News

6 November 2023

Planning and implementing fossil fuel phaseout – Read all about the final conference!

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.

2 August 2023

From vision to implementation: don’t miss our final conference!

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.

5 December 2022

Keeping cool (and decarbonised) when it gets hot in cities

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 […]

18 November 2022

Inclusive decarbonisation: the ambitious Lokstadt project in Winterthur

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 […]

3 October 2022

Accelerating the decarbonisation of district heating networks through mandatory connection

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 […]

15 June 2022

From individual gas boilers to a centralised renewable heating system? Challenge accepted!

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, […]

17 May 2022

Vienna’s strategy to accelerate its fossil fuel independency

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 […]

29 April 2022

Heindijk: a neighbourhood in Rotterdam to be fossil-free by 2027

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 […]

7 February 2022

Renewing your approach of the heat market to favour renewable heating & cooling

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, […]

17 December 2021

Modelling of district heating – mighty difficult or minimally so?

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 […]

4 November 2021

There is a great waste heat potential waiting to be tapped

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 […]

22 July 2021

The data-driven future of heat planning

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? […]

19 July 2021

New report out! Techno-economical possibilities and system correlations

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 […]

30 June 2021

Spatial heat planning: a backbone for buildings’ transition in our cities

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 […]

4 June 2021

There is no technical barrier to remove individual gas boilers in condominiums!

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 […]

17 May 2021

Decarbonising condominiums requires dedicated strategies… and new laws!

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 […]

6 May 2021

Potential of geothermal energy for heat transformation in cities

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. […]

31 March 2021

To use or not to use hydrogen to heat cities?

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 […]

10 February 2021

Heat planning: Baden-Wurttemberg takes the bull by the horns

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 […]

3 February 2021

Seven cities want to phase out fossil fuels from urban heating & cooling

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 […]