| dc.description.abstract | Aquathermal heat – withdrawing heat from surface water – is a proven alternative technology to the current fossil-fuelled heat system. It can be combined with seasonal storage in subsurface layers to solve the mismatch in peak heat demand and peak surface water heat supply. The little research that has been performed on the subject has a strong focus on the Netherlands. In this research, the technical potential of combining aquathermal heat and aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) to meet the collective European heat demand is studies. The objective is to obtain a quick-scan for aquathermal heat opportunities in Europe. Using GIS, spatial datasets for the European heat demand, supply and storage are developed. These datasets are integrated to find out where the supply and storage can meet the demand, which is used to calculate the aquathermal heat potential. The results show that for many cities and regions, aquathermal heat can meet significant shares of the heat demand, reaching up to a sevenfold in certain regions. In interpreting the results, four aspects are found to be critical. (1) The potential can highly vary between regions, cities and even neighbourhoods. However, since many cities tend to be located near rivers, a large share of cities have significant potential in some areas. (2) A large limitation is posed by the distance over which heat can be transported. The aquathermal heat potential of cities’ neighbourhoods that are located further away from surface water are impacted by this. Hence, using a district heating approach instead of a neighbourhood approach can greatly benefit the aquathermal heat potential, as a district heating system can connect a larger part of the city to surface water. (3) Using aquathermal heat directly (without ATES) decreases the energy efficiency of the system but offers opportunities if (sufficient) storage is unavailable. However, direct aquathermal heat use is not always feasible due to low surface water temperature in winter or high electricity prices. (4) The absence of heat accounting (the consideration that aquathermal heat can only be used once) leads to overestimations of the potential. Future research on a local level should therefore take into account the aquathermal heat demand of neighbouring and up-and downstream areas. All in, this research provides an overview of where possibilities for aquathermal heat lie. Yet, while this research shows that many European cities can benefit from aquathermal heat, in-depth research is necessary to prove whether it is locally feasible. | |
