A recent and interesting EU report (see attachment) provides an overview of the current status, emerging trends, and the potential of district heating and cooling systems. It sets out how intelligent control and data exchange throughout the system can help to control the operations of thermal networks for optimal performance in the short and medium term. The report makes a couple of points that are worth noting:
- First, there were in 2022 around 19 000 district heating networks in Europe with a collective installed thermal capacity of approximately 333 gigawatts. But there is only a total installed capacity of 7.74 gigawatts (within around 200 installations) for district cooling. When it comes to smart thermal networks, the report states that EU is a global leader with more networks operating at lower temperatures and with a higher share of renewables in the systems.
- Second, the reports notes in its analysis of the different networks that even if a 5GDHC can be characterized as a smart thermal grid, it represents a significant departure from the earlier generation networks as the underlying philosophy and capabilities are distinctly different. Hence, cities must carefully consider which system aligns best with their specific circumstances, such as their existing DHC infrastructure, prevalent heating technologies, building insulation standards, grid capacity, RES availability, and any construction limitations.
The Netherlands has still a limited number of heating and/or cooling networks, but a relatively high level of local renewable energy (solar). Hence, XChains believes that the Netherlands could potentially play an interesting role in the development of these smart thermal networks. It should make use of the requirement to replace natural gas as heating source by giving a focus towards 5GDHC networks and bring about the considerable innovation potential of smart thermal networks. If this is done, it could become a leading country in respect of the smart thermal networks.
