CHILL – Cooling and Heating Integrated Low Temperature Logistics

Project description

The CHILL project focuses on the development of public very-low-temperature heating and cooling networks (‘VLT networks’ for short) as a standardised, affordable and future-resilient solution for making the built environment more sustainable. TNO has asked KWR to join this consortium with a number of drinking water utilities. The participation of KWR and the drinking water utilities Brabant Water, Waternet and Dunea (Heat and Cold) is designed to share knowledge from the drinking water sector in the consortium and acquire knowledge themselves about VLT networks, as well as to substantively explore the possible role as a technical service provider for this public infrastructure.

Significance and objective

Collective systems for supplying heat and cold are vitally important to achieve the climate goals for the built environment. The current political and technological developments mean that progress with conventional heating networks has reached an impasse. Public heating infrastructure companies and the ‘fourth sustainability route’ – in which heat and cold are supplied with a VLT heating/cooling network – are resulting in a new playing field, new questions and calls for the involvement of the drinking water sector. In addition, the drinking water sector, given its primary duty to supply drinking water, has an interest in these VLT networks in order to prevent the undesirable warming up of the subsurface.

As determined previously by KWR, drinking water networks and VLT heating networks are technically similar in different ways. Making the built environment more sustainable is a major challenge and the solutions currently in place (individual or collective) are inadequate to achieve the climate goals. One promising solution is the use of VLT networks that combine heating and cooling infrastructure with individual heat pumps. These networks provide benefits such as lower heat losses, cooling, more straightforward construction with, among other things, flexible pipelines, the use of relatively little space in the subsurface, less dependence on central sources and the better integration of local energy sources. In addition, the low temperature means that VLT networks do not negatively affect drinking water quality. The networks are future-resilient because they support both heating and cooling, they are less dependent on central (fossil) residual heat sources, and they can respond better to the upcoming electrification of the built environment. Because the network investment costs are lower, and the system does not have to be designed for maximum participation from the outset, there is more freedom for residents and sources to connect at their own time. This can increase acceptance of this type of heating network and accelerate the heat transition.

Deliverables

The CHILL project is working on methods for developing implementation plans, and the efficient and sustainable implementation of VLT networks. In addition, innovations are being developed for system components to achieve cost reductions and efficiency improvements. At the end of this project, there will be an integrated approach to implementing VLT networks as a standardised, affordable, safe, and future-resilient solution for the enhanced sustainability of the built environment for neighbourhoods nationwide. The approach will also have been validated in real-world cases and made available.

This project is part of the research programme Water in the Circular Economy (WiCE). WiCE brings together water utilities, KWR and partners to develop sustainable solutions for water, commodities and energy. The programme is studying systems, transitions and values to contribute to a resilient, circular society.