Hot Cool no. 4 is about HOW TO GET STARTED. In this edition you can read about the "Waste Heat Knowledge and Communications Gap" in the UK and how to address it, and about how a municipality in Belgium got started with sustainable district heating. Do not miss the interesting article "Digitalization of the demand-side" and the column stating "Let's compete - but against relevant alternatives! You can look forward to some fantastic articles that give great input to “How to get started.” First, a team from Ramboll introduces the different roles different actors have to take to make these urban infrastructure projects successful. Maëlle pinpoints two essential conditions that need to be in place to make a DH fly. The choice of components is vital – of course, it is! Read how your Owners Engineer should play a vital role in ensuring the highest quality level of your system. And finally, Denmark ranks at the top of the World Energy Councils' energy security, energy equity, and sustainability rating. Of course, district heating is key – read how and why in this issue of Hot Cool.
NO. 4 / 2022
INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE ON DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING
HOW TO GET STARTED?
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E FOCUS: HOW TO GET STARTED?
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COLUMN LET’S COMPETE - BUT AGAINST RELEVANT ALTERNATIVES By Morten Jordt Duedahl and Lars Gullev
By Charlotte Owen 4
10 12
How to start with sustainable district heating: A FLANDERS/BELGIAN MUNICIPALITY APPROACH By Esther Biermans, Glenn Reynders and Robbe Salenbien
THE WASTE HEAT KNOWLEDGE AND COMMUNICATIONS GAP
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Feedback from our 2019 Conference
DIGITALIZATION OF THE DEMAND-SIDE: By Michele Tunzi and Svend Svendsen
MEMBER COMPANY PROFILE: DIN FORSYNING By Claus A. Nielsen
Adriana: What made me laugh was to see how uncomfortable
the room was at the beginning of the session with the drag queens. We were all like 'oh, this is so weird...' And I was sitting next to people that I'm negoti- ating with or consultants that I work with and we were all like 'aaah....this is not what we do...". And as time went by, things just changed. People embraced it and were designing their dolls…
Lina: ...there was dancing…
The data suggests diversity correlates with better financial performance. Likelihood of financial performance above national industri median, by diversity quartile, % Ethic diversity Top quartile Bottom quartile 58
Adriana: …dancing - that made me laugh a lot! We were just so awkward and out of our com- fort space as soon as we had to do something with glitter and glue and paper!
43
+35%
Gender diversity Top quartile Bottom quartile
54
47
+15%
Gender and ethic diversity combined Top quartile All other quartiles
53
40
+25%
Source: McKinsey Diversity Database
1 Photo of men at board meeting from social media: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davidclancefield_ceos-diversity- inclusion-activity-6901111290907947008-ZbS-?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web
DBDH Stæhr Johansens Vej 38 DK-2000 Frederiksberg Phone +45 8893 9150
Editor-in-Chief: Lars Gullev, VEKS
Total circulation: 5.000 copies in 74 countries 10 times per year
Grafisk layout Kåre Roager, kaare@68design.dk
2 Quote and the graphic both from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
Coordinating Editor: Linda Bertelsen, DBDH lb@dbdh.dk
info@dbdh.dk www.dbdh.dk
ISSN 0904 9681
https://www.districtheatingdivas.com/
LET'S COMPETE - but against relevant alternatives In many places, new fossil-free heating solutions are met with requirements stipulating that they cannot cost more than natural gas. The reasoning behind such a rule is difficult to under- stand and will clearly not do any good for the green transition in heating.
By Morten Jordt Duedahl, Business Development Manager, DBDH and Lars Gullev, Managing Director, VEKS and Vice president, IEA DHC
At the same time, we constantly discuss the need to protect all against continued carbon emissions. Look at the "fossil-free by dates" set by countries, industries, and others. With a "not- more-than-natural-gas regime," governments do not live up to their pledge to protect their citizens and future generations against the effect of carbon emissions. As has been shown many times, we will and should end up with heating solutions in small, large, and mega-size cities based on diverse heat sources and large storages. Everywhere else (roughly), we should have individual heat pumps support- ed by renewable power. Should someone consider hydrogen, biogas, or other precious fuel sources for heating buildings, the district heating industry is happy to compete – and win 🙂 The present energy crisis may be a tipping point as the com- petition with natural gas has suddenly become easy to win. But, still, the right decisions should be taken. Today many solutions can win against natural gas, but the real competition should be among the fossil-free options. May the best fossil free solutions be the winner. Let's compete in the same class and on equal terms. The "not more than"-rule is not equal terms as it takes an obsolete, out- dated, fossil, (for many) import-dependent, and politically con- troversial solution as the baseline. The baseline should not be fossil solutions; the lowest price should determine the winner, maybe supplemented with local requirements like import in- dependence, future proof, job creation, and pollution-free. With such a rule, all would get the best solution and the lowest price. PS: Hydrogen, PtX, CCU, and the integration to district heating are the theme for the following two issues of Hot Cool. They will be out right after the summer break. Spoiler alert: These technologies are needed and can provide enormous amounts of surplus heat – but should never heat buildings.
District heating is ready to compete with all heating alterna- tives – but of course on equal terms. Throw heat pumps, hydro- gen, biogas, and everything else that is sustainable at district heating, and we will see who wins. In some instances, modern solutions may cost more than (sub- sidized) “black” natural gas. In these situations, a carbon-neu- tral solution also must be found. Under a "not more than" rule, the risk is to leave many people behind in areas where no green solution can compete against the subsidized natural gas prices. Should these areas not be offered a carbon-neutral heating solution? Do they have to freeze? It is a government's task to protect its citizens against price increases they cannot afford or will dramatically change their lives. But at the same time, it is also the government's task to protect its citizens against climate change and its effects. Affordability can be many things. Black, natural gas may look affordable (pricewise), but that price does not include all costs and will leave a debt to be paid in the future. When is a non-sustainable solution affordable? The problem lies in the comparisons to an obsolete, fossil solution we should not be allowed to install anymore. A com- parison to fossil solutions is not realistic nor relevant to make. Imagine this situation! First, district heating looks like a viable solution, but the calculations show it is not price-competitive to natural gas. Then a comparison between heat pumps and natural gas is made, and again gas presents the lowest cost. Do we think installing natural gas is a good idea then? Of course not. We all know it is a bad idea and should be avoided. A new neighbourhood should not have natural gas! On the other hand, there is a strong and relevant need to pro- tect customers against sudden price increases they cannot afford. We need to ensure that this protection is given to ser- vices/products we find are the right ones, the solutions that benefit society and customers. Here is not the place to tell how – just to raise the concern.
THE WASTE HEAT KNOWLEDGE AND COMMUNICATIONS GAP
There’s a knowledge and communication gap between the heat networks industry and high-temperature industry about waste heat, and it needs addressing in the UK.
By Charlotte Owen, Principal Energy Policy Advisor, Energy Governance Partnership, Danish Embassy in London
Reframing industrial waste heat as a cooling need can help us better understand how to communicate with high-temperature industries in a way that’s appealing to them.
Waste heat, it’s a no-brainer, right? It’s already there, it’s low carbon, and it can be very cheap. BEIS (Department for Busi- ness, Energy & Industrial Strategy, UK) has identified 8 TWh/yr with economic potential (source) . So why aren’t we using more of it? To answer this question, we need to look not at the heat networks industry, but at industrial sectors that produce waste heat. Here, I’m going to explore how putting ourselves in the shoes of a prospective waste heat supplier might help reframe the way we think and communicate about waste heat.
For those producing energy or managing industrial processes, this is generally not the main way they think about waste heat. They are not waste heat producers; waste heat is just part of their waste streams. It’s a waste stream because high-temper- ature heat cannot be released into the environment around us, according to environmental regulations in the UK. It must first be cooled to reduce the environmental impact of the heat and minimise thermal pollution. Thermal pollution occurs when human influence changes ambient water temperature. This can reduce the oxygen content in bodies of water and induce thermal shock in aquatic life, ultimately impacting our ecosys- tem. This creates a need for cooling. Something interesting happens when we look at industrial waste heat as a cooling need. Instead of looking at waste heat as a resource, it becomes a cooling problem that we need to solve . This is the perspective of the prospective heat supplier. This fundamentally changes how we should approach discus- sions with high-temperature industries about waste heat.
Waste heat or a cooling need? Heat networks as a cooling service
Another way to look at industrial waste heat is as a cooling need. This is how it’s often looked at in Denmark, a country where around 28% of heat supplied to heat networks is surplus heat from energy from waste (EfW) or industrial processes. Heat is a product of energy production, and it’s a by-product of industrial processes. In the heat networks industry, we call this waste heat, and we see it as a potential opportunity for a low-carbon, low-cost source of heat that contributes to a more efficient economy.
Ultimately, waste heat is not the core business of an EfW, whose core business is managing waste. It’s not the core busi-
ness of a power plant either, a distillery or a cement factory. There are not huge sums of money to be made in selling waste heat compared to selling power, whisky, or cement, even in a policy regime designed to incentivise its use. However, waste heat can be a way to cost-effectively manage an industrial cooling need or meet environmental ambitions associated with cooling. It can even create a small revenue stream. An industrial facility with a cooling need might be consider- ing installing a new mechanical draft cooling tower without a heat recovery system – this will, of course, have a cost associat- ed with it that affects a company’s bottom line. Most cooling systems are a cost to the business. Another way to meet this cooling need might be to install a heat network supply con- nection. This is essentially a similar process. The heat is taken into the heat network, and the cool water is returned to the environment. The heat network supply connection brings with it an opportunity to recover part of the costs of the cooling in- vestment through the sale of heat. In the right policy context, this should make for a more financially interesting proposition. What does all this mean, then? Well, it means that heat net- works are actually offering a cooling service to industrial fa- cilities. This changes how we should discuss waste heat with prospective suppliers. It also provides an insight into how con- tracts might be structured. In Denmark, the cost of waste heat is often benchmarked against the alternative cost of cooling. Intermittency, security of supply, and contracts The framing of waste heat is not the only challenge. Miscon- ceptions about waste heat are prevalent, and this is ultimately hampering how much we’re making use of waste heat. In early 2022, the Danish Embassy and the Scottish Govern- ment held a joint roundtable with key senior government officials and representatives from the industry to discuss waste heat. Our roundtable focused on the whisky industry, as distilleries were identified to have up to 325,000MWh/annum waste heat potential in Scotland (a relatively big potential for a small country). The Scotch Whisky Association raised a com- mon challenge in the discussion on waste heat: intermittency of heat supply and the risk that this is penalised through con- tracts. The view that intermittent heat sources cannot work on heat networks in the UK is a common one, but it’s a miscon- ception – a misconception which the heat networks industry in the UK could do more to combat. Intermittent heat sources can be managed effectively on heat networks by diversifying generation and ensuring adequate capacity to supply the heat network in the event of a shut- down. Linked with this, thermal storage is a key enabler of in- termittent heat sources, as it provides a buffer service day-to-
day, and week-to-week, for both the network (ensuring stable heat supply) and the industry (ensuring stable cooling supply).
Intermittency is ultimately about the security of supply, and like any other network infrastructure, heat network operators will conduct risk assessments and make provisions to ensure the security of supply. Yet, there is a prevailing view in the UK that as a distillery, or a cement factory, you might end up as the sole supplier of a heat network. Concerns like ‘what happens to the heat when cement production shuts down for plant main- tenance?’ are common. Businesses play a central role in their communities and do not want their community left without heat. Of course, they need not worry; the key point is that an intermittent heat source would never be the sole supplier to a heat network. Why, then, is this view so common? Call to action: communication = confidence Our roundtable concluded that more must be done to better communicate with high-temperature industries about how intermittency is managed and how risks are allocated in con- tracts. We must address this misconception that waste heat from industry would ever be the sole heat source on a heat network. There is potential benefit here from standardisation or providing some guidance, which could be explored jointly by industry and government. This could help provide greater confidence to the sectors. There is also a role for showcasing successful waste heat use examples, to provide confidence to a market where this is still relatively new. A great example from Denmark is the Aalborg Portland cement factory, which annually recovers enough heat for 23,500 households equiv- alent for use in the district heat network. So, next time you’re talking about industrial waste heat, perhaps consider step- ping into the shoes of a prospective heat supplier. Just a fraction of heat networks in the UK uses waste heat from EfW or industrial processes, with 90% still running on gas. In the future, it’s estimated by BEIS that around 17% of heat supply to district heating could come from waste heat sources in an electrification, hydrogen, or gas scenario. How do we get there, though? We won’t if we can’t get waste heat suppliers on board. Cost remains a central barrier for waste heat in the UK, with the cost of a heat network connection still relatively high. Industry can start thinking more about how it communicates about waste heat, but it’s a govern- ment (alongside innovation) that helps play a role in reducing the cost of waste heat connections.
For further information please contact: Charlotte Owen, chaowe@um.dk
DIGITALIZATION OF THE DEMAND-SIDE:
The enabler for low-temperature operations in existing buildings connected to district heating networks
By Michele Tunzi, Tecnical University of Denmark, DTU Construct, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, and Svend Svendsen, Professor at Technical University of Denmark
Abstract The digitalization of the demand side increased significantly in the last few years. This was mainly due to the impulse of the European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED 2012/2018), binding member states to have all energy meters remotely readable by January 2027. In collaboration with the Danish in- dustrial partners and the local district heating (DH) operator in Viborg, the innovative use and integration of data from heat cost allocators, DH energy meters, and temperature sensors helped secure low-temperature operations in existing build- ings. It was documented that existing buildings connected to the local DH network can be comfortably heated with a supply and return temperature of 55/30 °C in the DH at 0 °C outdoor temperature without any deep energy renovation in the build- ing or investments, yet secure correct control and operation of the heating systems. Introduction The new Green Deal set the new strategy for the transition to- wards a sustainable European energy system. The ambitious goals aim to achieve a carbon-free society by 2050 by integrat- ing renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and other sus- tainable solutions. In this direction, due to its high flexibility to integrate several energy sources and recover locally available excess heat, DH has been recognized as a key technology to sustain the green transitions and ensure the security of supply to the end-users. The current DH technological challenge is to develop new solu- tions to sustain the 4th Generation DH (4GDH) shift. The core idea is to secure the expected comfort and hygiene for space heating and domestic hot water systems in buildings with low average supply and return temperatures in the range of 55 °C and 25 °C in the networks. Reducing the operating tempera-
tures in networks can secure the phase-out of fossil-fuel-based heat generation, minimize heat losses in the distribution net- works, and reduce the energy use and overall cost of heating. Under the assumption of a future European DH sales of 950 TWh and a temperature reduction of 30 °C, it was estimated that low-temperature district heating (LTDH) could secure a potential yearly cost reduction of 14 billion euros. The DH operators can control the supply temperatures and the pressure in the networks according to the seasonal variation of the heat demand. In contrast, the DH return temperature depends exclusively on the operations of the heating systems. Several studies found that existing buildings may be comfort- ably heated with supply temperatures below 55 °C for most of the heating season, but this is rarely the case. In fact, the inefficient control of space heating and domestic hot water systems limits low-temperature operations, particularly for large existing multi-storey buildings. Another common issue is related to the non-uniform heat distribution among different flats leading the entire building to be operated with unneces- sary high supply temperatures. Hence, the buildings are seen as one of the major bottlenecks for the green transition of the DH industry. Role of the digitalization of demand-side The new European Energy Efficiency Directive 2018/2002 is binding member states to have all energy meters, including submeters in multi-storey buildings with central heating or connected to DH networks, remotely readable by 1 January 2027. While the primary intention of the policy is to secure bill- ing transparency for the end-users, the impulse to digitalize the demand side is opening new opportunities to monitor the heating systems, improve the operation, and ensure the ex- pected comfort in existing buildings with lower temperatures.
ture sensors were developed to estimate the minimum supply temperature necessary to secure the indoor comfort based on the apartment with the greatest heat demand in multi-storey buildings. A strategy to gradually reduce the supply tempera- ture in existing multifamily buildings was investigated in col- laboration with industrial partners and the local DH operator in Viborg (Denmark). Experience from a local Danish district heating network The experiment was carried out in five existing multifamily buildings connected to the local DH network. None of them went through a deep energy renovation, representing a sam- ple of ordinary Danish residential buildings. The results doc- umented that it was possible to ensure the heating comfort in the apartments with supply temperatures below 55 °C at outdoor temperatures of 0 °C in all buildings. This was in line with the general low-temperature DH require- ments, as illustrated in Figure 1. The new minimum supply temperature curve for the space heating system, presented in the figure, was estimated for the apartment with the highest heat demand in one of the buildings. This was below the cor- responding DH supply temperature control curve, highlight- ing that low-temperature heating can be introduced in typical residential properties by simply adjusting the central weather compensation controller settings. The figure also reported the real energy distribution for 2021 according to the different outdoor temperatures. Over 70% of the total heat consumption was used at outdoor temperatures above 0 °C. This suggests that for the most significant part of the heating season, the DH networks can be operated with a supply temperature of 55 °C. Furthermore, outdoor tempera- tures below -9 °C were never recorded in 2021, showing that the design conditions rarely happen in actual operations and that the heating systems are generally oversized and therefore suitable for being operated with lower temperatures.
Innovative integration of data from heat cost allocators (mounted on each radiator), DH energy meters, and tempera-
Figure 1: Minimized operating temperatures in a multifamily building and DH low-supply temperature control curve.
Figure 2: Minimum supply temperature based on the critical flat compared to the daily average measured supply temperature for January 2022 and February 2022
The local DH operator in Viborg is shifting the heat genera- tion from natural gas to sustainable alternatives. Investments in large heat pumps represent the first step of the green transition plan, and lower supply temperatures will reduce heat generation costs due to lower electricity consumption. This will also benefit the end-users with lower heating bills. Acknowledgment The authors wish to thank the industrial partners Viborg Varme, Brunata A/S, and Grundfos A/S for collaborating with the Danish Energy Agency, and the EUDP program for funding the investigation.
The experimental findings in one of the buildings documented an excellent fit between the heating system’s measured dai- ly supply and return temperatures and the innovative control curve calculated using the data from the heat cost allocators and central district heating energy meters, as presented in Figure 2. Hence, existing buildings can be comfortably heated with low operating temperatures even without deep energy renovation, and during the test period, the supply temperature was never above 50 °C. Finally, the possibility of minimizing the operating temper- atures inside buildings will be reflected accordingly in the network. This is crucial for the overall economy of the system.
For further information please contact: Michele Tunzi: mictun@dtu.dk
HOW TO START WITH SUSTAINABLE DISTRICT HEATING: A FLANDERS/ BELGIAN MUNICIPALITY APPROACH Municipalities in Flanders and Belgium are starting to implement sustainable district heating, and they can use a three-step methodology in this starting phase: Let’s meet: The energy broker
Let’s plan and map: Heat zoning plans and maps Let’s calculate and design the optimal trajectory at a municipality scale: Pathway optimization
By Esther Biermans, Energy Broker, Province of Antwerp, Glenn Reynders, R&D Professional Sustainable Urban Development and Robbe Salenbien, Senior Researcher, PhD
Energy broker A large proportion of our total energy consumption is used for heat, both for industry and for domestic heating. We current- ly use fossil fuels almost exclusively for this purpose and mak- ing heat more sustainable is essential for the transition to a low-carbon energy system. The great challenge here is to bring providers and consumers of heat into contact with each other. And there is often still a prior step missing: making companies aware of the potential of available (residual) heat that they can supply to consumers. To facilitate this energy exchange, energy brokers can be brought in. The energy broker is a public broker who connects (residual) energy from companies to potential energy custom- ers. It is a methodology developed in the Interreg-DOEN pro- ject (Sustainable Development Energy Neutrality) in Flanders and the Netherlands, from 2018 to 2021. The Interreg-DOEN project has now come to an end, but many Flemish and Dutch partners continue to take on the role of energy broker. A fol- low-up project and the platform for the energy broker (https:// www.platformenergiemakelaar.be/) are now being developed. The platform is an online community on which energy brokers can exchange knowledge and experiences and offer training to new partners who want to offer themselves as energy brokers. Residual heat from companies can be exchanged with other companies, public buildings, or even private partners. For lo- cal authorities, it is not always easy to make this jigsaw puzzle of heat supply and demand fit together. From the very begin- ning, the independent energy broker acts as a liaison between the various partners in a joint energy project such as a district
heating network. For public authorities, the energy broker can therefore, together with all stakeholders, focus on the objec- tives of the project and establish the link between supply and demand. What are the possibilities? Who are the right part- ners? How will the district heating network become workable in the long term? All these questions are taken into account by the energy broker to make the project a success. Once the right partners are in contact, the objectives are defined and the project has gotten off to a good start, the energy broker can take a step back and leave the actual elaboration of the project to the project partners. Heat zoning plan, heat policy plan, heat vision, heat zoning maps Cities and municipalities are thinking hard about how they can help achieve European, national and regional climate ambitions locally. One of the issues here is how buildings will be heated in the future. In order to realize a well-considered energy transition, heat zoning plans are a particularly useful instrument. A heat zoning plan maps out a vision for the fu- ture by indicating for the territory of a municipality in which neighbourhoods and streets sustainable heat can be supplied via a heat network in the future, or where sustainable heat will be produced at individual building level. Ideally, such a heat zoning plan goes together with a heat policy plan – which in- cludes the policy steps to realize the heat zoning plan – and is based on a thorough local heat vision and analysis of the local context.
Because a heat zoning plan aims to provide all stakeholders – from local residents and companies to investors and policy- makers – with guidance in making their own energy choices, one of the major challenges is to draw up broadly supported heat zoning plans that reflect climate ambitions taking into account local social, demographic and economic interests. Nevertheless, the starting point in the heat zoning process typically lies in mapping the current heat demand, estimating different scenarios about the evolution of that heat demand and making an inventory of potential sustainable sources for meeting the heat (and cold) demand. Using extensive data analyses and simulations, this knowledge is brought together in heat zoning maps. The heat zoning maps are then an interesting tool for various parties such as policy makers, but also energy brokers from cit- ies and municipalities. They enable them to weigh up possible policy choices – which take into account socio-demographic factors in addition to techno-economic factors. But perhaps even more importantly, we see that in practice they mainly make it possible to identify opportunities – e.g. for 5th genera- tion heat networks - to be identified at an early stage. Pathway optimization By identifying such an opportunity, one is already one step closer to realizing a sustainable energy system. However, de- termining a design that meets all geographic and techno-eco- nomic requirements is a complex puzzle with many degrees of freedom, each of which can have a major impact on the feasibility of a project. Many interdependent choices have to be made; which of the mapped sources are linked to which users, via which pipeline route and at which temperature level, at what cost, … Completing such a puzzle has long ceased to be possible manually, and although designers have been using software that supports them for a long time to work out known net-
works in more detail, until recently there was no tool available that quickly and without simplification was able to determine the optimal design given all the preconditions contained in a heat zoning map. An initiative that can change this is PathOpt, a non-linear op- timization environment that determines an optimal network topology for geographically defined zones with known heat demand and possible sources. The non-linear aspect allows to calculate the physical behaviour of such a network without simplifying, while the optimization techniques used guarantee a fast performance. Both aspects together make it possible to calculate all kinds of scenarios in very short periods of time, and these form a crucial extra piece of information for the us- ers of heat zoning maps. Conclusion Successfully and sustainably developing a new district heating project can be a daunting task, as so many actors and infor- mation streams need to come together. Here, a three-step ap- proach was presented that provides a structured workflow. An energy broker helps in the earliest phases, bringing together customers and providers, who often are unaware of the role they could play. With the support of heat zoning maps, they can then zoom in on specific geographical regions that show great potential in term of social, demographic, and economic interest. Finally, software environments bring in the computa- tional power to quickly assess specific scenarios in the selected zones, so that all involved partners can select and weigh differ- ent options in the earliest stage of development and limit the amount of uncertainty involved.
For further information please contact: Erik De Schutter, erik.deschutter@vito.be
Member company profile:
District heating helps Esbjerg City become carbon-neutral by 2030
The Danish city of Esbjerg has very ambitious goals to become carbon neutral by 2030. By creating sector coupling to existing and future business sectors DIN Forsyning and district heating plays a key role in supporting the city’s development.
The next generation of district heating is modular and hybrid As a district heating supplier, DIN Forsyning has a lot of im- portant work ahead. First, we plan to transform and adapt our heat production and distribution to be as sustainable as possible. The key to success lies in combining renewable en- ergy sources and using resources and residues across sectors. And the solution must be digital, flexible, and intelligent – all brought together in a green energy station in Esbjerg. We will combine many small and different solutions, all linked to a central distribution network. It provides a flexible elec- tricity-powered utilization of waste heat from waste to energy plants, local industry, wastewater treatment, seawater, future data centers, and eFuel plants. It is a modular solution where each part is only used when rea- sonable – economically and environmentally. When the wind blows, electricity is generated from the wind turbines, which causes the heat pumps to start running. And when industrial production reaches a certain level, it enables the waste heat to be utilized. Instead of relying on a few large units, we believe several small- er sustainable units should supply the heat. Our plan involves a 70 MW CO2-based seawater heat pump plant, a biomass boiler plant, electric boilers, natural gas boilers, and industrial waste heat utilization. The goal is optimal utilization of waste heat which might include new seasonal heat storage capacity and future technologies. DIN Forsyning is a multi-utility company with district heating production and supply services, drinking water supply, wastewater treatment, and household and in- dustrial waste collection. The company is owned by the Municipality of Esbjerg and the Municipality of Varde and operates within the Danish laws and regulations of public utility supply. FACT BOX
Esbjerg City in Denmark is undergoing a huge change these years in transforming the carbon industry into a green city. Over the past decade, Esbjerg has become the European mar- ket leader in offshore wind, building on over fifty years of expe- rience with offshore oil and gas. Consequently, the energy tran- sition has the highest priority, and the municipality has stated the ambition to become carbon-neutral by 2030. DIN Forsyning is the local district heating supply company. Together with Port of Esbjerg and the municipality, we have created a task force to support the green transition of local companies and create a sustainable foundation to attract new industries in the power-to-X sector. District heating plays a crucial role in the transition of the city. The district heat distribution system can receive hot water from all kinds of sources. This unique feature can be used to help all the local companies reduce their CO2 consumption and thereby support the ambition of a carbon-neutral city. Sector coupling is an essential key to a future of climate-neutral energy In the future, DIN Forsyning wants to use excess heat from local companies directly in the distribution system. These could, e.g., be production companies or Power-to-X-companies, which generate heat in their production or production processes. For the production company, utilizing their excess heat in the district heating system could reduce their CO2 emissions sig- nificantly while also ensuring more sustainable products. By lowering the heat production at our heat plants, we would be able to reduce our CO2 emissions accordingly. In the future, we are also looking into whether our district heating system could be used as a cooling system – we have to position district heat- ing as a sustainable resource for the city as a whole. So far, the task force has been in dialogue with several large companies currently considering starting up in Esbjerg. Five Power-to-X companies have already announced their arrival, and the sustainable use of their excess heat in the district heat system is essential. However, excess heat cannot cover the demand for heat throughout the year. Therefore, DIN Forsyning is heavily invest- ing in several small heat plants.
For further information please contact: Claus A. Nielsen, Business Development Director, clan@dinforsyning.dk
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