Geo DHC Knowledge Base

SAPHEA addresses the market uptake of geothermal energy and underground heat storage supplied multivalent heating and cooling networks, which operate at temperatures of less than 30°C and up to around 100°C. The range of applications of geoHC networks starts at local-scale networks with capacity levels of at least 500 kWth, including sub- and peri-urban regions across Europe. SAPHEA addresses the installation of new geoHC networks (greenfield installations or replacement of individual heating and cooling solutions), as well as the retrofitting of existing, fossil fuel-supplied heating networks. SAPHEA has surveyed the different types of geoHC installations all over Europe, summarizing them in a Scenario Catalogue.
The EU Commission stated repeatedly that heating and cooling (‘HC’) plays a crucial role in the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy by 2050  as it accounts for half of the energy consumption in Europe from buildings and industry . Across all energy carriers, renewable energy sources (RES) account for 18% of the primary energy supply for HC in the EU-27, and IEA forecasts that at the global level the RES share of heat consumption will rise from 11% in 2020 to 13% in 2026 . Whilst the EU has set higher sectoral targets for the increase of RES-HC share by 2030 (2018/2001/EU), still growth is hindered by a lack of policy, financial incentives, and public funding for renewable heat. District heating and cooling (‘DHC’) has a great potential to decarbonize the HC sector, yet it registers  a limited penetration in several European countries, supplying on average only 8% of the total final energy demand for HC, mainly in the residential (55%) and tertiary (30%) sectors .
SAPHEA’s overall goal is therefore to address the prevailing barriers of renewable heat by developing and supporting market uptake measures for enabling geoHC networks to significantly contribute to the European HC sector. This in turn will contribute to a gradual and continuous replacement of fossil fuels while at the same time increasing the use of on-site available, low-exergy RES in order to reach the 2050 zero net emissions goals of the European Union.

In order to reach this overall goal, SAPHEA targets 5 specific objectives:

O1-Establishing a digital access point for decision-making support and consultancy of regional decision-makers and market actors towards implementing geoHC networks in Europe:

The digital ‘Market Uptake Hub’ will provide science-based knowledge transfer to stakeholders not aware or trained in the use of geoHC networks. While the project initiates basic infrastructures and competencies needed for better integration of geoHC networks, interactions with existing international networks, organisations and platforms will also be key to ensure the durability of these achievements. Exploitation and communication activities will therefore focus on the transformation of the project outcomes into a persistent consultancy infrastructure in Europe instead of ad hoc fixes with a limited lifetime

.

O2-Adapting and upgrading existing datasets, methodologies and tools towards better integration of geoHC networks in early-stage investment decisions and strategic planning:

Closing knowledge gaps and reducing informative barriers will support regional decision-makers and market actors in the transformation process towards green and sustainable HC by offering tailored pathways, taking into account regional assets and constraints.

O3-Contributing to the development of a supportive market framework to facilitate future investments into geoHC networks:

Based on a better understanding of key market drivers and connecting technological, legal, financial, and business-related aspects, the project will offer policy recommendations and blueprints of tailored financing and business concepts to make investing in geoHC networks more attractive. Market actors will be empowered to draft medium- to long-term pathways for the rollout of geoHC networks, taking into account both proven and emerging technologies at a lower TRL.  

O4-Bringing geoHC networks closer to regional stakeholders by considering the different geographical and socio-economic landscapes in Europe:

Learning from a diverse range of case regions across Europe to provide tools and concepts for the entire EU will help to turn prevailing market barriers into market boosters. This will include building a better understanding of the needs, social barriers and implications of geoHC as well as knowledge gaps across regions to enhance the social inclusiveness of projects and citizen perception. Increasing the visibility and awareness of such projects will be the first important step to better integrate geoHC networks in the European landscape. Capacity building within the project will aim to reduce biased opinions and to initiate a continuous science to policy and market dialogue.

O5-Empowering future investors and operators of geoHC networks:

A designated capacity-building program will train future market actors operating within the case regions or on an international level to use the single access point Market Uptake Hub and its tools effectively. This will include direct interaction between consortium members and external stakeholders in joint drafting exercises as well as ‘train the trainers’ missions targeting multipliers.    

The literature used for preparation of SAPHEAs deliverables is collected in a free accessible Zotero library. On this page we provide the complete publication list, the full library is accessable via the following link:

Link to SAPHEAs Group library on Zotero