Matteo Pozzi spoke as vice chair of the DHC+ Platform (Research & Innovation Hub of Euroheat & Power) at the conference “Digitalization as the Enabler for High Performance District Heating Systems”. The event is part of Annex TS4, “Digitalization of District Heating and Cooling: Optimized Operation and Maintenance of District Heating and Cooling Systems via Digital Process Management” of the International Energy Agency (IEA) district heating programme. It was organized in close cooperation with the Fraunhofer Cluster for Integrated Energy Systems (CINES).
Digitalization plays a crucial role as a key technology in improving the flexibility and efficiency of district heating and cooling systems. It facilitates wider integration of renewable energy and waste, significantly contributing to the decarbonisation of our energy supply.
However, the diversity of energy sources, the evolution of the different technologies specific to each area and the interconnection between sectors make operations in district heating increasingly complex. It is an ever-increasing and very stimulating challenge, we are in a new era of digitalisation solutions.
The Berlin meeting was an excellent opportunity for involvement between industrial partners, researchers and some utilities. During the event, several key elements emerged as focal points for future work, including scalability, interoperability, value chain integration and sector coupling. Furthermore, the need to work on a common language emerges as a crucial aspect, to allow engineers with different backgrounds and data scientists to collaborate on shared horizons.
Full DHC+ report can be downloaded here
