Partner Search Request: AQUENERGY Network of European Coastal and Riverside Cities for the Exploitation of the Contained in the Water Thermal Energy

EU-Consultancy Greek Office is looking for partners for an IEE project, as described below:

Concept Justification

In EU approximately 50% of the energy consumed is for heating and cooling purposes. For that reason EC foresees that heating and cooing offers a largely cost-effective potential for using renewable energies notably biomass, solar and geothermal energy. This potential was neglected the last years, resulting in a poor contribution of the heating and cooling sector towards meeting the 12% target. That happened because, as European Commission identifies, there were the following deficiencies:

1. lack of an appropriate policy and targets,
2. inability to remove administrative barriers,
3. inability to provide consumers with information on available technologies and
4. inadequate distribution channels.

EC envisages now promoting mature geothermal technologies such as very low energy heat pumps. It cites clearly in An Energy Policy for Europe that in heating and cooling sector progress will come from a number of technologies, inter alia, geothermal heat pumps. Furthermore, EC in 2007 will adopt legislative measures to facilitate the market penetration of heating and cooling from renewables. This moment there are countries in EU, which employ very low geothermal energy, for example Sweden has over 185.531 geothermal heat pumps installed in 2004. Germany, Austria, France and Finland follow with 48.662, 30.577, 49.950 and 30.000 units respectively. The rest of the countries follow far behind. Furthermore, the leading countries present a significant annual progress while the laggards do little. European heat pump market is revealed to be unbalanced with an advancing north and a stagnated south.

Overall and Specific Project Objectives

The Strategic objective of the project is: To increase and extend the use of the Aquatic Thermal Energy (ATE), i.e. a form of geothermal energy, for heating and cooling purposes in the seaside, lakeside and riverside built-up areas of European Union by making known to the market shareholders, to the consumers and to the decision makers, the nature, the capabilities and the available technology for the exploitation of the contained in the surface water thermal energy, as well as their prospective contribution to the life's state of the art and to the sustainable development of the particular areas.

The specific objectives are:

1. The capitalization of knowledge related to the Aquatic Thermal Energy and the relevant to it Aquatic Source Heat Pump (ASHP) technologies.
2. The environmental and social impact assessment of the ASHP applications to the aquatic ecosystem and urban life.
3. The effectual and rational promotion of the ASHP technologies at local and European level.
4. The formation of prepositions for the growth of ASHP market in waterside cities, towns and villages of the involved countries.
5. Last but not least, the set up of a trans-national network of stakeholders for the promotion of the Aquatic Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) in the European market and society (local authorities and competent public services, schools, politicians, consultants, planners, vendors, etc).

Anticipated Results

In general AQUENERGY is expected to disseminate knowledge related to the broad use of the Aquatic Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) and encourage their applications in the urban waterfronts. More specifically due to the project implementation the participating areas will benefit as follows:

1. Spreading of knowledge and good practices among local markets, authorities, educational institutions and schools, industrial and other kind of enterprises and professionals, as well as to encouraging and improving the cooperation on such topics.
2. Support the promotion and the adoption of standardised systems and cost-effective solutions.
3. Acceleration of the growth of local markets and leverage for similar activities in a broader area.
4. Establishment of a network (in national and European level) of local seaside city authorities as well as of public and private sector decision makers that will work for the promotion of the Aquatic Thermal Energy technologies.
5. Quantitative baseline and target setting scheme.
6. Recommendations for follow-up activities supporting sustainability and furtherance of energy management and benchmarking.
7. Identification of and guidelines on instruments for national and local government that support the accelerated uptake of energy management and benchmarking.

Target Groups

The target groups will be

• Professionals (engineers, architects, urban planners, equipment manufacturers, traders, integrators, ESCOs, consultants, social housing companies)
• Business associations and Chambers
• Politicians and Administrators (local, parliament and governmental)
• Educational institutions (primary and secondary schools, vocational schools, universities)
• Householders and property owners
• The European waterfront towns and cities

Key Actors

• Bourgas Regional Agency for Energy Management (BoRAEM), Bulgaria
• Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki - Greece
• German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Branch of Northern Greece

Further details about this project are available from the contacts listed below.

Keywords: Geothermal Energy - Seawater

Contact: Stavros Milionis, Head of Greek Office - smilionis@kean.gr or Peter Noack, Head of Brussels Office - eu.consult@maisondeurope.eu

Expiry Date: 23/05/2009

The Expiry Date is automatically set to 1 year after the date the partner search form was completed unless otherwise specified by the contact

To find similar reports, click on a keyword below:
Regional Energy Agencies : Local Energy Agencies : Architects/Architecture : Consultants : Cooling : ESCOs : Energy Management : Engineering Organisations : Geothermal Energy : Heat Pumps : Heat/Heating : IEE2 - Integrated Initiatives : IEE2 European networking for local action : Industry : Intelligent Energy - Europe 2007-2013 : Local Government : Planning issues : Property Owners : Regional Government : Renewable Energy Sources & Systems : Schools & Colleges : Standardisation

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EU-Consultancy Brussels Office

BoRAEM - Bourgas Regional Agency for Energy Management

AUTH - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Engineering

German-Hellenic Chamber of Industry and Commerce