Is Innovation Redesigning District Heating? A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The district heating (DH) industry has been characterized by continuous innovation for several decades, but there is limited knowledge on the characteristics of the sector’s innovation activities, arguably the most important information for understanding how the sector can continue to develop and further support the energy transition of society. We perform a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify the types of innovation, the levels of innovation and the relation between different innovations in the DH sector. A total of 899 articles are analyzed and coded into eight groups: fuel, supply, distribution, transfer, DH system, city system, impact and business. Most of the articles (68%) were identified in the groups: “supply”, “DH system,” and “impact”, with a focus on DH from a system or production perspective and its environmental impact. We find that there is limited research on DH firms” challenges, including management perspectives, such as asset management and customer focus. Despite this potential, we find only a limited number of articles related to innovation. Not much scholarly attention has been given to areas of large cost-saving, especially capital cost.

Opportunities for Machine Learning in District Heating

“…In parallel, the DH companies must come closer to their customers and offer them new services (generating new revenues and reducing costs). The challenge of Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) is often neglected in the extremely infrastructure intensive DH industry [20] and by the academic community. Large production plants are expensive but will gradually be phased out when the 4GDH and 5GDH are phased in.…”

A Comprehensive Framework and Associated Methodology for the Design, Operative Planning, and Operation of District Heating Systems to Facilitate the Transition Towards a Fully Renewable Heat Supply

“…By evaluating the transition in DHSs, it is shown that preliminary changes can mostly be characterized as incremental instead of disruptive. [28] DH is regarded as an economical, safe, and reliable technology for urban areas. However, as the complexity of the heating sector is high the transition to renewable sources is challenging, although a transition is supported by the public if the costs of a new supply are competitive compared to the costs of the current supply.…”

“…The change from fossil to non-combustion renewable heat sources is identified as a major topic for DH research [28]. Depending on the type of heat source, different constraints and requirements go along with the technologies.…”

“…Here, the major challenge lies in lowering temperatures in existing buildings [14]. This challenge concerning high temperatures and the reduction in existing systems is the focus of many research articles [28].…”

“…At the same time, non-combustion technologies are not cost-effective at high temperatures as they require lower temperatures. [24] This lock-in effect of high temperatures will be overcome by the temperature reduction which is introduced in the 4GDH [28].…”