ThermaFLEX

The lead project for developing the district heating network of tomorrow

Fünf dünne Rohre in leicht verschwommener Darstellung bei Sonnenuntergang
Foto von Projektleiter Joachim Kelz und sein Zitat zum Projekt ThermaFLEX: „Klimafreundliche und nachhaltige Lösungen in der Fernwärme sind die Basis für eine intelligente Wärmeversorgung der Zukunft.“
In vier Rechtecken werden folgende Zahlen zum Projekt genannt: Zeitrahmen von 01.11.2018 bis 30.10.2022, 28 Partner, 4,6 Mio. Euro Budget und 10 Demonstratoren
© Green Energy Lab
Die Infografik zeigt die Rahmenbedingungen des Projekts ThermaFLEX (systemische Ansätze, nicht-technische Maßnahmen, technische Komponenten, Mehrwert)
Die Infografik zeigt die Vorgangsweise und Methodik des Projekts ThermaFLEX
Die Grafik zeigt eine hellblau eingefärbte Landkarte von Österreich. Elf Boxen mit den Titeln der Demonstratoren zeigen dabei auf unterschiedliche Orte in Wien, Salzburg und Steiermark
Foto von Ingo Leusbrock, Bereichsleiter Städte und Netze, und sein Zitat: „Wenn man an Nachhaltigkeit orientiert ist, sind Einzeltechnologien nicht zielführend. Es ist notwendig, verschiedene Ideen zu kombinieren, um das Bestmögliche herauszuholen.“

The large-scale research project ThermaFLEX has been successfully completed, the publishable final report can be DOWNLOADED here.

In 2016, Austria’s space heating demand amounted to approx. 87 TWh/a (total energy demand: 311 TWh/a). A quarter of this is provided via grid-connected heat supply through more than 2,000 district heating systems.

This means that the local and district heating sector already plays a central role in Austria’s energy supply. Around 5,400 kilometers of valuable heating pipe infrastructure have been laid in Austria. They pass sewage treatment plants as well as industrial and commercial operations whose residual and waste heat could be used in many ways, and on their way there are open spaces where solar heating systems and heat storage tanks could be installed. The already installed infrastructure, the existing expansion potential, especially in dense urban areas, the use of new concepts, technologies and renewable energy sources, the use of opportunities for sector coupling and the resulting contributions to the decarbonization of our energy system will make the sector even more important in the future.

Every fourth house in Austria is already supplied via heating networks – the aim of the ThermaFLEX flagship project is to make them more flexible. Consistently integrating renewable energies and waste heat into the heating networks of the future would not only improve the air in cities, but also avoid a considerable amount of CO₂ emissions, increase security of supply and protect consumers from rising oil and gas prices in the long term.

Objective of the project ThermaFLEX

The aim of the project was to develop strategies for making heating networks more flexible and to develop alternative energy sources for the heating networks in order to increase the proportion of renewable heat.

Approach and methodology of the project ThermaFLEX

In a sustainable and fully decarbonized energy system, for example, large shares of renewable, sometimes volatile energy sources, integrated sector coupling, decentralized energy conversion structures, etc. have led to a significant increase in system complexity. Gleichzeitig mussten aber einerseits die Versorgungs­sicherheit gewahrt bleiben sowie andererseits die Energiekosten für die Endkunden erschwinglich bleiben. This could only be achieved by increasing the flexibility of the overall system, which allows intelligent interaction between technical and non-technical elements.

District heating systems are ideally suited for measures to increase flexibility in terms of sector coupling, the integration of renewable energy sources, waste heat utilization, the use of heat storage, new operating strategies and user integration. This potential for flexibility can be further increased if holistic approaches are pursued and new scientific methods for simulation and optimization are used in planning, implementation and operation.

Demonstrators of the project ThermaFELX

The focus was on exemplary demonstrators in district heating supply areas in small, medium-sized and large cities, all of which were scientifically supported as part of the ThermaFLEX lead project and most of which have also been implemented in practice (further details on the individual demonstrators are available on the linked detail pages).

Check out the presentation “Increasing Flexibility in DH Systems”, which was presented at ISEC 2024!

The following model solutions were being developed in the ThermaFLEX project:

HIGH TEMPERATURE HEAT PUMP IN WASTE INCINERATOR
LOW-CARBON DISTRICT HEATING NETWORK
VIRTUAL HEATING PLANT
INNOVATIVE WASTE HEAT UTILIZATION IN DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEMS
MODERNIZATION OF DISTRICT HEATING NETWORKS
INTEGRATION OF LARGE SOLAR THERMAL SYSTEMS INTO DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEMS

Media reports on the project

ThermaFLEX - The flagship project for developing the district heating network of tomorrow

It is necessary to combine different ideas in order to get the best out of innovation projects. If you are interested in sustainability, individual technologies are not effective.

To the article
Wastewater as a future renewable energy source for the decarbonization of the energy and heat supply

The need to move away from fossil fuels is currently being made clear to us not only by climate change, but also by geopolitical and energy policy developments. The rapid and complete decarbonization of the heating sector and the move towards 100% renewables represent a major challenge.

To the article
ThermaFLEX research project wins the Energy Globe Austria

The ThermaFLEX flagship project of the "Vorzeigeregion Energie - Green Energy Lab" was awarded the Energy Globe Austria sustainability prize in the "Fire" category on June 13, 2023.

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