The Energieinstitut an der JKU Linz hosted this year’s DHC+ Summer School in Linz. Together, we experienced an exciting week full of inspiring lectures, engaging excursions, and abundant networking opportunities focusing on industrial urban symbiosis as an enabler for a climate-neutral district heating.
In the following the highlights of the DHC+ Summer School in Linz:
- We kicked off the Summer School by welcoming the participants to Linz with a city tour, exploring some of the city’s top highlights. Next, we gathered at the Ars Electronica which is known as the museum of the future. There, engaging networking activities helped everyone get better acquainted. Participants also had the opportunity to tour the museum’s exhibition “There is No Planet B,” where they were able to experience the concept of a supra-regional heating network at first hand—a key development from the project HeatHighway. We concluded the day by enjoying dinner at a traditional Austrian restaurant, letting the evening wind down in a relaxed atmosphere.
- Our colleagues Simon Moser and Gabriela Jauschnik shared their expertise in waste heat recovery from existing and future industrial processes at the DHC+ Summer School. Following the presentation, the participants actively engaged in a hands-on exercise, taking on the roles of district heating operators and industrial companies to negotiate a joint solution for external waste heat integration. After an insightful lecture on sector coupling by Jan Eric Thorsen, the group headed to the Linz AG power plant, where they will gain firsthand knowledge about the provision of district heating in Linz.
- Thanks to the experts of the Linz AG, the participants of the DHC+ Summer School were able to deepen their knowledge from the presentations given by the DHC experts at two site-visits. They had the opportunity to experience the Linz Mitte CHP plant up close, including the waste incineration plant and the 65-metre-high district heating thermal storage, one of the largest in Austria! Another highlight was the visit to one of the three district cooling centres in Linz, which particularly impressed our participants, as they gained insights on the generation and distribution of district cooling.
- A heartfelt thank you to Euroheat & Power for the excellent collaboration and seamless organization of this year’s Summer School. We also extend our gratitude to our sponsor, Linz AG, for enhancing the participants’ practical understanding through in-depth tours of the Linz power plant and district cooling facility. We are thankful to all the lecturers who shared their expertise on various DHC-related topics. A special thanks goes to the participants of the Summer School, who showed great interest in the current issues of the DHC sector and are now equipped with the knowledge and connections to tackle future challenges in district heating!
