Project proposals should address one or more of the following areas:

  • Develop, demonstrate and deploy a new generation of highly efficient, intelligent district heating and cooling systems which are capable of integrating multiple efficient generation sources, including different kinds of renewable energy, cogeneration, waste heat from industrial or other sources and storage, and which can be operated at different temperature levels. Such systems can be new schemes or refurbished and optimised existing DH systems. These systems might combine hybrid technologies and/or new thermal carrier fluids to improve the overall efficiency; help decrease the end user cost of transporting heating and cooling energy, be compatible and connected with intelligent electricity and gas networks; and utilize surplus electricity from the grid. Such systems should be compatible with and capable of integration with low-energy buildings, including nearly zero energy buildings (e.g. by means of low-temperature district heating).
  • Bring down heat distribution losses and integrate storage through the use of innovative pipe and capacity design, high performance insulation materials, reduced operating temperatures, intelligent, efficient system for fluid handling carriers or intelligent metering, control and grid optimisation strategies, including from analysing smart meter data, consumer interaction and behaviour.
  • Develop optimisation, control, metering, planning and modelling tools such as intelligent thermal agile controllers embedding self-learning algorithms which help to optimise the overall efficiency of technology-hybrid systems and IT supervision systems capable of delivering real-time performance indicators, which are likely to modify consumption behaviour.
  • Develop new solutions for low temperature heat recovery and recirculation.

The activities are expected to be implemented at TRL 4-6 (please see part G of the General Annexes).

Read more