Make your digital sprint in heating and cooling
Decarbonising the heating and cooling (H&C) sector is key to achieving the EU 2050 goals. This sector accounts for about half of Europe’s total energy needs with 75% of it still dependent on fossil fuels. Rapid action needs to be taken on a local level, but cities often lack resources or capacity to advance in their strategic H&C plans. This is where digital tools come in place, bringing the opportunity of a more cost-effective and efficient H&C planning. Tools like Hotmaps or THERMOS can facilitate and accelerate the planning and development of district energy projects.
After over 3 years of implementation, the Act!onHeat project is coming to a close in November 2024. The project, with the aim to accelerate the use of strategic heating and cooling planning in European cities, has supported several municipalities in their journey to H&C decarbonisation while making use of the digital tools Hotmaps and THERMOS. The main learnings and best-case studies will be showcased in a public event, which will take place in Brussels (BIP meeting centre, rue Royale 2-4, 1000 Brussels, Belgium) on Wednesday, 13 November 2024.
The event will bring together main stakeholders of the H&C sector, including energy agencies, cities, industry and representatives from the European Commission. Speakers will discuss key topics like the digitalisation of the sector, financing, development of H&C plans and effective communication. We will also hear from best-practice case studies in European cities that have been supported by the Act!onHeat project in their H&C efforts.
Find the full agenda below; please note that the agenda may be subject to change.
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:20 | <b>Welcome and scene setting</b> | |
| 09:20 – 09:45 | <b>Fast Forward the Thermal Transition</b> | <b>Matthieu Ballu</b> (Policy Officer for Renewables and Energy System Integration Policy, DG ENER) and <b>Ali Aydemir</b> (Coordinator, Fraunhofer ISI) |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | <b>Digitalising Heating and Cooling Planning for Faster Implementation and Optimised Management</b> | <b>Leszek Drogosz</b> (Director of Infrastructure Department, City of Warsaw, Poland) and <b>Aadit Malla</b> (Research Associate at the Energy Economics Group at the Technical University of Vienna) |
| 10:15 – 11:15 | <b>How to facilitate the digital sprint in the thermal transition?</b> | <b>Aksana Krasatsenka</b> (Knowledge Transfer Director, Euroheat and Power), <b>Andrea Voigt</b> (Vice-President, Head of Public Affairs and Sustainability, Danfoss), <b>Morten Duedahl</b> (Business Development Manager at the Danish Board of District Heating) and <b>Armando Uriarte</b> (Director, Madrid Subterra) |
| 11:15 – 11:45 | Coffee Break | |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | <b>Advancing with Strategic Heat Plans in European Cities</b> | <b>Marcus Hummel</b> (Managing Director, e-think energy research) and <b>Mirra Haalboom</b> (Renewable Energy Policy Officer at VEKA, Antwerp, Belgium) |
| 12:15 – 13:00 | <b>Local Heating and Cooling Pre-Feasibility Studies</b> | <b>Martin Holley</b> (Head of Technical Consultancy, Centre for Sustainable Energy) and <b>Katie Treadwell</b> (Energy Projects Officer, West Midlands Combined Authority, UK) |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 – 14:45 | <b>Intelligent Cities Marketplace – pitches and stand visits</b> | Scalable Cities, Smart City Marketplace, Danish Board of District Heating, EuroHeat & Power, European Heat Pump Association, Cool Heating Coalition, and many more... |
| 14:45 – 15:15 | Coffee break | |
| 15:15 – 15:45 | <b>How to Finance the Implementation of Heat Projects</b> | <b>Boris Valach</b> (Project Manager, eclareon) and <b>Ada Ámon</b> (Head of Department - Climate and Environmental Affairs at Budapest City Hall, Hungary) |
| 15:45 – 16:00 | <b>Inspiring Cases from The Cities Heat Detox Campaign</b> | <b>Allison Le-Corre</b> (Covenant of Mayors Office) |
| 16:00 – 17:00 | <b>How to communicate and sell thermal planning and infrastructure changes best in your city?</b> | <b>Clare Taylor</b> (Strategic Communications Lead, Cool Heating Coalition), <b>Vesna Derzek</b> (City Utility Velenje, Slovenia), <b>Tim Pryce</b> (Clean Energy Lead, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham) and <b>Leonie Kuhlman</b> (Policy Officer, European Geothermal Energy Council) |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | <b>Closing remarks</b> | <b>Madis Laaniste</b> (Policy Officer for Energy Efficiency, DG ENER) and <b>Ali Aydemir</b> (Coordinator, Fraunhofer ISI) |
| 17:30 – End | Networking cocktail |
Speakers
Ali Aydemir
Coordinator, Fraunhofer ISI
Ali Aydemir has been a researcher since 2013 and project manager in the Competence Center Energy Technologies and Energy Systems at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI since 2017.
Matthieu Ballu
Policy Officer for Renewables and Energy System Integration Policy, DG ENER
Aadit Malla
Research Associate at the Energy Economics Group at the Technical University of Vienna
Aadit's research focus is on strategic heating and cooling planning aimed at energy efficiency and sectoral decarbonization.
Veronika Cerna
Digital strategist, Twenty Communications
Veronika Cerna is a digital strategist with a track record of driving transformative growth in cities. With a broad expertise in engaging citizens and stakeholders, driving entrepreneurship, creating business and city models to design a sustainable urban strategy, she will share how cities can learn from the Scalable Cities community to become smarter, more resilient and climate neutral.
Tim Pryce
Clean Energy Lead, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Tim leads on strategy for net zero carbon buildings, energy and heat. In previous roles at C40 Cities and the Carbon Trust he has worked on climate mitigation projects with municipalities in the UK and Malaysia, World Bank, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, and the Global Environment Facility.
Boris Valach
Project Manager, eclareon GmbH
Boris Valach has been a consultant since 2016, and a project manager in eclareon's policy consulting department since 2021. Boris works on several international projects focusing on the decarbonisation of EU Member States through higher uptake of renewable energy sources.
Madis Laaniste
Policy Officer for Energy Efficiency, DG ENER
Armando Uriarte
Director, Madrid Subterra
Armando has more than 25 years of experience in different sectors and roles, but particularly in the field of Energy in companies like Foster Wheeler, Veolia and Flowserve.
Andrea Voigt
Vice-President, Head of Public Affairs and Sustainability, Danfoss
Leszek Drogosz
Director of Infrastructure Department, City of Warsaw, Poland
Marcus Hummel
Lead researcher and managing director, e-think energy research, Austria
Marcus has been coordinating heating and cooling planning for districts, cities, regions, countries as well as entire EU for more than 15 years.
Allison Le Corre
Communication and Campaign Manager, Covenant of Mayors
Allison Le Corre is the communication manager for the Covenant of Mayors Europe initiative and a storyteller for cities’ ecological transition.
Martin Holley
Head of Technical Consultancy at the Centre for Sustainable Energy, UK
Martin works on a range of projects which span heat decarbonisation, heat network feasibility, renewable energy systems, local energy resource assessment, low carbon housing retrofit, community energy and net zero/climate change planning policy.
Aksana Krasatsenka
Knowledge Transfer Director, Euroheat and Power
Aksana Krasatsenka is the Knowledge Transfer Director at Euroheat & Power, where she also manages membership relations for the DHC+ Platform, a leading research and innovation hub for district heating and cooling.
Ada Ámon
Head of Department - Climate and Environmental Affairs at Budapest City Hall, Hungary
Ada has been involved in climate and energy policy issues for more than 30 years. Ada was recently appointed by the Council of the City of Budapest to lead the Budapest Climate Agency.
Morten Duedahl
Business Development Manager at the Danish Board of District Heating
Morten works with governments, cities, and district heating companies to strengthen the development of district energy across Europe.
Vesna Deržek Sovinek
City Utility Velenje, Slovenia
Vesna Deržek Sovinek is an experienced communicator with a comprehensive background in journalism and organizational leadership.
Katie Treadwell
Energy Projects Officer, Energy Capital team at the West Midlands Combined Authority, UK
Katie Treadwell's role focuses on the challenge of heat decarbonisation and the underlying energy infrastructure.
Clare Taylor
Strategic Communications Lead, Cool Heating Coalition
Clare Taylor is a science communicator, journalist, and policy analyst whose work centres on communicating ideas and policies for a better world.
Mirra Haalboom
Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA)
Mirra Haalboom works at the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA) in the team that works on the policy for sustainable energy systems.
Leonie Kuhlman
Policy Officer, European Geothermal Energy Council
Leonie holds a Master of Arts in European Studies and a Master of Science in Sustainability Science. Previously, she worked at the European External Action Service on climate diplomacy and in project management at Eureka Network, an agency funding SMEs in R&D.
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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101033706. The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the Act!onHeat project and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.