With the adoption of the EU Climate Law in 2021, the EU has set itself a binding target to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2030. To support the increased ambition, the EU Commission adopted proposals for revising the key directives and regulations addressing energy efficiency, renewable energies and greenhouse gas emissions in the Fit for 55 package.

The heating and cooling (H&C) sector plays a key role for reaching the EU energy and climate targets. H&C accounts for about 50 percent of the final energy consumption in the EU, and the sector is largely based on fossil fuels. In 2021, the share of renewable energies in H&C reached 23%. The decarbonisation of heating and cooling is addressed across several directives and regulations at EU level.

The aim of this study is to support the analytical basis for the development and implementation of policies to ensure a seamless pathway to the full decarbonisation of the heating and cooling sector by 2050 in buildings and industry.

This paper presents a novel approach to modeling the gradual reduction in heat demand and the evolving expansion of district heating (DH) grids for assessing the DH potential in EU member states (MS). It introduces new methodological elements for modeling the impact of connection rates below 100% on heat distribution costs in both dense and sparse areas. The projected heat demand in 2050 is derived from a decarbonization scenario published by the EU, which would lead to a reduction in demand from 3128 TWh in 2020 to 1709 TWh by 2050. The proposed approach yields information on economic DH areas, DH potential, and average heat distribution costs. The results confirm the need to expand DH grids to maintain supply levels in view of decreasing heat demand. The proportion of DH potential from the total demand in the EU-27 rises from 15% in 2020 to 31% in 2050. The analysis of DH areas shows that 39% of the DH potential is in areas with heat distribution costs above 35 EUR/MWh, but most MS have average heat distribution costs between 28 and 32 EUR/MWh. The study reveals that over 40% of the EU's heat demand is in regions with high potential for implementing DH.  © 2023 The Author(s)

The ongoing transformation in European district heating systems fromthe usage of fossil-based technologies to non-fossil heat supplies issummarised by a collection of 70 possibilities linked to decarbonisation. These possibilities are exemplified by 284 implemented, planned, orproposed cases. The 70 possibilities for decarbonised district heatinginclude using heat, connecting customers, moving heat, storing heat, removing carbon dioxide, and supplying heat together with somefeatures for the entire value chain, to heat usage from heat generation orrecycling. This collection of 70 possibilities is neither complete nor doesit contain any recommendations for the possibilities or advocate forspecific possibilities.

The purpose of this project was to provide an extensive inventory ofdecarbonisation activities recently performed by district heating operators andother heat suppliers. These decarbonisation activities include the directsubstitution of heat obtained from the combustion of fossil fuels and indirectactions for obtaining more efficient district heating systems. These indirect actionsreduce costs and increase revenue, thereby improving the competitiveness ofdistrict heating. The time horizon, which is linked to the EU’s target for thereduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels, is 2030. This inventory of early decarbonisation projects concerning district heatingsystems has revealed the following three key conclusions.

First, decarbonisation activities can be divided into substituting and supportingpossibilities. Substituting possibilities in heat supply include linear supply fromrenewables, heat recycling from processes that generate excess heat, and non-fossilways of meeting peak heat demands during very cold days. The linear heat supplyis based on geothermal heat, solar heat, and electricity supply. Heat recycling ispossible from various processes related to biorefineries, hydrogen supply, petrochemical plants, electricity distribution, district cooling, data centres, batteryfactories, food supply chains, and sewage waters. Heat storage can make heatdelivery more independent of heat supply and provide additional opportunities toreduce peak loads. Supporting possibilities mainly comprise activities forobtaining lower temperatures in heat distribution networks to increase profitabilitywhen using low-temperature heat sources. These activities are performed whenconnecting customers, moving heat, and using heat. Another supporting activity is the removal of biogenic carbon dioxide from the natural carbon cycle, although anappropriate international accounting system for its removal is still missing.

Second, the decarbonisation possibilities of district heating systems differ fromthose of traditional systems based on fossil fuels. The availability ofdecarbonisation possibilities for district heating depends on local conditions,whereas fossil fuels are transported from available global resources and are usedworldwide. Hereby, decarbonised district heating systems will not be as uniformas traditional systems based on fossil fuels. The local conditions lower the degrees of freedom for the implementation of substituting possibilities in existing buildingsand systems. Hence, it is important to adopt new methods for utilising the highestdegree of freedom possible in new buildings and systems.

Third, the common denominators for the 70 identified possibilities are degrees offreedom for decarbonisation, action plans for achieving lower heat distributiontemperatures, the use of heat pumps for upgrading low-temperature supplies tomeet high-temperature demands, smart digitalisation options, clear supplyresponsibilities, favourable institutional frameworks, and digital planning models. These seven common denominators are efficient tools for obtaining decarbonisedand more efficient district heating systems in the future. These redesigned and newsystems will be somewhat different than traditional systems, which have beenbased on a district heating technology that was originally elaborated for systemsbased on fossil fuels.

Den pågående omvandlingen av europeiska fjärrvärmesystem från användning av fossilbaserad teknik till icke-fossil värmeförsörjning sammanfattas med en utvald samling av 70 möjligheter kopplade till fossilfrihet. Dessa möjligheter exemplifieras med 284 genomförda, planerade eller föreslagna fall. De 70 möjligheterna för koldioxidfri fjärrvärme omfattar att använda värme, ansluta kunder, flytta värme, lagra värme, avskilja koldioxid och tillföra värme tillsammans med några aspekter för hela värdekedjan till värmeanvändning från värmeåtervinning eller värmegenerering. Uppsättningen av 70 möjligheter är varken komplett eller innehåller några rekommendationer för vilka möjligheter som bör användas. Syftet med detta projekt har varit att tillhandahålla en omfattande inventering av tidiga aktiviteter för att erhålla fossilfri fjärrvärme som nyligen utförts av fjärrvärmeföretag eller andra värmeaktörer. Dessa aktiviteter omfattar både direkt substitution av värme som tidigare erhållits från förbränning av fossila bränslen och stödjande indirekta åtgärder för att erhålla mer effektiva fjärrvärmesystem. Dessa stödjande åtgärder minskar kostnaderna eller ökar intäkterna som förbättrar fjärrvärmens konkurrenskraft. Tidshorisonten har varit 2030, kopplat till EU:s mål för minskning av växthusgasutsläppen med 55 % jämfört med 1990 års utsläpp. Denna inventering av tidiga projekt för fossilfri fjärrvärme har givit följande tre viktiga slutsatser. För det första, aktiviteter för fossilfri fjärrvärme kan delas in i ersättande och stödjande möjligheter. Ersättande möjligheter i värmeförsörjningen inkluderar linjär försörjning från förnybar energi, värmeåtervinning från processer som genererar restvärme och icke-fossila sätt att möta spetsbehov under mycket kalla dagar. Den linjära värmeförsörjningen baseras på geotermisk värme, solvärme och eltillförsel. Nya aktiviteter för värmeåtervinning är möjliga från många olika samhällsprocesser, såsom bioraffinaderier, vätgasförsörjning, petrokemiska anläggningar, eldistribution, fjärrkyla, datacenter, batterifabriker, livsmedelsförsörjning och avloppsvatten. Värmelager kan göra värmeleveransen mer oberoende av värmetillförseln, vilket också ger ytterligare möjligheter att minska spetsbelastningar. Stödjande möjligheter innehåller främst aktiviteter för att erhålla lägre temperaturer i värmedistributionsnät, vilket ökar lönsamheten vid användning av lågtempererade värmekällor. Dessa aktiviteter utförs när man använder värme, ansluter kunder och flyttar värme. En planerad stödaktivitet är också avskiljning av biogen koldioxid från det naturliga kolkretsloppet, även om ett lämpligt internationellt ersättningssystem för detta fortfarande saknas. För det andra, karaktären hos möjligheterna till fossilfritt skiljer sig från de traditionella erfarenheterna baserade på fossila bränslen. Tillgången på möjligheter till fossilfritt beror på lokala förhållanden, medan fossila bränslen transporterades från tillgängliga globala resurser, vilket gav full frihet att använda fossila bränslen var som helst i världen. Härigenom kommer fossilfria fjärrvärmesystem inte bli så 4likartade som traditionella fjärrvärmesystem var med fossila bränslen. De lokala förutsättningarna för fossilfri fjärrvärme ger något lägre frihetsgrader för implementering av ersättande möjligheter i befintliga byggnader eller system. Därför är det viktigt för framtiden att utnyttja den högre frihetsgrad som är möjlig i nya byggnader och system genom att använda nya metoder mm. För det tredje, de gemensamma nämnarna för de 70 identifierade möjligheterna är antal frihetsgrader för fossilfrihet, handlingsplaner för att erhålla lägre temperaturer i värmedistributionsnät, olika sätt att använda värmepumpar för att uppgradera låga framtemperaturer för att tillgodose högre temperaturbehov hos kunderna, möjliga smarta digitaliseringsalternativ, tydliga leveransansvar, gynnsamma institutionella ramar samt digitala planeringsverktyg. Dessa sju gemensamma nämnare är effektiva verktyg för att få mer effektiva fossilfria fjärrvärmesystem, eftersom den traditionella fjärrvärmetekniken en gång i tiden utformades för system baserade på användning av fossila bränslen. 

This report identifies different typology-based approaches and methods for decarbonising the energy sector of cities. Respectively, typologies were evaluated, and design approaches were developed. In a first step, already existing typologies were evaluated, including a study by the Technical University of Darmstadt and examples from the City of Vienna. In a next step, conceivable structuring criteria and decarbonisation approaches from existing work within the DCP project were identified and summarised. These include structuring criteria such as heat demand density, renewable energy sources or types of refurbishment activities. On this basis, a new typology was developed. Five highly weighted criteria could be derived from the results of the expert survey, including structural energy efficiency, coverage of district heating, potential for renewable sources, potential for waste heat and heat demand density. These criteria formed the basis for the development of the novel typology. The first typology represents areas with high compatibility with highly weighted criteria, the third typology represents areas with comparably low compatibility, while the second typology is associated in between. Based on the developed typology, six design approaches were presented in this report. One short-term and one long-term approach for each typology include recommendations as well as concrete measures for strategic decision-making.

This work studies the transformation of energy grids of the European Union (EU) in the frame of the energy transition. Three energy grid types are considered namely the electricity, thermal and gas grids. Regarding electricity grids, we investigate the required reinforcements of the low-voltage networks (e.g. replacing the distribution transformer by one of higher nominal power, replacing cables by cables of larger cross-section) in order to integrate residential low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps, photovoltaic systems and electric vehicles. To do so, we develop a methodology for the quantification of EU low-voltage grid reinforcement costs following residential low-carbon technologies integration. This methodology uses urbanisation data to determine the share of dwellings in rural and urban areas in EU28 countries (EU27 + United Kingdom). It is also based on a model that quantifies the grid reinforcement cost as a function of the low-carbon technologies integration scenario for representative rural and urban grids. This model is composed of three sub-models, namely the dwelling, grid and economic models. We also collected data from 24 open access grids (i.e. grids of which the specifications are freely accessible online) and 23 scientific articles and reports to determine the parameter values of the grid and economic models for EU28 countries. Finally, we provide example applications that illustrate the methodology by computing the grid reinforcement costs from heat pumps and photovoltaic systems integration in Belgium and Italy. Results indicate that, in the largest majority of cases, both for Belgian and Italian grids, the reinforcement cost per dwelling remains below 350 € per dwelling (total cost for the whole lifespan of 33 years). The only case where more significant reinforcement costs occurred (> 350 €/dwelling and up to 1150 €/dwelling) is for the Belgian rural grid with heat pump integration rates larger than 40%. When it comes to thermal grids, we investigate the deployment of district heating, a heat supply technology that by its fundamental idea incorporates energy efficiency and thus can trigger important greenhouse gas emissions reduction. For this purpose, we proposed an approach to map the cost of thermal grids deployment per heat demand unit in the EU. This approach is based on the concept of representative thermal grids which corresponds to a principal equation that defines the distribution capital costs as the ratio of empirically derived specific investments costs and the linear heat density. In the sEEnergies project, this concept is expanded to comprise better cost models based on actual district heating network layouts at the spatial resolution of 1 hectare. While in the Heat Roadmap Europe project, the variables were generated only for the 14 EU Member States with largest annual volumes of building heat demands, the present approach covers all EU27 Member States plus United Kingdom. In this deliverable, we focus on the current year, while the deliverable 4.5 focuses on the future years. Regarding gas grids, we present the key technical and economic characteristics of the existing gas grids and storages in the EU28 countries. We focus not only on infrastructure for natural gas but also for biogas, biomethane, syngas and hydrogen, which could play an important role in the decrease of greenhouse gas emissions. This techno-economic review provides important information to assess the cost of retrofitting and developing gas grids depending on the decarbonisation scenarios.

The Pan-European Thermal Atlas version 5.2 (Peta, version 5.2). Peta is an online visualization tool for spatial data relating to energy efficiency in buildings, industry, and transport sectors. Developed as part of the sEEnergies project. Copyright Flensburg, Halmstad and Aalborg Universities 2022. 

The future population distribution informs decisions on investment in district heating. Across Europe, demographic change has been associated with structural changes of the past. Trends towards urban or rural migration, urban sprawl or the depopulation of city centers will continue. Using gridded population data since 1990, past development is mapped using spatial disaggregation to grid cells by intensity of urban development. An empirical method proposed captures increment of population in each grid cell and relates it to the focal statistics of the cell neighbourhood. A positive population trend in populated cells leads to a future population increase and a spill over into new development areas, while a negative trend leads to lower future population. New areas are modelled based on the principles of proximity and similarity using neighbourhood trends and land cover suitability, adjusted to national and regional population trends. The result is a set of future 1-hectare population grids, which have been used to model the distribution of future heat demands. The distribution of heat demand densities, the zoning of heat supply, and the potential for individual heat pumps have been modelled. Results show that reductions of heat demands and demographic developments leave a window of opportunities to develop heating infrastructures with known technology in the present decade, after which 4th Generation District Heat technology is required to decarbonise the heating sector.

The present report accounts for the spatial models of energy efficiency and the geospatial analysis carried out to quantify and locate energy efficiency potentials across sectors. In the building sector, future heat demands on national scales are being distributed using the age class of built-up areas and innovative models of future population distribution. District heat distribution capital costs combined with heat demand densities allow for the assessment of economic potentials of future district heating. Efficiency potentials in the transport and industrial sectors have been associated to locations, and transmission infrastructures have been mapped. Combining all these aspects, spatial analytics help understanding the opportunities and constraints that arise from the geography of energy systems. Energy efficiency in the three sectors has been mapped at different scales. Cost curves for district heating have been prepared for member states. For use in energy systems analysis, a matrix has been developed that relates energy efficiency in buildings and district heating potentials. Areas of interest for the conversion of natural gas to district heating have been mapped, combining present gas use with infrastructural aspects. Local potentials of district heating have been quantified for almost 150,000 settlements, and potential heat sources from industrial and wastewater treatment plants as well as locally available renewable energy sources have been allocated to potential district heating areas. Finally, to visualise and compare energy efficiency across sectors, technologies, and countries, the sEEnergies Index shows local potentials for improving energy efficiency and utilising synergies in all settlements of the EU27 plus the UK. In conclusion, the report documents how dissemination can be facilitated using the online geospatial information and mapping applications prepared in the sEEnergies Project.   

This report is the second out of three consecutive accounts of a coherent methodological framework developed in the EU Horizon 2020 project Decarb City Pipes 2050 to define heating and cooling decarbonisation design approaches for cities based on urban typologies. The first and third accounts are, respectively, the deliverable reports D2.5 (Decarbonisation design-approaches based on urban typologies) and D2.7 (Recommendations for cities' H/C supplies & demands in 2050). The framework has been developed by identifying possible thematic synergies between the objectives of the concerned deliverables, by combining different method elements, and by organising a collaborative work strategy among the involved project partners. This report presents, in overview and detail, the input data synonymously used within the framework for the determination of urban typologies, for the modelling and mapping of heating and cooling outlooks for 2050, for the quantification of a cross-city synthesis, as well as for formulating recommendations for cities´ heating and cooling demands and supplies in 2050. The study focusses on the urban areas of seven European project cities (Bilbao (ES), Bratislava (SK), Dublin (IE), Munich (DE), Rotterdam (NL), Vienna (AT), Winterthur (CH)), for which EU-scoped, publicly available input data, to the extent possible, has been gathered according to ten structuring criteria parameters. Heating and cooling outlooks for 2050 are established for each project city based on the used input data and illustrated in the form of tables, graphs, and maps, and constitute the first element of a quantitative cross-city synthesis (city comparison). The second element (city ranking) is facilitated by application of a multi-criteria decision model, which here consists of combining the Analytical Hierarchy Process method (AHP) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS).

Efficiency in the heat sector and the built environment can be achieved by building retrofits, the replacement of buildings, and the development of district heating as a means of structural energy efficiency. Hereby, excess heat and low-grade renewable heat sources can be integrated in the heat sector. The present report describes the future heat sector of Europe from end-use via infrastructure to heat sources. Future heat demands on national level have been modelled by sEEnergies project partners. In the present work, these demands are being distributed to future urban areas. Population forecasts have been combined with local empirical data to new 100m resolution population grids. They form the basis for the calculation of heat demands for the years 2030 and 2050 on the same geographical level. Potential areas, where district heating could be developed, have been zoned as prospective supply districts (PSDs) and basic statistics of heat demand have been calculated. Then, based on empirical district heating network data from existing district heating networks in Denmark, a new investment cost model for distribution and service pipes has been developed. Based on previous work in the Heat Roadmap Europe research project, the cost model has been improved with a better understanding of the concept of effective width. With the integration of country-specific construction cost data this results in an improved district heat distribution capital cost model for all Member States of the European Union plus the United Kingdom. The spatially explicit combination of district heat potentials and costs results in cost-supply curves for all countries as the basis for the assessment of the economic potential of future district heating. Finally, available excess heat sources from industry, waste incineration, wastewater treatment plants, and current powerplant locations are being allocated to prospective supply districts. Renewable heat potentials, including deep geothermal heat, solar thermal heat, and residual, local biomass, have also been assigned to these prospective heat supply areas. The results of the present work have been published as a web map.

Sweden was among the first countries to install solar thermal plants for district heating (DH) as early as in 1970s. However, in recent years, the focus on solar DH installations has shifted primarily to Denmark and Germany, with only one recent installation reported in Sweden. Nonetheless, due to changes in the overall heating market, the use of large-scale storage (both with and without solar heat) is becoming increasingly important. Despite significant advancements in adopting DH systems, the combination of solar DH with PTES is not well studied from Swedish context. The economic and geological prerequisites for the deployment of PTES remain largely unexplored. This paper explores the integration of large-scale solar thermal systems into DH networks in Sweden, particularly highlighting the feasibility and potential of pit thermal energy storage (PTES) systems. Through findings from a national project, this paper assesses the techno-economic-geological viability of PTES alongside solar thermal collectors, providing insights into the project’s methodological approach and initial findings.

The solution of the undergoing climate and energy crises requires a radical transformation of the energy system, in which sustainability, no carbon emissions and energy efficiency ought to play a paramount role. 

This revolution should extend to all areas of the energy system, including the space heating and cooling sector, which accounts for a third of the European final energy demand and, in the European continent, it is still mostly supplied by fossil fuels.

District heating is a simple but powerful technology that can contribute to tackle this challenge. As a network infrastructure, it is characterised by the flexibility of the heat production, allowing the incorporation of a wide range of heat sources over time. Furthermore, it enables the recycling of heat that would otherwise be wasted and the use of local heat sources in a more cost-effective manner. Moreover, its coupling with the electricity sector can facilitate the increase of intermittent electric renewable energy sources. 

Nevertheless, at the moment, district heating only covers a tenth of the European space heating and cooling needs, albeit with significant differences among countries. In addition, the development of new district heating networks is capital intensive and can only be justified in those areas where the concentration of the heat demand is sufficiently high to deliver a lower cost to society than an individual alternative. 

Therefore, it is crucial to assess the potential of district heating and to identify the target areas for in-depth investigations. This necessity demands easy and straightforward tools, which can provide a first order approximation of the construction cost of new networks. 

One of these tools is the capital cost model developed by Persson & Werner, which is based on, among others, the effective width parameter. This is an indicator of the required trench length in an area supplied by district heating and has been related to the building density. 

This work has contributed to the understanding of the effective width parameter in a wide range of building densities, taking advantage of one of the largest district heating networks in Denmark, and provided new equations that relate it to various indicators of building density. 

Furthermore, the average pipe diameter of district heating pipes has been linked to another crucial parameter in district heating technology, the linear heat density, extending prior work conducted by Persson and Werner. 

In addition, Persson and Werner's model and the newly found empirical expressions have been validated in various Danish district heating networks, showing that the model provides relatively accurate results on an aggregate level and large areas but dismally fails in low-extension areas. 

Finally, the model has been applied to the European Union showing that district heating networks could potentially supply a third of the heat demand in 2050.

District heating and cooling systems can aid in decarbonisation and the provision of efficient heating and cooling in Europe. However, whereas these systems have achieved high penetration rates in colder climates of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, they remain marginal in milder climates of Southern Europe. In terms of network design, district heating and cooling systems can be configured in different ways. In so-called warm networks, the required temperature for all the consumers is attained city-wide, and in so-called cold systems, the necessary temperature is achieved at the consumers' premises by ancillary equipment. The most cost-effective heating and cooling solution for urban areas requires investigation. This research models and compares cold and warm district energy systems with other heating and cooling solutions through a comprehensive case study executed in the city of Bilbao, Spain. The city is characterised by a mild climate and a high population density which is characteristic of many Southern European cities. The results show that district energy systems are economically advantageous compared to other low-carbon solutions, such as air-source heat pumps. However, these systems are not able to outcompete natural gas under current cost and taxation levels. Warm networks provide a cheaper source of heat compared to cold networks, but both network types lead to similar expenditures for combined heating and cooling supply. This paper, presents the study context and its results, and is complemented by an exhaustive detailed methodology document and a separate supplementary material repository. © 2024 The Authors

District heating is one of the technologies that can contribute to the decarbonisation of the European heat sector. Nonetheless, these infrastructures only deliver about a tenth of the heat demands in the continent. Therefore, it is essential to assess the expansion potential of these systems and to identify which areas should be target for further investigations, which calls for easy-to-use and straightforward methods such as Persson & Werner's network capital cost model. Pivotal parameters of the model are the effective width, a metric of trench length by land area, alongside the average pipe diameter and the linear heat density. This study has carried out an in-depth analysis of these crucial parameters with respect to both distribution and service pipes in a large Danish district heating network, which has allowed to explore the behaviour of effective width in a broad range of building densities and derive new equations for both effective width and average pipe diameter. The model has subsequently been validated in another large network in Denmark and several minor districts in the same country, showing the accuracy of the model on an aggregated level. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd.

District Heating is a cornerstone for the decarbonisation of the heating and cooling sector in Europe. Nonetheless, this technology is currently absent in a majority of the continent’s urban areas, and hence the need for appropriate methods by which to estimate the cost, as well as underlying cost parameters, to assess the feasibility of developing district heating networks is of general interest. One key underlying cost parameter, the concept of Effective Width, which is the ratio between a land area and the trench length within that land area, is the focus quantity of this work. Effective Width enables a first order assessment of the total route length of pipes in a given urban area and, together with the average diameter of the pipes, allows an estimation of the investment cost of installing district heating pipes. However, initial implementations of the Effective Width have been based on rather limited empirical evidence, such as a small set of cases and often disregarding service pipes due to lack of data. Another shortcoming of previous studies is the extrapolation of established relations into more sparsely populated areas. By assembly of a richer database, which contains building data, heat consumption data in the supplied areas, as well as actual network information (numerical and geographical), provided by several district heating companies in Denmark and Sweden, the objectives of this study are twofold: first, to improve the general understanding of Effective Width and its relation to building density, and secondly, to study the particular case of sparse areas. The results of this study provide new insight to enhance our understanding of the Effective Width concept which may facilitate better assessments of future district heating systems. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This report aims to present the results of the work carried out within the sEEnergies project pertaining to estimating construction costs of new district heating networks in Germany.

This project has followed a similar methodology to Heat Roadmap Europe when estimating the costs of district heating systems. Nonetheless, several improvements have been introduced to attain more realistic results. On the one hand, it has been carried out a detailed geographic analysis of two large Danish networks so the necessary pipe length can be better appraised. Moreover, both the distribution network and service pipes have been taken into consideration. On the other hand, pipe construction cost data from each country has been used to the maximum extent possible.  

This part of the project has only focused on the pipe network and has not taken into account other elements for the development of a district heating system, such as heat supply plants or the connections to the heat demands via a substation. 

The results for Germany show that the country has a significant potential for District Heating expansion. Approximately a quarter of the total heat demand could be supplied with a cost lower than 20 €/MWh and nearly half of the heat demand would be economically viable with a higher marginal cost of 30 €/MWh. Nonetheless, there is significant regional variation, and whilst the most urban districts (kreise) could reach penetration rates above 70% for a marginal cost of 20 €/MWh, the least dense would fall below 10% of the heat demand. 

The decarbonization of the heat supply and the attainment of a higher security of supply demand the transition towards zero-carbon heating solutions. In dense urban environments, where the construction cost of a pipe network is relatively low, heating and cooling networks can deliver heating and cooling at a lower cost compared to individual solutions. 

This paper builds on prior research by these authors mapping heating and cooling energy use in Bilbao, Spain, a city characterised by mild oceanic climate and a dense urban pattern. Areas within the city where heating and cooling networks could be more feasible have been identified taking into account the building stock characteristics and energy use, together with other urban and resource parameters, and a city district has been selected for further study.      

Warm networks deliver heat at a sufficiently high temperature to be directly used by the consumers whereas cold networks employ lower temperatures, thus requiring heat pumps at the consumers premises. Research has highlighted as advantages of this newer configuration the possibility of delivering both heating and cooling with the same network, the lower capital costs of these networks and negligible heat losses. Nonetheless, comparisons between the two technologies have been seldom performed in the literature. In this paper, an economic comparison between these two solutions is presented for the selected district of Bilbao.  Results show that cold networks require a lower investment in the actual network infrastructure but the distributed heat pumps increase the costs to a higher total CAPEX than in warm networks.  Overall life cycle costs of heat are also slightly higher for cold networks than for warm networks. Other benefits and barriers for each of the solutions, for example regarding necessary space or speed and modularity of the implementation of the network are also discussed.

District heating is an important technology for decarbonizing the heating supply in urban areas since it enables the recovery of waste heat that would otherwise be wasted and the cost-effective utilization of renewable heat. Nonetheless, the current general extent of these systems in Europe is very low, hence the need for simple methods and parameters to estimate their cost and feasibility on a large scale. One of these cost parameters is the Effective Width, which enables a first order approximation of the total pipe length in a given area. This concept, in conjunction with the average pipe diameter in the area, permits the determination of the network’s capital cost. However, previous research of Effective Width has relied on a small set of cases and has not contemplated service pipes. Therefore, there is need for a closer look and a deeper understanding of the underlying phenomena that influences this parameter. This study has analysed several Scandinavian District Heating Systems in detail and provides new evidence on the relation between Effective Width and the urban environment for both distribution and service pipes.

This dataset consists of two seperate geopackages, which are both digitisations of isotherms in the 1000 meters and 2000 meters below ground maps, displayed in plates 2 and 3 of the 2002 Atlas of geothermal resources in Europe.

This deliverable has a twofold objective. Partly to compliment the parallel deliverable 2.2 report “Draft recommendations for H/C outlook 2050”, and partly to identify and describe different possibilities and combinations for participating cities to explore, with respect to technical and economic strengths and weaknesses of the different low-carbon H/C supply choices available for (dense) urban areas.

This report aims to present the results of the work carried out within the sEEnergies project pertaining to estimating construction costs of new district heating networks in France.

This project has followed a similar methodology to Heat Roadmap Europe when estimating the costs of district heating systems. Nonetheless, several improvements have been introduced to attain more realistic results. On the one hand, it has been carried out a detailed geographic analysis of two large Danish networks so the necessary pipe length can be better appraised. Moreover, both the distribution network and service pipes have been taken into consideration. On the other hand, pipe construction cost data from each country has been used to the maximum extent possible.  

This part of the project has only focused on the pipe network and has not taken into account other elements for the development of a district heating system, such as heat supply plants or the connections to the heat demands via a substation. 

The results for France show that the country has a significant potential for District Heating expansion. Approximately a quarter of the total heat demand (28%) could be supplied with a cost lower than 20 €/MWh and nearly half of the heat demand (47%) would be economically viable with a higher marginal cost of 30 €/MWh. Nonetheless, there is significant regional variation. For instance, for a marginal cost threshold of 20 €/MWh, Paris could cover nearly the entire heat demand and the other départements of the petite couronne de París, could reach penetration rates above 70%. On the contrary, the 12 least dense départements would not be able to deliver more than 10% of the heat demand, having the département of Vendée the lowest potential with merely 3%. 

The decarbonization of the heat supply and the achievement of a higher energy security calls for the substitution of conventional fossil fuel boilers by other means of heat supply. In dense urban areas, where the pipe network cost is proportionally lower, district heating can be an attractive solution for this goal. If there is a possibility to recover heat that would otherwise be wasted or produce renewable heat centrally in a more economic manner, this can be a very cost-effective solution for decarbonising the heat supply. Networks for district heating have traditionally distributed heat at a temperature sufficiently high to virtually all consumers. In cold district networks , the network is maintained at close to ambient temperature (10-30°C), and require the heat to be boosted at the consumer level. Cold networks have drawn plenty of research attention thanks to several advantages such as their capacity to provide with the same network both heating and cooling or using more economic piping.  Nonetheless, comparisons between the two technologies have been seldom performed in the literature. This study has aimed to fill this gap and has drawn an economic comparison between these two solutions in a case study for the city of Bilbao, which presents a mild oceanic climate but features a very dense urban fabric. 

The Pan-European Thermal Atlas Peta is an online visualization tool for spatial data. Version 5.1 was launched in 2020 with a first set of layers for the EU27+UK, which related to energy demands in the base year and first, intermediate project results regarding energy efficiency potentials. With the update to version 5.2, Peta was complemented with layers based on the scenarios studied in different sEEnergies tasks, completed after the launch of Peta 5.1. As a result, Peta 5.2 shows energy demand and energy efficiency data for residential and service sector buildings as well as for industry and transport for different scenarios, focusing on the status-quo and the scenario year 2050, while also containing 2030 data.

Throughout the Heat Roadmap Europe projects, Peta has been developed as an information system for the heat sector. Its main content related to district heating grid investment costs, district heating area demarcations and supply options. The current version 5.2 features new layers that include future heat demands and district heating development costs for distribution and service pipe investment costs, as well as energy efficiency potentials of the industry and transport sectors.

In a new layer group Peta 5.2 presents the results of spatial analyses, for example the allocation of excess heat to urban areas as well as an index that combines energy efficiency potentials across sectors and technologies.

Peta 5.2 can be accessed via the following URL:https://tinyurl.com/peta5seenergies, while the geospatial data can be accessed through thesEEnergies Open Data Hub: https://s-eenergies-open-data-euf.hub.arcgis.com/. Furthermore, Story Maps add an additional dimension to the dissemination of project results (accessible here: https://tinyurl.com/sEEnergiesStorymaps).