About us

100% RE Districts

Steering Committee (part of RHC Board):

– Chair of HWG: Giorgio Bonvicini, RINA Consulting
– Vice-chair: Tomislav Novosel, REGEA

Management of the group:

Laura Fernandes Junasová, Euroheat & Power 

 

Focus and mission of the 100% RE Districts HWG:

Heating & cooling and hot water preparation account for over half of the energy demand in buildings. Paired with an increasing urbanization rate, this demand defines one of the key challenges of the energy transition in Europe (and beyond).

How to decarbonize heating & cooling in urban districts includes a cluster of challenges, e.g.:

  • Refurbishment rates of buildings and replacement rates of fossil fuel heating systems are low;
  • Fossil fuel prices are generally low, also due to direct and indirect subsidies;
  • Space for harvesting and storing locally available energy is sometimes limited;
  • Ownership structures are often highly diverse and responsibilities are unclear.

At the same time, urban districts come with a number of opportunities:

  • Dense population allows for the use of community schemes such as DHC and citizen-led energy projects like energy communities and positive energy districts;
  • DHC allows for harvesting of locally available otherwise unused sources, and where DHC is not possible other technologies can fill the gap;
  • Cities and municipal companies as well as large building owners can start the necessary steps.

The group works in close collaboration with the other HWGs and focuses specifically on all solutions implemented at district level (thus not on single buildings or at entire city level), covering technological aspects but also social, economic and governance-related facets.

 

Objectives of the Districts HWG (agreed by the members in September 2026) 

  • Support the decarbonisation of heating, cooling and domestic hot water at district level, with a focus on practical and scalable solutions.   
  • Bridge climate and energy targets with implementation, identifying the technical, economic, regulatory, governance and social conditions needed for deployment.   
  • Promote integrated district energy systems combining renewable energy, waste/excess heat, thermal energy storage, smart controls and energy efficiency/management.   
  • Support the development of Positive Energy Districts and energy communities, including collective generation, storage, flexibility and DHC solutions.   
  • Address the economic and governance dimensions of district energy, including ownership models, financing, business models and cost-benefit considerations.   
  • Consider different scales and configurations of district energy systems, from large DHC networks to small, decentralised and low-temperature systems serving clusters of buildings.   
  • Strengthen resilience and energy security at district level, including decentralised, flexible and locally integrated energy solutions.   
  • Identify barriers to replication and deployment and develop recommendations for cities, utilities, building owners, policymakers and other stakeholders.   
  • Map and connect relevant projects, initiatives, stakeholders and knowledge, including European and national R&I projects, IEA TCPs and relevant associations.   
  • Provide a district-level perspective to European R&I and policy processes, including the SET Plan and related initiatives.  

 

The HWG meets regularly via web meetings, and physical meetings.

 

Publications

 

Active members: 

  • Adrian Mota Babiloni, Universitat Jaume I 
  • Alice Denarie, Politecnico di Milano 
  • Andrea Rocchetti, DIEF università di Firenze 
  • Anil Kumar, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur 
  • Àngel Andreu de Alamo, Veolia 
  • Angel Bianco, IPM SOLUTIONS 2018 S.L. 
  • Attila Kujbus, Geothermal Express Ltd. 
  • Borja Flagg Diaz, SoleaHeat 
  • Bulent Yesilata, AYBU 
  • Caroline Haglund Stignor, RISE 
  • Christian Doczekal, Güssing Energy Technologies GmbH 
  • David Kecskemeti, Hungarian District Heating Association 
  • Dominika Lange, COGEN Europe 
  • Dr Metkel Yebiyo, Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) 
  • Hrvoje Dorotić Dorotic, Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar (EIHP) 
  • Ioana Ionel, Politehnica University of Timisoara 
  • Kashif Mushtaq, Iberian Center for Research in Energy Storage – CIIAE 
  • Lorenzo Talluri, Università degli Studi di Firenze 
  • Luis Coelho, Polytechnic University of Setúbal 
  • Magdalena Berberich, Solites – Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH 
  • Maria Koukou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens 
  • Monica Arnaudo, Siemens 
  • Nigel Cotton, EREF 
  • Oliver Buchan, Oliveris Tech Incubator 
  • Ralf Schmidt, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH 
  • Ramanunni Parakkal Menon, German Aerospace Centre (DLR) 
  • Rosaria Volpe, University of Catania 
  • Tingting Zhu, University of Twente 
  • Uli Jakob, Dr. Jakob energy research GmbH & Co. KG