Supporting Partners

Energy Cities is a network of cities in energy transition, it represents more than 1 000 local authorities in 30 different countries. Energy Cities wants a radical transformation of the energy systems and policies, triggering a trustful dialogue between citizens, local leaders and EU and national institutions to accelerate the energy transition in Europe. With almost 30 years of well-known experiences in networking and EU policy, Energy Cities will oversee and implement the dissemination of the Decarb City Pipes 2050 project results, aiming at the engagement of local authorities, national and European institutions and other stakeholders in the reflection around the decarbonised future of the heating and cooling sector in cities. It will also participate in advancing the multi-level governance framework and organise peer-to-peer capacity building activities for cities, mainly on heating and cooling tools, citizen engagement and citizen energy communities.

The project coordinator, Urban Innovation Vienna (UIV) represents the competence centre for future urban issues in Vienna. It was established to develop innovative strategies for overcoming the diverse and complex agendas of a city through dialogue with decision-makers from politics, administration, and businesses. With its Energy Centre, UIV offers an independent competence centre that supports the City of Vienna and its enterprises in achieving its ambitious energy and climate protection goals. The Energy Centre also fulfils the function of a regional energy agency. It supports the City of Vienna in the development and implementation of local energy policies, is the driving force for innovative flagship projects and acts as a networking platform with external stakeholders.

Halmstad University, the Innovation Driven University in Sweden, is known as forward thinking and cross-border. It has around 11 000 students and offers around 50 programmes and 130 courses within several subject fields. In its Department of Construction and Energy Engineering, the Halmstad University District Heating and Cooling Group has been active since 2008. The group, that consists of five researchers dedicated to different areas within the field of district heating and cooling, has participated in several national and international research projects focusing on energy system efficiency, heating and cooling markets, and heat and cold distribution technologies. In the Decarb City Pipes 2050 project, two researchers from this group will provide their expertise in techno-economic analysis and innovative energy solutions with a focus on heating and cooling systems.

Utrecht University is an internationally renowned university, known for its innovative cross-disciplinary research and high-quality education. The Faculty of Geosciences has a leading international position in academic research into the Earth, sustainability, urbanisation and migration. The Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning focuses on Sustainable Urban Futures as its overarching topic. Utrecht University will support the Decarb City Pipes 2050 project with its interdisciplinary research on pathways to sustainability of cities and their infrastructures, and its profound heating and cooling knowledge to support on governance and transition management challenges. In the framework of the project, five postdocs working on “Transforming Infrastructures for Sustainable Cities” will explore urban infrastructure transitions and refine and test “transformative techniques”: assessment, governance, experimentation, futuring and co-design.