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The Decarb City Pipes 2050’s final conference took place on Wednesday 11th of October, in Brussels. It was a showcase of lessons learnt and a space for engaging in discussions with European stakeholders on both measures and policies to accelerate the decarbonisation of city pipes.

During this final conference, we want to reflect on the crucial challenge and opportunities of decarbonising heating and cooling systems to achieve the EU climate objectives.

Heat decarbonisation is receiving more and more attention. However, with the unavoidable rise of temperatures, the topic of cooling and its climate impact is also getting hotter in cities. There is a clear demand for cooling in cities – and […]

November is not usually seen as a month which lifts up spirits. This was without counting on the city of Winterthur, the Swiss partner of our consortium, who took the project partners on a refreshing study tour in its eco-responsible […]

District heating is becoming an increasingly hot topic for municipalities. Latest revisions of EU legislations and plans to phase out (Russian) gas put it as a strategic component. Without making it a silver bullet, it is clear that district heating […]

The question of decarbonising condominiums, especially when each flat has its own boiler, is coming back over and over, because it is a sensitive one. With the ambition of being climate-neutral by 2040 and a big history of social housing, […]

Held on 11 & 12 May 2022 in Vienna, where the dependence on Russian gas is of 80%, the Decarb Cities Conference could not be timelier. Soaring energy prices, reducing fossil fuel dependency, decreasing energy consumption – crucial topics faced […]

In the Netherlands, decarbonisation is often approach through the district perspective. It favours thus affordability, inclusiveness, and achievability. This is also the best way to minimise inconvenience for residents and the total costs, while maximising the potential combinations with other […]

The decarbonisation of energy systems offers new perspectives for the heating and cooling markets. One of the goals of Decarb City Pipes 2050 is to explore some of these new actors. The more information on latest developments and innovative approaches, […]

What is a model? In the simplest terms, it is anything that represents something else. In the context of district heating (DH), modelling is important for two reasons:   To look at the current situation (i.e., existing infrastructure, heat demand and […]

Nearly 80% of energy consumption in EU households comes from heating. Thus, alternative, low-carbon sources of heat will play a major role in the energy transition. Waste heat is one such source, which deserves to be looked at.   To better […]

Energy modelling is key for cities to get a good understanding of their energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. Urban and energy planning decisions should be data-driven. But how can cities have access to good data on their building stock? […]

The first (public) step on the path of decarbonising heating and cooling for buildings in 2050 has been made! Decarb City Pipes 2050 is proud to showcase its first public deliverable, D.2.3., “Techno-economical possibilities and system correlations”, which has a […]

Heating and cooling plans aim at providing guidance to citizens, local businesses and stakeholders on the cost-effective solutions to switch from fossil-fuel boilers to low-carbon and renewable heating systems. They are a key piece to guide the actions and provide […]

A number of cities’ strategies to decarbonise heating in existing buildings rely on energy efficiency measures and replacement of fossil-fuel boilers by heating systems powered by green energy, such as heat pumps and district heating (DH).  If this replacement or […]

Condominiums represent 40% of housing in the European Union. They are a key concern to achieve the decarbonisation of our cities. Because of their fragmented ownership structures, dedicated strategies for this stakeholders’ group are necessary, as well as regulatory change […]

Geothermal energy is a key technology for realizing the urban heat transformation. As regards deep geothermal energy, it feeds existing or newly built district heat systems with renewable heat and thus replaces existing systems based on fossil sources and CHP. […]

Hydrogen is often presented as a quick fix to get rid of fossil fuels for heating and cooling in cities. But it is widely debated by experts and has some uncertainties and risks of lock-in effects. Lisa Fischer, Programme Leader at […]

The largest share of energy consumption in European cities is used for heating and cooling. This means that if cities want to hold to their ambition of becoming climate neutral by 2050, they urgently need to start planning how to […]

With the help of EU funding and advice by heavyweights from energy policy and industry, they are gearing up to get there early and share with other cities how to do. Heating and cooling are responsible for roughly half of […]