1. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
INNOVATIONS IN CONSTRUCTION
A look at new building technologies
for life and business
Christian W. Müller
Senior Underwriter
International Property Construction
Ferma, Stockholm
5th October 2011
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2. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO© 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
Cities of the future
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3. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
• Powered by solar and wind
• Clean-fuel car
• Public transport system running on hydrogen fuel
• Rooftops covered in vegetation
• Building insulation using natural healthy material
• Zero waste management
Cities of the future
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4. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
• Sustainable eco-city
• Carbon-neutrality goal
• Energy-efficient building
design
• Renewable energy
• Waste management
• Transportation systems
Cities of the future
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Waste management
12%
Transportation
systems
8 %
Renewable energy
24%
Energy-efficient
building design
56%

5. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO© 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
Innovations in construction
Achieve 56% carbon neutrality using energy-efficient
building design:
• Insulation for floor, walls and windows, roof
• Additional costs 3-10%
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Achieve 24% carbon neutrality
using renewable energy:
• Hydropower
• Geothermal
• Onshore and offshore
wind power
• Biomass, waste to energy
• Solar power, photovoltaic,
concentrated, evacuated tube
collectors
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Innovations in construction

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• New superstrate material makes it possible to
produce flexible, lightweight thin-film solar modules
• Polyimide film used as superstrate for cadmium
telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) modules
• Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing
and Research (EMPA) have demonstrated a new
world record for energy conversion efficiency of
13.8%; close to that of conventional glass PV
modules
• Film is over 100 times thinner and 200 times lighter
than glass typically used for PV
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Solar cell

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Solar modules
• High-speed and low-cost roll-to-roll production
• Flexible design makes it possible to produce
modules that are easier to ship/handle and less
expensive to install
• Innovative durable film sets new efficiency records
and has the potential to revolutionize energy
generation by broadening the fields of application
and lowering system costs
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10. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO© 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
• Energy of the wind
increases with the distance
from the ground
• At an altitude of 50 m, wind
has 2.5 times the energy as
at an altitude of 10 m
• Wind speed: A minimum
average annual flow of 20
km/h is necessary
Wind energy
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11. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO© 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
Vertical wind turbine blades
• Prototype with the generator on the ground and not
100 m in the air in a gondola
• Blades designed as aircraft wings which turn to
achieve optimum aerodynamic resistance
• Positive low noise level
• No negative impact for birds
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• Achieve 12% of CO2 neutrality by means of zero
waste management
• Composting bio-waste that will be used to enrich
plantations
• Recycling of materials such as glass, plastics,
paper and cardboard
• Non-recyclable waste is turned into energy:
Gasification process produces Syngas. This is
used as fuel to drive combustion systems that
generate energy
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Cities of the future

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• Reach 8% of carbon neutrality using
transportation systems that employ
electrical and solar energy
• Personal rapid transit system;
driverless taxi powered by battery that
recharges in the stations
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Cities of the future

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Natural disasters
• Natural disaster effect of natural hazards
• Avalanche, volcanic eruption, earthquake,
landslide, tsunami, flood, windstorm,…
• Result in human, property, environmental
and/or financial losses
• Withstand natural disasters?
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Earthquake
• An earthquake is a sudden release of energy in the
Earth’s crust
• Measured on the Richter Scale which is based on a
logarithmic scale
• An earthquake with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter
Scale equals a 31.6-fold increase in the amount of
energy released compared with a magnitude 8
earthquake
• An increase of 2 steps corresponds to a 1,000-fold
increase in energy
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• Location
• Design must be based on
natural hazard
• Additional costs 0-1%
Vulnerability
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Engineering design
• Symmetric design of layout
• Structuring of elevation
• Plastic deformation with ductile reinforcement bars
and steel beams
• Weaknesses:
• Horizontal weak ground floor
• Masonry construction without reinforced
concrete walls
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Seismic retrofitting of structures
• The goal of seismic retrofitting is the improvement of
seismic behaviour of structures
• Goal of continued operations without restriction
• Assessment of property; prioritisation, improving
regularity
• Strengthening the structure with carbon fiber reinforced
polymer (CFRP)
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19. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
Thank you for your attention
Christian W. Müller
xlgroup.com

20. © 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO© 2011, XL Group plc I MAKE YOUR WORLD GO
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