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Draft recommendations for H/C outlook 2050

This report presents draft recommendations in response to the first initiatives and insights among six local working groups (LWG’s) in six European cities to create actionable and spatially differentiated Transition Roadmaps to decarbonise their heating and cooling sectors in 2050. If condensed and sorted by main topics, the draft recommendations presented in this report are to investigate the feasibility of district heating in the city if it doesn’t already exist, and, if it exists, investigate how to densify its uptake, how to increase its current connection rates, and how to decarbonise its supply by integration of locally available renewable and excess heat resources.
1 July 2021
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Techno-economical possibilities and system correlations

This deliverable (2.3) has a twofold objective. Partly to complement 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.
19 July 2021
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Green gases in cities

Hydrogen, alternative gases and decarbonising cities: Biomethane still emits CO2 at combustion stage and potential methane through production and transportation. It is thus only net zero if the production method leads to additional capturing of CO2 or avoidance of waste. Hydrogen does not emit CO2 at the point of combustion, but there may still be (significant) lifecycle emissions include from: 1) Fossil gas production and transportation through methane leakage (for so called blue or turquoise hydrogen) 2) The limitations of the carbon capture method (the maximum achieved is so far 95%) 3) The electricity used to produce electrolysis hydrogen. As a result, sustainable gases are a scarce premium product and likely to be expensive. Between 1/10 th and ¼ of current fossil gas use by 2050 at EU level.
22 April 2022
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Waste heat in district energy

Waste heat is heat generated from some process or infrastructure often emitted to the surrounding air.  The industrial waste heat recovery potential is large but it is still largely untapped- Sweden is world champion on waste heat recovery from industry into district energy: 9% of the heat supply. There is also waste heat generated in cities by the people living and  working in them- there is a potential to meet 10% of the heat demand in EU 28 by using urban waste heat.
22 April 2022
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Cost and energy modelling

The work with the heat plan must reflect the local political interests. You can e.g. focus on energy independence, (local) emission-free heating, low-noise heating (no heat pumps in urban areas) etc. Other criteria can be included, e.g. local business development, green transition, (reductions of pollution), better cities to live in, fuel poverty, sector-coupling. The plan may have other (and stronger), underlying, purposes rather than defining why the heat plan process is initiated in your municipality.
22 April 2022
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Guidance for cities developing Heating and Cooling plans

This guide explains possible procedures for creating a Heating and Cooling Map (H/C Map) and the necessary base maps. The documented procedure in this document is based on the city of Winterthur’s approach towards creating its H/C-plan. There are, of course, several other ways to elaborate an H/C-plan, depending on local framework conditions and taking into account local laws, economic aspects, building structures etc.
17 August 2022
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Dublin’s heating and cooling plan – Part of D3.3

Heating is a hugely important sector in Ireland when it comes to decarbonisation as it represents approximately 40% of energy demand (twice the demand of electricity) and is the worst performing sector in terms of renewable proportion (currently at 6.3% of total heat production) behind both electricity and transport. The majority of buildings in Dublin use gas fired heating. The gas grid covers practically the whole city, developed at national level by semi-state-owned companies without considering where DHC grids may be a better option.
26 September 2022
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Munich’s Heating and Cooling Plan – Part of D3.3

The construction sector is one of the largest consumers of energy and resources. Around 30% of global CO2 emissions and 40% of resource consumption are caused by the construction industry. In Germany, the construction sector is also responsible for 54% of waste generation. The provision of heating, hot water and electricity alone accounts for 40% of final energy consumption. This illustrates the huge influence of the construction sector on the consumption of resources and energy. The average lifespan of buildings between 50 and 100 years shows the social responsibility for future generations when it comes to the design of the built environment and the sustainable use of available resources. The aim of the Energy Plan for the City of Munich is to identify potential for energy savings and for the efficient, climate-friendly provision of energy for the heating and cooling of Munich’s building stock.
26 September 2022
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Bilbao’s Heating and cooling plan – Part of D3.3

Bilbao, as many cities in Europe, is working to reduce the damage caused by COVID-19 pandemic on its socioeconomic situation while it is getting over the remaining consequences of the last economic and financial global crisis. Bilbao possesses some tools which contribute positively to social cohesion and, therefore, to alleviate the consequences of the crisis. All that makes Bilbao’s social services system more efficient and helps to generate work opportunities for people at risk of exclusion. Bilbao now relies on a strong civil society basis which contributes building a city firmly related to people’s well-being.
26 September 2022
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Rotterdam’s heating and cooling plan – Part of D3.3

In line with the Paris Agreement, European agreements and the Climate Act, the Netherlands wants to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the coming decades. Therefore, Rotterdam wants to be gas free and climate neutral by 2050. Currently, Rotterdam has 263,000 natural gas connections, which are mainly used for cooking, heating and hot running water. We must therefore start on time to ensure that all buildings in the city are natural gas-free before 2050. We will do this in phases, so that the city remains accessible during the heat transition and we can make optimal use of resources and people. To be able to make sufficient headway towards 2050, a number of components are required.
26 September 2022
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Vienna’s heating and cooling plan – Part of D3.3

The city of Vienna is the largest city in Austria, the fifth largest in the European Union and the second largest German-speaking city. Like many other cities across Europe, Vienna is facing continuous population growth. Furthermore, rising temperatures due to climate change is another challenge that urgently needs to be dealt with. Compared to other provinces in Austria, Vienna has the lowest energy consumption per capita. Nevertheless, a lot of fossil energy is still used for the city's energy supply. In the heating sector, natural gas and district heating dominate the market.
26 September 2022
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Winterthur’s heating and cooling plan – Part of D3.3

Winterthur is located in northeastern Switzerland about 20 km northeast from the City of Zurich. Winterthur has an own utility which provides electricity, water, gas, heat and waste-water-treatment. The first district heating was built in 1985 with the waste heat from the incineration-plant. The first H/C-plan was released in 1998. In the year 2011 it was revised the first time, since 2020 the H/C-plan undergoes the second revision.
26 September 2022
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Cross-city summary of heating and cooling plan – part of D3.3

In this cross-city summary the Heating and Cooling plan (H/C plan) of the cities of Bilbao, Dublin, Munich, Rotterdam, Vienna and Winterthur are summarized and compared. The summary will show differences between the cities, such as size and amount of district heating grids available within the cities and the similarities, such as the approach of using heat-density as a method to decide where district heating is a logical alternative for natural gas heating.
26 September 2022
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