Accelerating the transition towards sustainable heating and cooling based on collective surface water heat pump systems

Heating and cooling (H/C) are responsible for half of the EUs final energy consumption and most of it is based on fossil fuels (Eurostat, 2020). Hence, a shift towards renewable energy sources (RES) presents a great opportunity to reduce the EUs energy requirements, carbon emissions, pollution, reliance on energy imports, and to increase the efficiency of energy and material usage. The WaterWarmth consortium is ambitious and equipped to seize this opportunity and highly motivated to create a lasting impact in the North Sea Region (NSR). Aquathermal energy (AE) uses thermal energy from water to provide sustainable H/C for buildings. Surface waters act as a huge solar collector and store heat in quantities that exceed by far the energy requirements for H/C. At present, the vast majority of people and energy communities (ECs) are unaware of this omnipresent and readily available energy source. WaterWarmth will change this. The local nature of AE and other RES enables ECs to take ownership of energy production and delivery in cooperative H/C systems, thereby stimulating local economic activities, keeping profits in the region, and enabling a socially just and inclusive energy transition. Cooperative H/C requires the presence of a H/C grid. Costs of change from gas infrastructure are high and, historically, another barrier is low-costs of fossil fuels. Additional challenges remain around: citizen participation, integration of AE in the energy system and the current built environment, environmental impact, legal and governance, business cases, and securing project (development) funds and bearing risks by ECs. WaterWarmth addresses all these key aspects in one coherent project. It works on facilitating ECs that are delivering the energy transition, and co-develop inspiring and replicable examples of cooperative AE solutions, integrated into the local context, with citizens from across the NSR. Deliverables will empower ECs to accelerate the dearly needed energy transition. Overall Objective: To raise awareness on the potential of sustainable heating and cooling solutions based on aquathermal energy and integrate them in the present built environment and renewable energy systems by involving and facilitating energy communities in developing repeatable examples in the North Sea region.