Helios framework

From the earliest days of urbanization, we have seen the benefits of city living but also the downsides that come with it. Anthropogenic stress has led to documented overheating, which compromises human well-being in cities. With 60% of the world’s population residing in cities, the health risks and vulnerabilities associated with urban heat islands (UHI) are becoming increasingly concerning. As classic passive cooling techniques have proven to be slow in mitigating UHI, an urgent solution is needed.
Enter HELIOS – a groundbreaking, multidimensional, and multidisciplinary research initiative that aims to develop the resilient urban skin of the future. This skin will utilize a combination of successful radiative cooling and high solar reflectance, integrated with photoluminescence, to eradicate the UHI problem. Thanks to breakthrough lead-free halide perovskites, HELIOS will develop novel radiative cooling structures into temperature-responsive carriers and albedo adaptive photoluminescent finishing. This approach seeks to tailor radiative supercooling performance enough to minimize winter penalties while also providing the desired color finishing, ultimately allowing for the sustainable upscaling of this research frontier.

HELIOS has the ambitious goal of changing the building physics paradigm by rethinking the built environment into a fully-dynamic resilience, inspired by nature. This bio-inspired radiative and photoluminescent skin will be tailored and optimized for each dynamic boundary, with the aim of improving indoor-outdoor human comfort and energy-efficiency. Through analytical and experimental identification of the thermal-radiative physics of such skin, HELIOS will assess its performance for the benefit of people worldwide.
This research initiative seeks to transform the way we think about building physics by utilizing cutting-edge materials and technologies to create resilient urban skins that can adapt to the ever-changing needs of city living. By eradicating the UHI problem, HELIOS seeks to make cities more livable, safe, and sustainable for all.