RALF ROMAN SCHMIDT

Decarbonization of Heating and Cooling – Transformation, Innovation, Optimization

Abstract

This paper addresses the decarbonization of the heating and cooling sector, focussing on both large scale and district scale district heating and cooling (DHC) networks. 

It first examines the key motivations driving this transition—primarily climate targets, regulatory pressure, and the need for increased system flexibility—alongside the global, technical, and implementation related challenges.

Building on this foundation, the paper explores innovation pathways across four critical dimensions: heat sources, energy storage solutions, network design, and decision-support tools. Emphasis is placed on integrating renewable and low-carbon heat sources, enhancing thermal storage capacity, and optimizing network operation through advanced planning and digitalization.

The analysis is complemented by two case studies. The first investigates the decarbonization of the Linz AG DHC network, highlighting strategies for reducing carbon intensity in an established large-scale system. The second focuses on the decarbonization of a Viennese district utilizing an “anergy” DHC network, demonstrating the potential of low-temperature systems and sector coupling in urban environments.

Together, these perspectives illustrate how coordinated technological and systemic innovations can enable the effective transformation of heating and cooling systems toward climate neutrality.

Biography

Ralf-Roman Schmidt is a senior research engineer and is working at the AIT since June 2009, where he is leading a team of 6 persons in the field of district heating and cooling networks. His work focusses on the development of optimized decarbonization pathways and sustainable districts. He holds key positions in international networks like the IEA Technology Collaboration Programme on District Heating and Cooling and the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Renewable Heating and Cooling (RHC-ETIP). He received a PhD in the field of thermo-fluid dynamics in 2013.