and supports the transition away from imported fossil fuels in off-grid and remote context' says Casero Cabezón. 'Building on this approach, the project delivers a replicable model for energy-autonomous, mobile buildings that can be deployed for defence, disaster-relief and humanitarian missions across Europe.'

The LIFE Zero Energy Mod project contributes to the European Green Deal and the EU's Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.