Sino-Danish Clean Heating Expert Panel Workshop 2: Laying the first stones of the Sino-Danish Center for Clean and Renewable Heating

On Tuesday, 15^th March 2022, the Sino-Danish Clean Heating Expert Panel met online for its second workshop. New members accepted the invitation to join the Expert Panel and were warmly welcomed at this workshop:

• Xu Wenlong, Deputy Chief Engineer, China Architecture Design Institute Co
• Jianhua Fan, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering Energy and Services (DTU)
• Lars Gullev, Chief Executive Officer, VEKS
• Lars Grundahl, Team Leader Planning Department, VEKS
• Thomas Engberg Pedersen, Head of Heat Production and Demand, HOFOR A/S

The Danish Board of District Heating also participated in the workshop to present their project “Supporting the Clean Heating Transition in China” to the Expert Panel. Their expertise is required for the scoping of key Chinese district heating stakeholders on the one hand, and the choice of selection criteria for a pilot city on the other hand.

The main purpose of the workshop was to project how to develop in the near future the Sino-Danish Center for Clean and Renewable Heating to be launched in April 2022 and to receive feedback from the experts on the topics to address and the types of content to share and the best ways to reach the target audience.

With this in mind, the workshop included a presentation of the framework of the Sino-Danish Center for Clean and Renewable Heating.

The virtual Cooperation Center will have three main functions:

• Storage of the knowledge gathered or created through the Clean Heating Program
• Facilitating exchanges between experts and practitioners, capacity building and development activities
• Flexibility to adapt and adjust along the implementation of the Clean Heating Program

Regarding the topics to be addressed on the virtual platform, the experts emphasize the following:

• Energy and heat planning: comparing Danish and Chinese methodologies and explore how to link clean district heating ambitions at different levels of provinces or cities to the carbon-neutral targets set in the Five-Year Plan.
• Flexibility and sector integration: flexible district heating and its role in enhancing flexibility of the overall energy system.
• Best available technologies for clean and renewable district heating: renewable energy sources (with an emphasis on solar thermal), large-scale heat pumps, efficient and affordable large-scale thermal storage.
• Demand side: considering the whole district heating value chain, from production to distribution and end-user.
• Energy policies: policy briefs and policy recommendations.

Regarding the types of content, the experts point out that many materials are already available online: research project reports, policies and guidance from public authorities, case studies, technology catalogues, tools, etc. The Expert Panel could be called upon to curate content. Thematic sub-groups could be set up for this purpose. These sub-groups could also initiate research project and develop new knowledge where research is needed. The experts also suggest using the platform to showcase success stories, including contact persons or institutions to facilitate contact.

Regarding the target audience, the experts suggest targeting energy planners at different levels: public authorities (province, city or national level), academia, consultants, industry, etc.

When it comes to the best ways to reach the target audience, the experts highlight the following:

• Need for translation: the content of the platform must be available in English and in Chinese.
• Update: the content should be regularly updated to maintain interest.
• Dissemination: The Chinese District Heating Association offers to use their own website to disseminate the content from the Sino-Danish Center for Clean and Renewable Heating.