At the halfway point of the KliWinBa research project, important progress has already been made in analysing and shaping the heating transition in urban and industrial regions. The project partners are working together to develop practical solutions for a climate-neutral heat supply and to systematically assess the feasibility of various technologies and strategies.

Establishing a regional database

A central focus so far has been on creating a regional high-resolution database for North Rhine-Westphalia. To this end, public building data was combined with other sources and validated. In addition, the project partners provided real neighbourhood data, allowing differences between public and actual building structures to be investigated. The results show that significant differences can occur, particularly at neighbourhood level, which are relevant for municipal heat planning.

Development of a web-based decision-making tool

A key milestone is the development of a web-based analysis and decision-making tool by the University of Duisburg-Essen. The tool calculates the most economically viable heating options for buildings and neighbourhoods on the basis of techno-economic assumptions. It is based, among other things, on methods from VDI 2067 and current technology data from the KWW technology catalogue.

The web tool has already been presented to the public and has met with great interest, particularly among municipal representatives. The aim is to create a practical tool that offers owners, municipal utilities and local authorities data-based support for strategic decisions on the heating transition.

Scenarios for the future heat supply

At the same time, a project-specific scenario framework was developed to map different future developments in the energy system. Among other things, energy prices, technological developments and regulatory framework conditions are taken into account. The aim is to identify robust strategies for the heating transition under uncertainty.

Expanding the technological focus

In addition to traditional technology options, the project also analysed high-temperature heat pumps and deep geothermal energy. In the course of the project, the high practical relevance of flow heat pumps for densely populated areas also became apparent. The focus was therefore expanded to take greater account of technologies that are highly transferable to urban neighbourhoods and at the same time have lower site-specific risks.

Exchange with practice and politics

Another focus was on dialogue with practitioners, local authorities and policymakers. At a workshop on the heating transition in urban areas, project partners and external experts discussed key challenges in the implementation of a climate-neutral heating supply.

In addition, initial recommendations for regulatory framework conditions were developed. The focus was particularly on practical challenges in the implementation of the Building Energy Act (GEG) and existing obstacles within current funding structures.

Outlook for the second half of the project

In the second half of the project, the focus will be on the further development of the results to date and their greater practical application.

• The web tool developed is to be made publicly accessible and continuously developed further. The aim is to provide a permanently usable and practical decision-making tool for owners, local authorities, municipal utilities and other stakeholders in the heating transition.

• In addition, the technology alternatives under consideration are analysed in depth and supplemented by specific case studies. In addition to high-temperature heat pumps, deep geothermal energy and flow heat pumps, flexible CHP-PtG storage concepts will also become a greater focus of the analyses in future.

• In addition, the systemic effects of the different technology and transformation paths on the energy system throughout Germany will be analysed. In particular, interactions between the heat, electricity and hydrogen systems will take centre stage.

• Furthermore, specific recommendations for action will be developed for relevant stakeholders during the course of the project. These are aimed at local authorities, energy suppliers, the housing industry and political decision-makers, among others, and are intended to contribute to the practical design of the heating transition. A further workshop is also planned for this purpose.

The KliWinBa project thus continues to pursue the goal of combining scientific findings with practical requirements and contributing to the successful implementation of the heating transition in urban areas.