The 1st Internal Knowledge Transfer and Training Workshop

The 1st Internal Knowledge Transfer and Training Workshop took place from 12th to 14th March 2024 at the headquarters of ECO S.A. in Opole at Harcerska 15 Street. This was the first joint activity of the project Partners. Therefore, its aims were also team building and development of communication skills. The event was also supported by external experts.

Internal Knowlege Transfer Workshops are part of the SET_HEAT project roll-out phase, in which the project partners share the state-of-the-art knowledge, jointly fill knowledge gaps, develop competencies and make assumptions for investment plans focused on the decarbonisation of the district heating systems directly involved in the project (ECO, HEP, TEB and VST).

The main goal of the workshop in Opole was to identify key issues and develop an energy transition and decarbonisation vision for the Opole district heating system, and a draft plan to be communicated to stakeholders. The workshop participants worked on reducing the consumption of coal and natural gas by integrating the identified renewable energy and waste heat sources. In a three-day workshop, scientists, engineers and external experts discussed and ran techno-economic simulations of possible transformation and decarbonisation scenarios. In the end, the first draft vision of the decarbonisation pathway was created, which paved the way for further studies and specific investment projects. As the district heating sector has a special role to play in achieving climate neutrality for the entire energy sector, the implementation of the SET_HEAT workshop brought us closer to defining an optimal decarbonisation scenario not only for Opole but for the district heating sector in Poland and other European countries.

The district heating system in Opole, Poland, is a large, 2nd generation, fossil fuel-fired system with relatively high-efficiency natural gas-fired cogeneration. It was found that electrification by using heat pumps and electric boilers, and integration of low-temperature renewable energy and waste heat sources may lead to some issues related to high expected capital expenditures, stranded costs, increase of heat cost, considerable demand for seasonal heat storage, space requirements, coverage of peak loads, and many others. Overall, it was identified that satisfying the requirements of the revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) in 2028 and 2035 is a complex task and in Polish conditions, many constraints exist in devising an effective transition strategy towards the efficient district heating system.

To facilitate investment decisions and reduce risk, a comprehensive holistic model of the future energy market, including fuel, electricity and EU ETS EUA prices is required, and effective business models for new heat suppliers must be developed.

The next internal project workshop will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, from 16th to 18th of April 2024.