Heating and cooling networks

Heating and cooling networks are a key factor in the decarbonisation of enterprises and local authorities.

Heating networks: an important lever in the energy transition

In France, 47% of directly consumed energy is for heating, of which only 5% was produced by heating networks in 2019. But these solutions have reduced their carbon footprint by 56% in 10 years. 

Unlike individual systems, these networks can use renewable energies on a massive scale, which enable the latter to be the largest component of their energy mix. According to survey conducted by the French State Syndicate of Urban Heating and Air Conditioning in 2021, in France, the share of renewable and recovered energies in this mix has increased from 30% to 60% in 10 years. 

As a champion of the energy transition, ENGIE has placed heating networks at the very heart of its strategy, because they can decarbonise its customers' infrastructures. ENGIE has also set itself the target of increasing the share of renewable energies in the energy mix that supplies them. Targets: 75% in 2030 and 100% in 2050. 

Cooling networks: a solution for resilience in the face of global warming

As global warming continues, cold, which was originally a comfort energy, has become essential to making our cities resilient. In the years to come, the demand for air conditioning will increase three-fold. As the world’s number 1 in cooling networks, ENGIE is already one step ahead of this change, offering its customers optimal, reliable and sustainable solutions: a 50% rise in the energy efficiency of our customers’ installations, a 50% decrease in coolant fluid leaks and a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional systems. 

Customer benefits 

A reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 50%	A reduction in energy consumption up to 50%
Availability and security of supply	Cost controls & energy independance
Better air quality

Solutions that use eight local energies

ENGIE adapts to the specific conditions in each region and supplies in energy its heating and cooling networks according to local possibilities.

We prefer fatal and local energies:

1. Fatal heat recovery: this heat is released by the energy generation process and it is not the primary purpose of this process. Data Centers are a good example: 80% of the electricity supplied to data centers is released in the form of heat, meaning that they are excellent candidates to supply a heating network.

2. Wastewater: the wastewater produced by water treatment stations or factories can be used to supply the heating networks that heat city neighbourhoods.

3. Waste-to-energy recovery units: using waste incinerators to produce heat or electricity.

Local energies:

4. Aquathermal: natural water sources for free cooling technology.
Free cooling explained by “Fraîcheur de Paris”

5. Geothermal: all the applications that recover the heat contained in the ground and ground water.

6. Thermal solar: while photovoltaic solar systems convert the sun’s heat into electricity, thermal solar systems convert it directly into heat that can be used to heat water, making it the ideal solution to heat the water that is supplied to heating networks.

Renewables:

7. Biomass: all the degradable organic matter that can be transformed into energy. These solutions allow for the use of local resources, such as wood, as well as waste, including vegetable oils, water treatment sludge, etc.

8. Biomethane: biomethane can be produced from local matter sourced from agriculture, industry or local authorities, and then used as a final fuel.

Finally, the more traditional sources, when these solutions are not applicable:

In certain parts of the world, natural gas deposits may constitute a resource that can be used locally to operate a heating network.

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