A recently published guide and a video show how digitalisation can optimise district heating and cooling systems. In a project organised by the International Energy Agency, researchers from eleven countries have developed corresponding solutions.

Researchers have analysed the heat consumption of 797 companies in Germany. The findings will make it easier for companies to plan their heat supply with fluctuating producers such as solar thermal energy and with heat pumps in the future.

The new book "Innovations and challenges of the energy transition in smart city districts" presents six lighthouse projects that have advanced the energy transition in cities. It combines practical and scientific findings for further climate-friendly districts.

Powerful storage systems make it possible to use heat and electricity flexibly over time. The Energy Storage Technology Collaboration Program brings together these technology developments at an international level. Delegates from around 20 partner countries recently met in Berlin.

A large heat pump at the Mannheim power plant (GKM) is now supplying around 3,500 households with heat, which is also obtained from the Rhine water. The 20-megawatt plant is currently the largest heat pump integrated into a district heating network in Germany.

The Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) has published the new Joint Call 2023. Funding is available for projects that develop innovative technologies and system solutions that contribute to Europe becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

Whether urban or rural, new or existing buildings: the SmartQuart energy transition real-world laboratory shows that different neighbourhoods can be supplied with climate-friendly energy. The project partners have now presented interim results.

With an international survey as part of a study, researchers want to determine which hurdles obstruct the expansion of district heating in Europe and worldwide.

Households in Hamburg's Wilhelmsburg district are to be supplied with climate-friendly heat from a new geothermal plant from spring 2025. The Hamburg geothermal project is part of the IW3 (Integrated Heat Transition Wilhelmsburg) energy transition real-world laboratory.

Under the umbrella of the International Energy Agency's Technology Cooperation Programme for District Heating and Cooling (IEA DHC), experts have looked at the future of hybrid energy networks. In the guide published at the end of the project, they make concrete recommendations.

In the supply of district heating, the integration of large-scale heat pumps can reduce CO₂ emissions. The living lab for the energy transition “GWP” is showing how this is possible at five differently structured power plant sites. The operation of such a plant has been started in Stuttgart-Münster.

Ground-source heat pumps are a promising option for achieving a net-zero heating supply. However, information on suitable locations for these geothermal heating systems has not been centrally available. In the WärmeGut project scientists are now developing a nationwide standardized database.