In the 14th century, the French village of Chaudes-Aigues in the volcanic region of Auvergne established the first operational district heating system in the world. Wooden pipes were transporting water from a hot spring to a network of approximately 30 houses. This plant is considered the birth of district heating and was based on 100% renewable energy – geothermal energy. 700 years later the situation is very different. In 2018, 75% of heating and cooling in the EU were being generated from fossil fuels, so this is a key area for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
 
Now, a group of engineers and industry experts have joined forces in the European H2020 Innovation Project WEDISTRICT (smart and local reneWable Energy DISTRICT heating and cooling solutions for sustainable  living) to create four 100% fossil free heating and cooling solutions across Europe. They will integrate different sources of renewable energies and excess heat in new and existing district heating and cooling systems in Spain, Romania, Poland and Sweden.
 
The project is coordinated by ACCIONA and involves additional ECTP members including RISE & R2M Solution.
 
You are invited to register to the Community of Interest (CoI) of the project: in addition to being informed about the project progress, CoI members will be offered a chance to beta-test the Open Source WEDISTRICT tool for DHC design & planning when it is released.
 
WEDISTRICT is also organizing a workshop at Sustainable Places – 28-30 October 2020 – together with REWARDHeat,  RELaTED and INDIGO projects. The workshop is open to additional projects in the field of innovative approaches to District Heating and Cooling.

Please contact María Victoria Cambronero (mvcambronero@acciona.com) and Carola Bosio (carola.bosio@r2msolution.com) to discuss potential cooperation at this workshop.

Source: R2M Solution