Challenge

Mechelen envisions an important role for district heating and cooling (DHC) combined with heat storage to provide densely built urban areas with sustainable, clean heat. The city’s heating plan sees these networks as the key way to make optimal use of renewable heat sources such as wastewater heat recovery, geothermal energy, and aquathermal energy. 

One of the strategic locations in this plan is the Ragheno site, a former brownfield behind the station and along the Canal Leuven-Dyle. Here, Mechelen, together with Fluvius and local partners, aims to implement an innovative very low-temperature energy network. This network will enable the exchange of heat and cold between buildings, managed by smart algorithms. 

The energy network will integrate multiple renewable heat sources, thermal energy storage, and energy nodes. This approach requires a new way of collaborating, managing, monitoring, and financing among all involved parties. With support from VLAIO, Mechelen and Fluvius intend to further explore and implement this approach.