Massify district heating and cooling from renewable energy sources to reduce CO2 emissions of buildings

Solutions developed

The HEAT&COOL LIFE project aims to increase the number of district heating and cooling networks powered by renewable energy sources and/or waste heat recovery, in order to reduce the CO2 emissions of the building sector. This main objective will be achieved thanks to: a reduction in the heating and cooling demand of buildings already connected to district heating and cooling networks by going from a gain of 46,900 tons/year of CO2 from existing networks in 2017 to around 125,000 tons/year by 2026 due to an increase in the size of these networks by removing legal and economic barriers.

Main results

Increase in the district heating and cooling networks powered by more than 60% of renewable energy from over 90 km in 2017 to over 230 km in 2026;
Increase in the quantity of heating and cooling produced from renewable sources distributed by the district networks from 225 GWh/year in 2017 to 665 GWh/year in 2026;
Increase in the savings of CO2 equivalent emissions of district heating and cooling networks from almost 47,000 tonnes/year in 2017 to 125,000 tonnes/year in 2026;
Creation of 460 jobs in the regional sector by 2026, versus 200 jobs today, and 40 trained professionals.