District Heating Technologies

Strategies for the implemementation of climate neutral district heating technologies

Pavlo_Glazkov_stock.adobe.com_525743948

In order to realise the full potential of district heating as a driver of the energy transition and a tool for sector coupling, a massive expansion of climate-neutral district heating technologies is necessary. The aim of the project was, firstly, to identify potential barriers to climate-neutral district heating technologies; secondly, to develop measures to overcome these barriers (regulatory frameworks, planning and consent procedures, funding); and thirdly, to discuss the measures developed with selected stakeholders and experts.

The work was divided into the following technology categories: large-scale heat pumps, unavoidable waste heat, heat storage, large-scale solar thermal systems and photovoltaic-thermal systems, as well as other ad hoc tasks. The ifeu took the lead in addressing issues relating to the utilisation of unavoidable waste heat from industry and commerce, the utilisation of unavoidable heat from thermal waste treatment plants, and the utilisation of heat from wastewater in district heating networks.

Through a literature review, a stakeholder survey and stakeholder workshops, barriers to the district heating generation technologies under investigation were systematically identified, prioritised and solutions developed. The final report, which has now been published, provides concrete answers regarding the use of large-scale heat pumps, unavoidable waste heat, solar thermal energy and large-scale heat storage systems.