A great success for Upgrade DH Project: an important contributor to support the energy transition in heating sector
Optit attended the event of the Upgrade DH project, supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
It was a full success: more than 90 participants attended the event, asked questions, and contributed to a fruitful discussion on modern heating solutions.
Modern and renewable district heating systems are very important technologies for achieving the European climate mitigation targets, including the aim to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century according to the Paris Agreement. This was the important message of the final Upgrade DH workshop “Towards efficient district heating and cooling in Europe” which took place on Wednesday, 15 September 2021, online.
“The heating sector was for a long time neglected in the political debate, in comparison to the power sector”, stated Dominik Rutz, the coordinator of the Upgrade DH project. It was therefore strongly acknowledged that the spotlight is currently directed on renewable heating and energy, at least at the European level. Radoš Horáček, representative of DG Energy of the European Commission, presented the current European energy efficiency legislation and discussion on the higher uptake of sustainable renewable heating and cooling. For example, the “Fit for 55 Package” of the European Commission proposes a new 55% greenhouse gas reduction target for 2030, whereby measures in the heating sector will play a significant role in achieving this target.
Finally, in the framework of the workshop participants had a chance to virtually visit two CHP plants that recently undertook upgrading measures and can serve as inspiration for other DH systems striving to become more efficient. These examples of knowledge exchange are needed and will lead to a stepwise improvement of the DH sector in Europe and thereby contributing significantly towards the 1.5 °C climate target.
It has been a fantastic experience for Optit professionals, and this assigns a mission to keep supporting upgrading and increasing performance of district energy systems. Optit is up to the challenge.
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