As part of the GreenCraft research project, Kauz GmbH is collaborating with the Essen District Craftsmen’s Association, the Mülheim/Oberhausen District Craftsmen’s Association, Lokaleshandwerk.de GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML, and Fraunhofer UMSICHT, a digital platform that intelligently connects craft businesses, private and commercial clients, and funding agencies. Supported by artificial intelligence, the platform guides environmental projects from initial contact through planning to implementation, thereby making the entire process more efficient, transparent, and accessible.
1. Ausgangssituation
Climate goals can only be achieved if political directives are consistently translated into practical action. The skilled trades sector is a key player in this environmental and economic transformation: In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, approximately 196,000 registered businesses with 1.2 million employees are implementing climate-friendly projects—such as thermal insulation, solar power, and the installation of heat pumps—directly on-site at customers’ locations. At the same time, complex funding landscapes, time-consuming paperwork, and the coordination of multiple trades make it difficult to carry out such projects quickly.
2. Challenge
Environmental projects rarely involve just one trade. For an energy-efficient renovation, clients, contractors from various trades, and funding agencies must be brought together; information must be consolidated; and application processes must be coordinated. Until now, relevant information on funding programs has been scattered across many sources and accessible only after extensive research. The challenge, therefore, lies not only in the technology but, above all, in building a digital ecosystem that brings all stakeholders together and significantly simplifies the process of handling the necessary forms.
3. Implementation
The GreenCraft project is developing an AI-powered platform that connects customers with qualified tradespeople and standardizes and simplifies the implementation of environmental projects. Together with the project partners, use cases were identified, questionnaires were developed, and topic-specific navigation paths for thermal insulation, heat pumps, and photovoltaics were designed to guide users through the platform in a targeted manner.
Kauz GmbH is responsible for all AI-related aspects of the project: from requirements analysis for the use of AI assistants, through the design and implementation of the AI architecture, to the oversight and documentation of the corresponding work packages. A key focus is the AI-based subsidy advisor agent, a chatbot that helps tradespeople identify suitable subsidy programs for their customers. To this end, Kauz has built an LLM-optimized knowledge base that is kept up to date through automated crawling and regular re-crawling of relevant sources
. The agent queries user-specific parameters such as location, applicant type, or historic preservation status and provides tailored recommendations based on this information. Various UX approaches—such as click options, free-text input, and integration into the platform’s navigation paths—have been tested and are continuously refined based on real-world feedback.
4. Result
Concrete results are already available following the first project phase: The prioritized use cases and questionnaires were developed in collaboration with the industry partners; the navigation paths for thermal insulation, heat pumps, and photovoltaics have been designed; and the AI architecture has been implemented. The funding advisor agent accesses a self-updating knowledge base and has been tested in various interaction scenarios. Feedback from the field is continuously incorporated into further development, ensuring that the platform is gradually adapted to the real-world needs of small businesses.
5. Outlook
By the end of the project in May 2027, the platform will be further developed into a comprehensive digital ecosystem that intelligently connects clients with qualified tradespeople, consolidates information on environmental projects, and simplifies their implementation. In the long term, GreenCraft aims to make a measurable contribution to increasing the renovation rate and achieving climate protection goals in North Rhine-Westphalia, while also demonstrating the added value that AI assistants can bring to the skilled trades sector.
A Strong Partner Network for Transformation in the Skilled Trades
The project is being carried out as a collaboration between:
• Essen District Craftsmen’s Association (project coordination)
• Mülheim/Oberhausen District Craftsmen’s Association
• Kauz GmbH (AI assistants and funding advisor agent)
• Lokaleshandwerk.de GmbH (platform architecture)
• Fraunhofer IML (business models and process support)
• Fraunhofer UMSICHT (environmental technology and requirements analysis)
• Environmental Center for the Skilled Trades of the Düsseldorf Chamber of Skilled Trades (HWK Düsseldorf) (associated partner)
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