On November 19 and 20, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and LINZ AG invited project partners to Wels for the consortium meeting of the HeatRock research project. Representatives from industry and academia met to discuss the current project status, exchange results, and jointly plan the next steps.
We from the Energy Institute at JKU Linz were also present as research partners and contributed insights from our ongoing work in HeatRock:
- Our colleague Helene Mihatsch presented a life-cycle analysis of a steel tank storage system, deriving methodological boundary conditions. These clearly illustrate the challenges associated with assessing the environmental impact of storage structures in district heating networks.
- Our colleague Simon Moser presented the approaches to the macro-economic analysis, followed by insights into possibilities for replicability and stakeholder analysis.
- Our colleague Manuela Halbartschlager presented her analysis of the legal framework, highlighting key regulatory questions and challenges for implementing cavern storage systems in hard rock formations.
The two days concluded with a joint dinner in the city center of Wels – offering plenty of space for personal networking, in-depth discussions, and new cooperation ideas.
A big thank-you to the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and LINZ AG for organizing the meeting, and to Laabmayr ZT GmbH, Bilfinger Engineering, Renesco, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Montanuniversität Leoben, and the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria as well as all partners for the constructive exchange. We look forward to the next steps in the Hashtag#HeatRock project.