Joint efforts to develop district heating networks for German communities

According to IEA despite a large potential for the integration of renewable sources and recycled heat, nearly 90% of district heat globally was produced from fossil fuels in 2022.

There are various ways to decarbonise district heating networks, such as using waste heat or integrating secondary heat resources (ie from the data centres). TaxoEnergy and the Fund agree to develop the district heating projects for and with the German municipalities, while using waste heat, thermal resources any other type of excess heat to supply their local users via existing or newly constructed heat networks. All projects target to deliver primary energy and/or CO₂ savings of above 30%.

TaxoEnergy is driven by innovators of the technical solutions for heat and waste heat recovery and recycling from Jaske & Wolf Verfahrenstechnik GmbH. The projects within the scope of this initiative are based on the proven and internationally patented high-efficiency technologies and processes, having ‘energy efficiency first’ as a principle which is aligned with the eeef’s mandate. There are huge efforts required to improve energy efficiency of existing networks, using of the alternative or otherwise wasted heat sources or proposing solutions to improve efficiency of the infrastructure.

When the heat is transferred, the temperature difference (as at one point it is built up and at the other one is reduced) needs to be levelized. The transport of the heat is performed by the heat network. In order to extract the benefits from the temperature differences for the heat transport, electricity is to be used. The efficiency of the network determines the amount of the electricity (provided by heat pumps) required to move the heat around.

Wolfgang Jaske, founder of the TaxoEnergy and also the driving force of the Jaske&Wolf WärmeRecycling “The principle of ‘energy efficiency first’ should apply to every heat network, network and installation whether it is public or private. The greatest possible efficiency over the life cycle will also pay off economically and ensure steady long term cash flows for investors.”

‘For eeef the projects to optimise energy efficiency and reduce wasted heat are of primary importance, to develop these projects we require first class engineering know how paired with innovation drive’ says Lada Strelnikova, eeef’s Investment Manager.

The European Energy Efficiency Fund (eeef) S.A., SICAV-SIF is a "société d'investissement à capital variable" governed by Luxembourg law and initiated by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Investment Bank. eeef increased the initial capitalisation provided by the European Commission with contributions from the private investors. eeef is an innovative public-private partnership dedicated to mitigate climate change through energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy in the Member States of the European Union.

TaxoEnergy is a private company platform founded by Jaske & Wolf to develop the market for the climate-neutral heating and cooling sector on the basis of internationally patented and proven technologies developed by Jaske & Wolf. The business areas range from systems engineering to the development, planning and construction of complete modern dhc networks (low-temperature energy networks).