[Press release] D2Grids official project launch : rolling out 5th generation district heating & cooling

D2GRIDS is an acronym for ‘demand driven grids’. This new Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) project, coordinated by Mijnwater Ltd., aims to upscale 5th generation District Heating and Cooling (5G DHC) grids across Europe. Construction21 is the communication partner of this promising project.

What is 5G DHC ?

First developed in Heerlen by Mijnwater Ltd., and in contrary to conventional district heating, this thermal smart grid is based on low temperatures. By a cloud of decentralized heat pumps, located at end-user accommodation, energy is exchanged on the grid, and flows are induced through customer demands. The concept allows large scale utilization of low temperature waste heat, from data centers, supermarkets, industry, etc.

Five pilot sites in Paris-Saclay (FR), Bochum (GE), Brunssum (NL), Glasgow and Nottingham (UK) will develop 5G DHC grids. The 20 million EUR project is supported by Interreg funds, covering close to 60 % of the overall budget - 11,6 million euros. D2Grids first kick-off meeting, held in Heerlen, set the stage for three years of intense collaboration among European partners to roll out this proven technology.The five partner pilot sites aim to connect ca. 50.000 m2 of dwellings and/or commercial buildings to a 5G DHC grid.

Construction 21 as communication partner

As communication partner in this project, Construction21 will implement a multi-channel communication strategy (newsletter, social media, online communities, videos). While ensuring project visibility, Construction 21 will also share news about district heating and cooling networks, thus creating a community of interest around the project. Increasing the knowledge of the industry for this new technology will contribute to its adoption. Pilot site visits will present the output of the project and initiate the commercialization phase.

Mijnwater Ltd is lead partner of this Interreg NWE D2grids project with Herman Eijdems as leading manager of the project. Herman’s vision on 5G DHC : “The energy transition is the major challenge of this era; the 5G DHC concept, as such, is a powerful and affordable strategy to decarbonize building stocks in urban environment all over Europe. In the city of Heerlen we show proven technology and are eager to share our expertise and experiences to accelerate the developments in other areas.”

 The Kick-off meeting in Heerlen set the stage for intense collaboration among european partners

More information in the press release

Follow D2Grids on Twitter, LinkedIn and on D2Grids community on Construction21 !

 Photo: Mijnwater BV